China flights cutback due to low demand

MANILA (UPDATE)- Cebu Pacific said it is holding a 'Piso Sale' for its new Manila-Chiang Mai, Thailand route as it also announced plans to reduce flight frequencies to China.

The Philippine's largest carrier said it will begin operating the Manila-Chiang flights on Oct. 29, and will fly three times weekly — every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Chiang Mai to Manila flights, meanwhile, will also operate three times weekly, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

Travelers may book flights from Manila to Chiang Mai for as low as P1 one-way base fare, exclusive of fees and surcharges, the airline said. The travel period will be from Oct. 29, 2024 to March 30, 2025.

"With flights to Chiang Mai made more accessible and affordable, Filipino travelers may now embark on scenic trails in Doi Inthanon National Park, enjoy a leisurely stroll in Mae Rim District, or visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep — one of the most venerated temples in Chiang Mai," the Gokongwei-led airline said.

The Chiang Mai will be the fourth route that Cebu Pacific will operate in Thailand.

CHINA TOURISM YET TO RECOVER

The airline said it is reducing its flights to and from China as it looks into secondary cities of various Southeast Asian countries instead. 

Cebu Pacific President Xander Lao said there has been a lower demand for China flights and this is affecting not just Cebu Pacific, but other foreign airlines as well. China’s outbound tourism sector is still recovering following the pandemic and there are also geopolitical concerns.

“Clearly the demand from China, at least for us, has not been as robust compared to 2019. Some of the additional flying we’re seeing today is because we reduced some of our China flights,” Lao said.

“We have to be pragmatic as well considering the existing relationship between the Philippines and China. It’s better suited for us to redeploy our assets,” he added.

Cebu Pacific still has yet to resume flights to Beijing. It currently flies to four cities in mainland China - Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Xiamen. But in the winter schedule staring around October, more flights will be removed. Prior to the pandemic, there were 18 - 21 frequencies per week to mainland China, but by the fourth quarter of the year that will go down to 6 to 8.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN DESTINATIONS SURPRISE

Cebu Pacific is now looking at secondary cities like Chiang Mai in Thailand. This comes after the successful route to Da Nang, Vietnam last year, which Lao said they were ‘pleasantly surprised’ by the demand for the new route.

With the new destinations, Cebu Pacific is confident of surpassing its growth target.

“Right now officially our target is 24 million this 2024, but I think we'll certainly breach that," he said.

Lao is also confident of the growth of the travel sector in the Philippines due to the construction of new airports as well as privatization of Ninoy Aquino International Airport starting September. He said he is excited for the improvements and new developments at NAIA.

“We are in conversations with the New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation or NNIC. We are closely, I guess, providing them a couple of things- what are our growth ambitions, what do we think we intend to do with the airport,” he said.

The airline is now on wait and see mode on the possibility airport fees will be increased due to the privatization. The budget carrier hopes any fee adjustments won’t affect its fares.

“We're a bit concerned, but having said that any privatization, we should expect some of the prices will increase… to see how we can possibly defer or reduce the impact of some of these charges,” Lao said.

Cebu Pacific is confident for its growth having announced it will order up to 152 aircraft from Airbus worth over a trillion pesos, considered the largest aircraft purchase order in Philippine aviation history.

The company recently announced that it was ordering 152 new airplanes from Airbus worth P1.4 trillion, in what has been dubbed as the biggest aviation deal in Philippine history.