CEB banks on low fares to entice people to travel

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the devastation brought about by the natural disasters that have shaken the momentum of the tourism industry in the Visayas, an airline company remains hopeful that Filipinos’ love for travel will not wane come 2014 through low-fares provided by the upbeat low-cost carriers in the country.

If Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) were to be asked, it said the robust aviation sector in the country brought down fares and promoted travel during the Year of the Water Snake.

CEB Vice President for Corporate Affairs Atty. Jorenz Tañada said CEB’s trademark lowest fares and extensive route network, for instance, allowed the listed budget airline to grow its domestic and international passengers by 10.8 percent in the first months of 2013 compared to the same period of last year.

He also attributed the sustained growth of the industry to the “It’s more Fun in the Philippines” campaign which was well-received internationally, especially in the early 2013.

“In the early part of  the year, we were  able to market “Fun Travel” to the Philippines in key Asian and Middle East destinations with tourism partners. The assignment of slots out of Manila also contributed to freeing up capacity, and allowed us to launch international flights out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA),” he said in a statement.

He added that the launch of several international and domestic routes this year also helped boost the accessibility to some of the tourist destinations in the country.

In its latest report, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA-7) said that the tourism target for the region has already achieved 56.7 percent average growth in the last three years. The sector is also perceived to hit the 3.3 million target arrival for this year.

Among the top economic drivers for the region include tourism in the list along with information technology and business process outsourcing/management, construction and real estate.  These sectors registered good performance in the last three quarters of  the year.

This year, CEB took delivery of a total of seven brand-new aircrafts that include two Airbus A330s and five Airbus A320s which are equipped with Sharklets. These are considered to be the first Sharklet-equipped aircraft operated by a Philippine carrier.

Sharklets are newly designed wing-tip devices allowing airlines to reduce fuel burn by up to 4% on longer sectors. They are an option on new-build A320 Family aircraft, and are standard on all members of  the A320neo Family.

These additional aircraft enabled the listed budget airline to increase its flight frequencies, upgrade its aircraft on select routes, and launch new destinations such as Cebu to Camiguin, Manila to Dubai, and Manila to Bali routes.

Tañada said that the tourism industry was admittedly affected by the natural calamities and security situations in the latter part of the year.

Evident to which are the several occasions when flight cancelations were deemed necessary, thus minimizing accessibility to the destination.

“There were periods when we had to cancel flights to places such as Zamboanga or Tacloban because of the situation at the time. Flights to Zamboanga have since resumed, while flights to Tacloban are currently operating at a reduced frequency,” he cited.

Department of Tourism (DOT-7) Regional Director Rowena Montecillo said that the industry is seen to recover within the short-term amid the challenges that struck the tourism sector towards the end of the year.

Tañada said that the aviation sector continues to work closely with the government towards the development of infrastructure that includes the establishment of night lights in airports such as Caticlan and Cagayan de Oro.

The industry, on the other hand, also supports the initiatives of the government in minimizing air traffic congestion out of the Manila airport.

He further noted that CEB will continue to operate with a passenger growth outlook of 10 to 15 percent in the Year of the Wooden Horse.

He also revealed that by next year, CEB shall be taking delivery of five brand-new Airbus A320 aircrafts equipped with Sharklets and three Airbus A330 aircrafts that will be used to expand its short-haul and long-haul operations and replace some expiring operating leases. 

He also pointed out that the overall growth of the airline company will be dependent on the various factors such as air rights, seat entitlements and airport infrastructure, among others.

“We believe the aviation sector will continue to be a key contributor to the local and national economy. We hope to continue to encourage domestic tourism and provide overseas Filipinos more opportunities to be with their families by visiting each other,” he stated.

CEB operates the most extensive network in the Philippines with 32 domestic destinations and hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark, Iloilo, Kalibo and Davao. It offers 21 international destinations, namely Bangkok, Bali, Beijing, Brunei, Busan, Dubai, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Incheon (Seoul), Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Osaka, Shanghai, Siem Reap, Singapore, Taipei and Xiamen. /JOB (FREEMAN)