Philippine Airlines flights to and from Manila will be replaced by sister company Air Philippines starting on October 27.
In a press statement, Philippine Airlines President Dante Ang said PAL is not stopping its operations in any of its existing routes but is merely realigning its operations.
“Let me assure you that we are not discontinuing service to any of our existing local routes,” he said.
PAL’s sister company, low-cost carrier Airphil Express will take over the PAL operations in Dumaguete, arriving from Manila at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily.
Airphil Express will soon be renamed PAL Express under a code-sharing agreemen with its parent firm, the statement said.
“The change in name is an affirmation that both airlines share the same exceptional standards of safety and customer service,” Ang said.
In the wake of this announcement, Cebu Pacific has also declared that it is ready to mount more flights to Dumaguete and other local destinations other carriers plan to abandon later this month.
CEB, the country’s largest carrier said in a statement it can fill the void and prevent any disruption in travel connectivity within the country to help support economic, business and tourism growth.
Candice Iyog, CEB vice president for marketing and distribution, said they have enough planes and more are coming this year and in the next few years to cover key local destinations and mount additional flights.
Aside from Dumaguete, CEB is open to adding flights or exploring more route opportunities to and from Butuan, Cotabato, Cagayan de Oro, Dipolog, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Tacloban and Zamboanga. These are cities where Philippine Airlines will be taken over by Air Philippines.
“CEB’s domestic passengers grew by 18% in the 1st half of 2012, compared to the same period last year. Through CEB’s 60 domestic routes and constant seat sales, local and foreign travellers can take advantage of CEB’s accessible options to travel to different parts of the country, via our hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark, Davao, Iloilo and Kalibo,” Iyog said.
CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 21 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 38 aircraft — with an average age of 3.6 years — is the largest aircraft fleet in the Philippines. Between 2012 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 21 more Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders. It is slated to begin long-haul services in the 3rd quarter of 2013. (PR)