Budget carriers resume more foreign flights

MANILA, Philippines — Budget airlines continue to resume direct flights to three Southeast Asian neighbors as part of their efforts to speed up recovery and return to pre-pandemic level of capacity.

Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific reinstated its direct flights from Cebu to Singapore last Friday to mark the second international route, both of which outside of Manila, that it reopened in July.

Flight 5J 547 flies out of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport at 11:05 in the evening and lands at the Changi International Airport at three in the morning.

The return flight leaves Singapore at four in the morning and arrives at Cebu four hours and five minutes later. Cebu Pacific operates the Cebu-Singapore route every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while it sends out the Singapore-Cebu plane on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Cebu Pacific chief commercial officer Xander Lao said that the reactivation of the Cebu flights to Singapore allows passengers from 22 domestic destinations to reach the Southeast Asian neighbor without passing through Manila.

As such, the resumption is expected to benefit mostly travelers coming from the Visayas and Mindanao.

“This route resumption is part of our continuous efforts to restore our pre-pandemic system-wide capacity,” Lao said.

Last week, Cebu Pacific also resumed its international flights outside Manila by reinstating the Cebu to Seoul route, the first since the pandemic disrupted travel in 2020.

Likewise, low-cost airline AirAsia Philippines is reopening two of its Manila flights to tourist hotspots in Southeast Asia.

Starting July 17, Flight Z2 287 departs from Manila to Bangkok twice a week, every Wednesday and Sunday. The plane flies out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 5:35 in the afternoon and lands at the Don Mueang International Airport at 8:05 in the evening, while the return flight takes off from Bangkok at 8:35 at night and grounds at Manila at 1:05 in the morning.

AirAsia also restarted its Manila-Bali and vice versa route with two flights every week on Fridays and Sundays via the Ngurah Rai International Airport. Flight Z2 231 leaves Manila at 9:15 in the evening and gets to Bali two hours later, while the return plane flies out of Bali at 11:40 at night and reaches Manila three hours after.

Using pre-pandemic numbers, AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla said Bangkok and Bali ranked seventh and 10th, respectively, as the most visited destinations among the 32 routes managed by the low-cost carrier.

“Reopening our Bangkok and Bali routes is part of our aggressive route expansion strategy, as we sustain the momentum to recovery,” Isla said.