Cebu Pacific (CEB) plans to extend its services to include long-haul destinations in the third quarter of 2013.
The airline will lease a fleet of up to eight Airbus A330-300 aircraft in order to serve target markets in Australia, Middle East, Europe and the US.
“The A330-300 will give us the lowest cost per seat, allowing us to drive long-haul fares 35 per cent lower than those currently offered by other airlines, and as much as 80 per cent lower when CEB offers promo fares. This aircraft type is very well suited to the kind of network we want to build and the routes we want to launch,” said Lance Gokongwei, president and chief executive of the airline.
“We are exploring serving cities where large Filipino communities reside – Europe, Middle East, Oceania and the US. Data indicate that more than half of the Filipinos deployed in these regions take multiple stops and connecting flights because no home carrier can fly them there non-stop,” added Gokongwei.
The airline currently operates a lineup of 37 aircraft, and will add an additional 23 Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft to its fleet by 2021.
An increasing number of budget airlines are introducing longer routes to grab shares of a market traditionally dominated by legacy carriers. In mid-January, AirAsia X announced the launch of a Kuala Lumpur-Sydney service (see story here), while Singapore Airline's low-cost offshoot Scoot is poised to commence services to Sydney from its Singapore hub in mid 2012 (see story here).
Last week, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) predicted a challenging year ahead for the aviation industry, citing the growing number of low-cost carriers (LCC) as a factor contributing to overcapacity in the market (see story here). But legacy carriers seem to see it as healthy competition and stress that LCCs are vying for a different clientele.
"We welcome all kinds of competition, however, we do not believe low-cost carriers will challenge our position. We remain confident in our world-class services to Europe. As a full-service airline, we strongly believe that we offer our customers flying to Europe the very best value for money," said a spokesperson from British Airways.
Jetstar Asia, the low-cost subsidiary of Qantas, has already launched several long-haul flights, including its services to Auckland and Melbourne from Singapore (see story here). “The Qantas Group is still the only legacy airline to have successfully introduced a low cost carrier into markets alongside its premium brand and grow both businesses. Jetstar is delivering cost leadership in the Australian market and is emerging as a true Pan-Asian brand,” said a spokesperson from Qantas.
For a feature on low-cost carriers, click here.
For more information, visit www.cebupacificair.com
Tiffany Sandrasageran
