Cebu Pacific cues Iloilo-Bangkok flights
Cebu Pacific is launching next month direct flights from Iloilo to Bangkok, expanding the operations of its hub on the island and beefing up its international network served by airports outside Metro Manila.
The low-cost carrier, in a statement on Wednesday, said the new route would be available thrice weekly starting March 31.
“Strengthening our Iloilo hub allows us to connect even more passengers from the Western Visayas region to exciting destinations across our international network,” said Xander Lao, president and chief commercial officer of Cebu Pacific.
The popular Thai city will be the third international destination that the Gokongwei-led airline will operate from Iloilo. It also offers flights to Hong Kong and Singapore.
Cebu Pacific began operations of three new domestic routes in Iloilo hub in December last year. These were flights to Daraga, Tagbilaran and Dumaguete.
In total, the airline flies to a total of 14 destinations from Iloilo.
In January, the low-cost airline announced that it would introduce direct flights from Clark to El Nido and Coron by March 30.
It is also set to transfer its flights to Masbate and Siargao from Manila to Clark next month as the government phases out turboprop operations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport to make more available slots to jets.
Affected passengers can rebook their flights for free, avail of full refund or convert their booking to a travel fund.
This year, Cebu Pacific is targeting to increase its passenger volume growth by about 20 percent after serving 24.5 million guests in 2024.
The budget airline, as of January, has a total system-wide seats of 3 million, up 31 percent from 2.3 million in the same period last year.
Cebu Pacific is also set to take delivery of seven aircraft this year to augment passenger capacity. Last year, the airline received 17 new aircraft.
The airline’s overall network caters to 37 domestic and 26 international destinations across Asia, Australia and the Middle East.
