Philippines low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific has announced its plans to further increase routes out of its hub, Clark Airport (CRK).
Clark Airport it located 50 miles north of the Philippine capital, Manila and the 13 domestic and international routes will make Cebu the largest airline serving the region of northern and central Luzon.
Announcing the latest news, Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer, Xander Lao, said: “We are excited to re-establish our presence in such an important gateway that will boost accessibility and connectivity for the traveling public.”
“Furthermore, it allows us to boost our third operating hub in the Philippines that will help generate economic opportunities to support the country’s growth agenda”
Network expansion = more jobs
With new routes, brings a requirement for more resource, as such Cebu will initiate a hiring drive foreseeing the need for at least 140 new employees. Spread across jobs such as pilots, cabin crew and ground services staff at CRK.
International Air Transport Association data shows that for every one job in the air travel industry, there are 29 other jobs needed downstream in related sectors.
The airline prides itself on the fact that this suggest there could potentially be 4,000 other jobs created for local people with this network increase.
“Clark International Airport (CRK) and Cebu Pacific are committed to delivering a seamless and hassle-free travel experience to our passengers, said Noel Manakil, President of the the private consortium that manages Clark International Airport.
“With the resumption of pre-pandemic Cebu Pacific flights and the introduction of new routes, travelers may now seamlessly connect international and domestic destinations from this world-class terminal.”
The five weekly International destinations will see Cebu travel from Clark to: Hong Kong 14 times weekly, Bangkok and Singapore seven times a week, Narita four times and Macau three flights per week.
Domestically, Cebu will fly to Caticlan twice daily from April, operate Clark – Davao eleven times a week and Clark – Cebu seven times a week.
The remaining domestic destinations are all planned to be in operation by June at the latest, and all will be flying three times a week. See the table below for the full schedule.
Sustainable fleet expansion – a sign of things to come
To help support this network growth, Cebu will be placing three additional aircraft at Clark International.
The carrier operates a predominantly Airbus fleet (with the exception of 20 ATR aircraft) and part of its planned expansion will see its aircraft roster grow to over 80 jets with 10 more due throughout 2023.
On top of fleet expansion, sustainability improvements are atop Cebu’s list of objectives. The new Airbus aircraft will operate on a mix of conventional fossil fuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
SAF fuel will support up to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions across the lifecycle of the fuel, whilst not having a negative impact on either performance or maintenance.
Chief Strategy Officer, Alex Reyes said this about their sustainability objectives: “This SAF-powered aircraft delivery supports our sustainability strategy in shifting to a more fuel-efficient NEO fleet by 2028.”
“We will continue prioritizing our sustainability journey as we maintain our position as the greenest airline in Asia”
Noting how the industry is showing signs of a full recovery in a post pandemic world, Jaime Bautista of The Department of Transportation said: “This would steer the transport sector, specifically the aviation industry, toward full recovery.”
“The increased connectivity from Clark will also help develop the station as a premiere hub for aviation and international logistics in the Asia-Pacific region”.
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