Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) will effectively double its Japan services on December 20, when it is due to launch daily Manila-Osaka flights.
The Philippine low-cost carrier currently operates flights between the two destinations every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The new services will be flown by an all-economy A320, with 179 seats in a 3-3 configuration. This will result in a capacity increase of 133 per cent.
According to the Ministry of Justice there are 305,972 Filipinos living in Japan, making them the country’s third-largest foreign community, along with Brazilians.
CEB’s expansion of Japan services comes less than a month after the two countries signed a confidential memorandum of understanding (CMOU), which also saw the lifting of an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) ban that has kept Philippine carriers from launching additional Japan services. The restrictions originally came about following safety concerns raised by the ICAO against the Philippines back in 2008. The country has since passed a safety and security audit by the organisation.
The news is part of CEB’s extensive expansion plans, which also includes new long-haul destinations and increasing its regional network (see here).
For more information, visit www.cebupacific.com
Clement Huang
