Cebu Pacific’s Manila-Singapore service starts tomorrow

Cebu Pacific Air is all set for its inaugural flight to Singapore on Oct. 1, marking the beginning of its daily service between the city-state and Manila.

Early bird flight 5J-803 is scheduled to leave Manila at 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 1, while flight 5J-804 will leave Singapore at 12:05 p.m. As in its other regional services, CEB will use a 179-seater Boeing 757 aircraft for this route.

The airline previously began its services to South Korea and Hong Kong with special introductory fares.

The airline is introducing its new daily service to Singapore with packages as low as $270 including hotel accommodation for two nights and three days. For $4 more, the stay can be stretched to three nights.

CEB began its regional expansion with twice-daily flights to Hong Kong in November 2001 and four times weekly service to Seoul in March 2002.

CEB’s Manila-Hong Kong special go for as low as at $193 for two nights, while for Manila-Seoul, packages are available as low as $499 for four nights. All packages are inclusive of hotel accommodations.

The airline currently uses its two newly-acquired Boeing 757s. It is set to take delivery of a third 757 later this year for its expanding international service.

CEB vice president for passenger and cargo sales Salvador Ramirez said the Singapore service would cater to the leisure market and the overseas Filipino workers. According to statistics from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, some 26,305 OFWs left the country for Singapore last year.

Not counting OFW arrivals, Singapore’s tourism statistics pegged the Philippines as among the top 12 largest visitor-generatig markets in April and May this year, with 21,411 tourists from the Philippines in May alone.