AirAsia launches Cebu-KL flight

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu becomes AirAsia Zest’s newest international flight hub as the first-ever direct flight to Kuala Lumpur was launched yesterday, carrying 128 guests in a nearly four-hour straight ride to the Malaysian capital.

Flight Z2 187, operated by an all-Filipino crew, left Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) at 6:00 a.m. yesterday and arrived at Kuala Lumpur’s Low Cost Carrier Terminal at 9:50 a.m.

The return flight from KL touched down at MCIA at around 2:50 p.m. yesterday, where a traditional water-dousing ceremony on its Airbus A320 ensued.

In a statement, officials said the move is expected to drum up interest from the 25-million Malaysian tourist base to consider Cebu as another travel destination “at a time that local tourism industry needs it most.”

“AirAsia Zest, the Filipino low cost carrier that flies hand in hand with AirAsia, is committed to build a truly great value airline that will serve the needs of the Filipino travelers and invigorate the tourism industry in the country,” said AirAsia Zest executive vice president and chief operating officer Joy Caneba.

Caneba said Cebu to KL flights will provide another link for Filipinos and Malaysians in the areas of trade and commerce.

“If we are able to draw even a fraction of Malaysia’s millions of annual tourists, it will have a significant impact on our tourist arrival record, which translates to more jobs, more food on the table and more opportunities,” she said.

In a report released by the Department of Tourism (DOT) last October, the Malaysians remained elusive to the Philippine tourism industry after they failed to enter into the top 10 groups of tourists who visit the country in 2013.

MCIA general manager Nigel Paul Villarete said AirAsia Zest’s newest flight offer will help complement the leveling up of the Cebu airport, whose bidding process for its scheduled makeover is now entering the final stage.

Villarete expressed optimism that with the Cebu airport opening its doors to other key foreign links, this would help it gain ground as a top aviation center in the country.

He recalled that the world’s biggest aircraft Antonov An-225 from Ukraine landed in Mactan at early morning of November 12, 2013 to deliver a 140-ton power generator to the Philippines.

“If an Antonov could land in Mactan, then we can get anything else to land here,” Villarete said.

Meanwhile, apart from its direct flight to KL, AirAsia Zest also announced yesterday it will be adding two new international routes from Cebu. This will include flights to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia which will inaugurate on December 19, as well as flights to Incheon, South Korea scheduled to be serviced by mid-December.

AirAsia Zest is a Philippines-based airline company of 13 aircrafts. It also serves domestic destinations of Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, Cebu, Davao, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro, with international points in Asia including China and South Korea from its hub in Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.— (FREEMAN)