Cebu Pacific flies Manila-Osaka route

CEBU Pacific (CEB), the airline business unit of Gokongwei-owned conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc., will fly direct from Manila to Osaka, Japan three-times weekly starting November 20, 2008.

Using its 179-seater A320 aircraft, the new service departs every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and arrives in Osaka at 6:25 p.m. The return trip takes off at 7:10 p.m. and arrives in Manila at 10:05 p.m.

Osaka is CEB's first destination in Japan and it's fifteenth in Asia after Bangkok, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kaohsiung, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Pusan, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei.

Lance Gokongwei, CEB president and CEO, said: "Japan has a very active and vibrant travel market. This service will be strategically important to the country's tourism agenda and should also help us attain our goal of flying seven million passengers this year." He added: "the Manila-Osaka service will likewise allow our overseas Filipino workers to come home more frequently because of our trademark low fares. This will also generate interest among the Japanese market for our competitive medical and wellness tourism packages in the Philippines."

CEB is offering a one-way introductory fare of P1,999 on the Manila-Osaka route, a price cut of 70 percent from the current fares offered by other airlines. The seat sale runs from September 16 to 30 and is good for travel from November 20 to December 18, 2008. Fare is non-refundable and exclusive of applicable surcharges and government taxes. After the seat sale, the lowest year-round 'Go' fare is P3,999, still a price cut of 40 percent from the current fares offered by other airlines for this route.

CEB explained that passengers who avail of their 'Go Lite' fares could get P200 off of their fares. Bookings can be made via cebupacificair.com, CEB's call centers, sales offices or travel agents. Gokongwei emphasized: "with this long awaited announcement to fly to Japan, we hope that the public will take advantage of our seat sale and book their flights now." (PR)

-from SunStar Bacolod