Despite ongoing fears of an economic slowdown in Asia, the trans-pacific low cost market to Hawaii continues to heat up.
Cebu Pacific is the latest budget carrier planning a nonstop route to Honolulu, just days after Asian carriers Jin Air and AirAsia X confirmed they would begin flights to Hawaii before the end of the year.
The Philippines’ largest no frills carrier plans to start Manila-Honolulu flights next year.
"For Hawaii, the target is early next year but once we have the necessary approvals, we will make the announcement," said Cebu Pacific CEO Lance Gokongwei.
The airline had previously stated an intention to start flights this year.
There is currently no competition on the route since national carrier Philippine Airlines scrapped flights to Hawaii in 2013.
"We think it’s an attractive market because there’s a lot of Filipinos in Hawaii, and possibly there’s a lot of connecting traffic from Honolulu to the West Coast," Gokongwei said.
The US Federal Aviation Authority reinstated the Philippines’ aviation rating to Category 1 last year, allowing local carriers to apply for new routes to the US.
Cebu Pacific currently operates to 63 destinations and is on track to surpass its target of 18 million passengers for 2015, Gokongwei said.
