Cebu Pacific plans to launch long-haul flights from the Philippines, starting in the third quarter of 2013.
The airline will lease up to eight Airbus A330-300 aircraft to serve new markets beyond the range of CEB’s current fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.
Possible markets include Australia, Middle East, parts of Europe and the US.
“The A330-300 will give us the lowest cost per seat, allowing us to drive long-haul fares 35 percent lower than those currently offered by other airlines, and as much as 80 percent lower when CEB offers promo fares,” said Lance Gokongwei, CEB president and CEO.
“We are exploring serving cities where large Filipino communities reside -Europe, Middle East, Oceania and the USA.
“Data indicates that more than half of Filipinos deployed in these regions take multiple stops and connecting flights because no home carrier can fly them there non-stop,” added Gokongwei.
CEB currently operates to 34 domestic destinations in the Philippines and 19 international destinations within Asia.
