Cebu airport eyes more global routes

CEBU, Philippines — GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., the operator of Mactan-Cebu International Airport, is continuously working to directly connect Cebu to more international destinations moving forward, a company executive said.

Aines Librodo, airline marketing head at GMCAC, said the consortium operator has been working to promote Cebu as an alternate gateway to the Philippines.

"We want to connect Cebu to more destinations abroad," she said during a recent event at the airport's Terminal 2.

Following the opening of Terminal 2 last July, MCIA is seeing an increase in the frequency of flights from both domestic and international carriers.

Last October, Sichuan Airlines increased flights to Chonging from four times weekly to daily, while Philippine Airlines increased flights to Nagoya from three times to four times weekly.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific increased flights to Hong Kong from daily to ten times weekly starting last November 26; and flights to Tokyo Narita from four times weekly to daily starting December 1.

Last Friday, the budget airline also started operating four times weekly Cebu to Macau flights.

Passenger throughout continued to drive airport revenues, according to Megawide Construction Corp. in a recent stock exchange disclosure.

In the first nine months of this  year, MCIA accommodated 8.6 million passengers compared with 7.5 million in the same period last year, as a result of aggressive airline marketing efforts to increase domestic and international flights in and out of Cebu.

Airport operations posted a 26 percent growth in revenues to P2.18 billion, attributed largely to the 15 percent increase in passenger volume. International passengers continue to drive growth, outpacing the growth of domestic passengers, 24 percent to 11 percent, following the T2 opening.

Currently, MCIA is connected to 35 domestic destinations and 25 international destinations, with 9 domestic airline partners and 24 international airline partners.

Domestic passengers continued to account for the bulk of the total at 66 percent while international passengers accounted for 34 percent.

Cebu-North Asia

Cebu Pacific Air is set to mount new routes from Cebu to North Asia destinations next year as it looks to boost its hub in the country's second busiest air gateway.

Blessie Cruz, the company's director for marketing, said the budget carrier remains keen to expand its footprint in Cebu.

"As we welcome new aircraft into the Cebu Pacific and Cebgo fleets, trust that we will continue to expand our footprint in Cebu to address pent-up demand in the region," she said at the send-off ceremony of the airline's Cebu-Macau inaugural flight last Friday. "For 2019 alone, we plan to boost flights from Cebu by about 20 percent—with new routes that cater to North Asia markets."

The Cebu-Macau direct flight, the carrier's fifth international route from Cebu, is part of its Cebu network expansion to cater to a growing number of leisure travelers.

"We are committed to expanding our air services out of Cebu, providing Cebuanos and residents of neighboring provinces in the Visayas with more travel options," Cruz said.

Cebu and Macau have charming complements for leisure travel—having been former colonies. Both have much to offer tourists.

"Moreover, Macau serves as a gateway to the bustling Pearl River Delta of China, a key global trading and industrial center," the official said, citing the direct Cebu-Macau route will provide a logistics support to further stimulate two-way trade and investments.

"With the opening of the Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, we expect to further boost both trade and tourism between Cebu and Macau," she added. (FREEMAN)