Cebu Pacific launches direct flights to Chiang Mai

MANILA, Philippines — Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific is launching Manila trips to Chiang Mai to expand its coverage in tourist favorite Thailand.

This will make Cebu Pacific the lone airline linking to Chiang Mai directly, opening up an opportunity for Filipinos to reach the city at lower cost and quicker time.

Currently, Filipinos reach Chiang Mai through connecting flights, and this option requires up to 12 hours of travel time for P14,600 per way. On the contrary, a direct flight to Chiang Mai runs for just four hours, and airfares can go as low as P5,300, cheaper by P9,300.

Cebu Pacific will launch the direct flight to Chiang Mai on Oct. 29, jamming up its October schedule with new routes here and abroad. Initially, the airline will serve the route three times a week – Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

As a teaser, Cebu Pacific is hosting a seat sale until Aug. 6 to promote the route, selling flight tickets with a base fare of as low as P1 per way.

Buoyed by its recent expansion, Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Alexander Lao is certain the airline will reach its passenger target for the year of 24 million.

“We are really still looking at 24 million plus. I saw the initial numbers this morning, (and) I just like to validate it more. It feels like clearly we will be breaching the 24 million passenger number target that we set,” Lao said.

Lao attributed his confidence to the fact that Cebu Pacific is expanding its flight reach from hubs in Manila, Cebu and Clark. On top of this, the airline is seeing improvements in aviation supply, retrieving its jet engines quicker than was expected at the start of 2024.

In particular, Lao said engines are being returned in less than a year, even though the expectation was that the airline would wait more than a year. Cebu Pacific, like any other player in aviation, is grounding aircraft whose engines were recalled by Pratt & Whitney.

To date, Cebu Pacific offers the widest domestic network among Philippine carriers, flying to 35 local routes and 26 international cities, reaching as far as Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

The airline owned by the Gokongweis operates as many as 3,200 flights every week, and is set to increase that frequency with the addition of new routes in the fourth quarter.