Budget airline Cebu Pacific said Monday it will mount direct flights between Manila and Melbourne, Australia in August this year.
“The launch of our service between Melbourne and Manila will give travelers from Australia seamless connections to other destinations in the Philippines at year-round low fares. This will enable Filipinos living in the Melbourne area to visit their families more often, and encourage more Australian tourists to spend their holidays in the Philippines,” Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific’s vice-president for marketing and distribution, said.
“More importantly, we hope to strengthen trade between the Philippines and Australia through more cargo capacity on direct flights that are more affordable. This will benefit importers and exporters, as well as retailers bringing products in both countries,” she said.
This is the airline’s second destination in Australia following the launch of its direct Manila-Sydney route in 2014. Since its entry, tourist arrivals from the Philippines has become one of the fastest-growing source markets for Australia, with an average 16-percent increase over the past four years.
Prior to the entry of Cebu Pacific, tourist arrivals from the Philippines was at about 70,000. Since 2014, that number has steadily climbed to over 120,000.
The airline is offering a special promo fare for the Melbourne launch of P2,199 from Feb. 27 to March 3, valid for travel from Aug. 14 to Oct. 31, 2018.
The Manila-Melbourne service leads Cebu Pacific on another expansion path across the region, further boosting a network that now spans over 106 routes on 37 domestic and 26 international destinations.
It operates an extensive network across Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the US.
The carrier operates out of seven hubs in the Philippines: Manila, Clark, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Kalibo and Iloilo.
Cebu Pacific expects delivery of the first of its brand new Airbus A321ceo aircraft in the next few weeks. Between 2018 and 2022, the airline expects delivery of six additional Airbus A321ceo, 32 Airbus A321neo and eight ATR 72-600.