The Philippines fast growing low cost airline Cebu Pacific Air starts its nonstop direct flight from Sydney to Manila on Tuesday September 9th auguring well for more attractive fare for the Philippines-Australia air route, and affirming the unstoppable growth of “no frills” travel in Southeast Asia, especially towards Philippine destinations.
A special Cebu Pacific promotional sale ended 19 June 2014 reminds one of the early beginnings of low cost air fare by the defunct Air Laker in the 1960s plying the European cities to London route.
Cebu Pacific however recently pegged a price of $335 direct Sydney-Manila flight. The inaugural Sydney-Manila flight will utilise a brand new Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a configuration of 436 all economy class seats.
During a product launch at Grace Hotel in Sydney last 3 August, , Mr. Alex Reyes, General-Manager, Long-Haul Division for Cebu Pacific said, “We are excited to launch this route and boost travel to and from Australia with our low fares. Filipino expats can visit family and friends more often. Australians looking for superb beach destinations now have more options that rival Bali and Phuket. The inbound market for Filipino tourists visiting Australia also has great potential.”
Reyes also said Cebu Pacific will offer four flights a week between Manila and Sydney and later expanding to five weekly services by the end of this year. Reyes said his company’s pricing policy is based on ala carte strategy where passengers are charged only minimally for what they ask for, rather than the buffet pricing which has become traditional in airline travel.
Earlier in June this year, NSW state government led by Premier Mike Baird welcomed the entry of Philippine-based Cebu-Pacific Air to the Australian market whilst NSW Deputy Premier, Minister for Trade and Investment and Minister for Tourism and Major Events Andrew Stoner joined the premier in lauding this latest business development.
Premier Baird welcomed the announcement and said the new airline services would bring the two cities closer together. “It is great to see Cebu Pacific has open a direct link with Sydney, providing more options for those wishing to travel to NSW to visit love ones and do business,” Mr Baird said.
“There are 70,000 people of Filipino heritage living in NSW and this new airline link will make it easier for this community to maintain contact with love ones in the Philippines.”
“The NSW government continue to work hard to ensure Sydney and NSW is an attractive global destination for people to visit, work, study and invest.” Mr Baird said.
For his part Deputy Premier Mr. Andrew Stoner said Cebu Pacific Air’s decision to offer a direct air services to Sydney was a great win for tourism, trade and investment.
“I was excited to meet with Cebu Pacific Air’s people earlier this year to discuss their plans and I look forward to their services starting in September,” Mr. Stoner said.
“The decision represents a vote of confidence in NSW as a destination-of-choice with tourists, international students, and people doing business in the state.”
“Today’s announcement will lead to an increase in the number of seats available o this route by more than 226,000 each year. The increased passenger capacity will see more people travel to Sydney as we work toward our goal of doubling overnight visitor expenditure by 2020.
Deputy Premier Stoner added, “The latest International Visitor Survey shows more than 28,000 visitors from the Philippines contribute about $61 million to the NSW economy in the year to March 2014,”
Cebu Pacific Air is claiming to b the largest Philippine low cost airline offering 34 domestic destinations in the Philippine and 26 destinations outside the country including other long haul destinations to Dubai an Kuwait. Cebu Pacific also claims as the largest Philippine carrier with 50% domestic market share and 45% domestic cargo share in the Philippines.