Recently, several airlines have announced new routes to/from Cebu, which will include a historic first direct air link from the central Philippine city to Australia, and new connections to Southeast Asia and the US.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mactan-Cebu International Airport – the Philippines' central, and second biggest air hub – has seen a growth of passenger traffic and routes. This has been to the benefit of those who reside in and tourists visiting the central and southern parts of the Philippines by opening up more flight options via Cebu. As exciting as it has been, there will be a further growth of routes from the Mactan-Cebu Airport with new connections starting before the year's end.
Several airlines have announced new routes to/from Cebu, which will include a historic first direct airlink from the central Philippine city to Australia, and new connections to Southeast Asia and the US.
A Series of Announcements
The series of announcements of the new connections from Cebu started during the summer with an airline that will launch the first route to the central Philippine city from Australia – Jetstar.
In mid-July, the Qantas Group budget carrier Jetstar announced it will launch a new seasonal route connecting Brisbane and Cebu on December 3. Using Airbus A321LR aircraft, Jetstar will operate three weekly flights between the two cities. The new route is part of the Qantas Group's expansion in the Philippines which will also include a new route operated by Jetstar between Perth and Manila which will start a few days before the Brisbane-Cebu route on November 27.
Following Jetstar, the second airline to announce a new route from Cebu was Cebu Pacific. Already with the largest network from Cebu with 15 routes, the Philippine-based budget carrier is adding a new route to the popular resort destination of El Nido on the western island of Palawan with daily flights starting October 26.
Just days after Cebu Pacific's annoucement, AirAsia Philippines announced the reopening of its hub in Cebu. Currently operating flights between Manila and Cebu, AirAsia Philippines will launch 3 domestic and 2 international routes from Cebu starting November 15. On that day, the Philippine-based AirAsia subsidiary will launch domestic connections to Caticlan, Davao, and Iloilo along with international flights to Kuala Lumpur and Macau.
Joining AirAsia Philippines in launching flights between Cebu and Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia Aviation Group's (MAG) subsidiary Firefly. Part of its own network expansion, MAG announced Firefly will start its own competing Kuala Lumpur-Cebu service on December 2.
Among the airlines, one of the most interesting routes that have been announced came from Philippine Airlines. While Philippine Airlines announced a new domestic route to Calbayog on October 26, the route announcement that caught the attention of many observers was to the US territory of Guam in the western Pacific. First announced in late September, Philippine Airlines will launch direct flights from Cebu to Guam with three weekly flights from December 16. Philippine Airlines will use Airbus A321 aircraft on the new route.
While not confirmed from the airline, aeroroutes has reported that Vietnam Airlines will expand its services in the Philippines with a new route between Hanoi and Cebu. Starting December 2, the thrice-weekly flights will see the use of the airline's A321 aircraft on the route.
AirAsia Philippines' Investment in Cebu
Among the airlines that have announced new routes from Cebu, AirAsia Philippines slate of routes marks a comeback for its hub at Cebu and a major investment in the central Philippine city.
Previously, AirAsia Philippines had operated other routes from Cebu such as to Seoul and Tokyo (Narita) which were suspended. The airline has since operated the majority of its domestic and international flights with its Airbus A320 aircraft fleet to/from Manila.
This time, AirAsia Philippines is relaunching its hub in Cebu which the airline has stated will be supported by its ongoing pilot and cabin crew recruitment drive. The newly hired pilots and crew will be based in Cebu. Now past the pandemic and with a growth in passenger traffic to/from Cebu, AirAsia sees the city as a major part of its growth strategy in the Philippines.
In its announcement of the Cebu hub relaunch, AirAsia Philippines President & Chief Executive Officer Suresh Bangah said: “Cebu remains a major driver in realizing our growth story in the Philippines. We recognize the value of this very important route, connecting via Cebu to key domestic and international leisure markets. We look forward to further broadening opportunities in the tourism sector, helping generate jobs and ultimately contributing to inclusive economic growth. This initiative also allowed us to welcome new allstar pilots, cabin crew and ramp agents who will augment the manpower requirements.”
Going forward, AirAsia Philippines will be the third biggest airline at the Mactan-Cebu Airport based on its network. It will offer more, low-cost travel options to/from the central Philippines along with connections to other destinations on the AirAsia network through the airline group's big hub at Kuala Lumpur.
The airline will also offer more options for travelers from Cebu within the Philippines to Boracay via Caticlan, and Iloilo. However, its route to Davao will mark a return for AirAsia to the southern city since it suspended its flights between Manila and Davao earlier this year.
The Three Most Interesting New Routes from Cebu
Of the new routes that the several airlines have announced that will be launched from Cebu, the three that stand out the most are to Brisbane, Kuala Lumpur, and Guam.
Jetstar's new seasonal Brisbane-Cebu route will be a historic route that will open a new connection from Cebu to Australia. It will provide an alternative for travelers looking for flights between the Philippines and Australia, as prior to this announcement a majority of the flights between the two countries – operated by the likes of Qantas, Cebu Pacific, and Philippine Airlines – have been limited to Manila.
At present, Jetstar's parent company Qantas operates flights to Manila from Brisbane and Sydney. With the addition of the Perth-Manila (starting November 27) and Brisbane-Cebu routes, the Qantas Group will operate a combined four routes between the Philippines and Australia by year's end. With the four routes, it will tie Philippine Airlines with its four routes from Manila to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane). It will jump ahead of Cebu Pacific's two routes (Manila-Sydney and Manila-Melbourne).
The second most interesting route will be the Kuala Lumpur-Cebu route. While AirAsia previously served the route, now there will be Firefly and AirAsia Philippines providing the connection from Cebu to one of Southeast Asia's major air hubs. From Kuala Lumpur, travelers can make onward connections on AirAsia Group carrier flights including those operated by long-haul arm AirAsia X. Firefly's flights can be booked via Malaysia Airlines' website with connections on Malaysia Airlines-operated flights to cities in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and India.
Finally, Philippine Airlines' new Cebu-Guam route was probably the most surprising announcement. It will provide a new connection to a US territory or state from Cebu, though it is not the first. From March 2016 until May 2017, Philippine Airlines operated flights between Cebu and Los Angeles. Following the suspension, Philippine Airlines later planned for a restart of the route during the summer of 2020 before it was shelved due the COVID-19 pandemic. Since pandemic, the airline resumed and expanded its US network from Manila operating flights to Guam, Honolulu, New York-JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Unlike the long-haul routes to the US that require the use of the widebody Boeing 777 aircraft, Guam is located around 2500 kilometers east of the Philippines. Home to a Filipino community that is 30% of the island's population (179,000), the airline intends to provide a new option for travelers to/from Guam with connections via Cebu to other cities in the central and southern Philippines. Philippine Airlines currently uses the smaller Airbus A321 aircraft on the Manila-Guam flights, and it will do the same from Cebu. The airline already relies on A321 aircraft on its international flights from Cebu, which is a less costly option than getting a widebody aircraft from its Manila hub for a direct flight to Los Angeles or San Francisco.
However, this is also the route that I have the most doubts. While there is a Filipino community on Guam, there are two issues that Philippine Airlines will need to address for the Cebu-Guam route – the requirements and cost for Filipinos to obtain US visas and the lack of connecting options at Guam to other US cities.
According to the US Department of State, the non-refundable visa application fee for non-immigrants starts from USD $185 (~PHP 10750). This does not account for the requirement for the applicant to be present for their interview, and the costs for the visa if approved. The cost alone for the visa application is already comparable to round-trip tickets to other destinations from Cebu such as to Japan, South Korea, and other cities in Southeast Asia. Many of these destinations do not require a visa. Those unable to obtain a US visa already have great and cheaper travel destination options within the region.
Along with the small Filipino community on Guam, Philippine Airlines does not have any codeshare connections from Guam to other cities in the US. American Airlines – which has a codeshare partnership with Philippine Airlines – does not operate on Guam. United Airlines is the only airline with a direct flight to a US city from Guam – Honolulu – or the nearby island of Saipan. I can see the Cebu-Guam route as a seasonal service to complement the Manila-Guam flights during the peak summer and winter travel periods.
With the newly announced airline routes from Cebu, it will be an exciting time especially for the operator of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the local governments Lapu-Lapu – where the airport is located – Cebu City, and the Province of Cebu as whole. The new routes further strengthens Cebu as the second air hub of the Philippines.
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