AirAsia is offering discounted one-way flights to several destinations in the Philippines. Cebu to Davao flights can be availed for as low as P98, while Manila flights to Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Kalibo, and Tacloban can be booked for only P288.
For as low as P317, travelers from Manila can book flights to Caticlan (Boracay), Bohol, Davao, Iloilo, General Santos and Puerto Princesa.
Budget carrier Cebu Pacific on Monday announced a P99 seat sale for domestic flights one-way from Clark International Airport.
In an advisory, the airline said the sale started Monday, August 19, and will end on Wednesday, August 21.
The travel period is from October 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020.
The P99 one-way flights are Clark to Bacolod, Bohol, Boracay (Caticlan), Cebu, Clark, Davao, Iloilo, and Puerto Princesa.
Aside from Clark, Cebu Pacific operates flights out of six other strategically placed hubs in the Philippines: Manila, Kalibo, Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan) and Davao.
The carrier operates over 2,000 weekly flights across 37 domestic and 26 international destinations.
Davao City’s renowned chocolate brand will give flavor to a new AirAsia Philippines in-flight meal – an addition to the carrier’s Asian menu.
On Thursday, April 5, AirAsia Philippines revealed its roasted dalandan chicken with pimiento sauce. While considered a main course, one of the meal’s ingredients is chocolate produced by Malagos Agri-Ventures Corporation.
“This will put us into the spotlight, and hopefully more and more potential partners would be looking at us,” said Rex Victor Puentespina, sales and marketing head of the firm behind the Malagos Chocolate brand.
AirAsia Philippines, which tapped Bacolod master chef JP Anglo for the concept, will carry the meal in all of its domestic and international flights beginning April 12.
Dexter Comendador, the carrier’s chief executive officer, said they added the meal to their in-flight Santan menu to bring in social entrepreneurs “who all value a strong, innovative service culture.”
The Puentespina family’s firm was recognized in Paris last year for its cacao beans. While the samples they sent to the International Cocoa Awards did not make it to the top 18, it was still a feat for the family who ventured into cacao farming more than a decade ago.
It also recently hammered a deal with Krispy Kreme for a doughnut product in the region.
The carrier also announced on Thursday its move to sell handwoven products made by social entrepreneurs from Manila, Davao, and Cebu “on all AirAsia flights across 180 destinations.”
These include handwoven items by ANTHILL, which sources its items from direct partners in indigenous communities in the Philippines.
They say Jollibee is an indicator of progress. There’s this notion that when there is a branch of Jollibee in a place, it can be considered as a city. This may not be necessarily true but no one can argue that Jollibee, indeed, is an indicator of progress as it genuinely brings happiness to a place through its good food and “happy place” set-up. This year, Dabawenyos living near Puan, Davao City have more reasons to be happy as Jollibee – Puan branch opened last January 19.
The newest store is the 27th branch of Jollibee in Davao City and 130th in Mindanao. It is open 24 hours and has a Drive Thru store. Just like any store opening, it started with a blessing a day earlier, a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the day and a Chicken Joy toast. The store team was also introduced to the customers. The first-day customers were also entertained with a Jollitown Dance by the Jollibee store management team. LanghapSarap meals were also offered to those who graced the event.
AirAsia expressed interest in expanding its services in the Philippines to include flights from Davao City to key cities in China, Korea and Malaysia, Department of Finance says in statement.
THe deparment had issued the statement on Monday citing results of meeting between Philippines Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
Fernandes said on Monday the lowering or scrapping of airport or departure tax in small airports will help realize airline’s expansion plans in Philippines.
Dominguez will look into possibility of airports selling or leasing gates to airlines at different rates depending on landing times, in lieu of imposing airport taxes.
The Philippines has taken another step towards an integrated flight network with two new routes serving Davao City. Cebu Pacific is now running regular services from the Mindanaoan city to Dumaguete and Tacloban.
The airline’s subsidiary Cebgo will fly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to and from Dumaguete, and on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Saturday to and from Tacloban.
The fare from Davao to Dumaguete is pegged at 2,590 pesos and and at 2,142 for Davao to Tacloban.
Airline spokeswoman Charo Logarta Lagamon said: “Cebu Pacific remains bullish over prospects in Mindanao.
“We remain optimistic that new routes would benefit not only Davaoeños, but Mindanaoans in general, in terms of strengthening family and cultural ties, fostering domestic tourism and education exchange, and helping harness trade and business opportunities.
“Our new intra-island routes provide Mindanaoans convenient air connections; and support the government’s push for more infrastructure investments in Mindanao.”
Ping Remollo, the Mayor of Dumaguete, said: “My hats off to Cebu Pacific for being the pioneer in Dumaguete; for coming in during the time when no other airline would fly to what was considered then a missionary route.
“The new Davao-Dumaguete route will usher in more flights and improve connectivity. It will increase economic development, extending beyond Negros Oriental to nearby Siquijor; and link Davaoeños and Dumagueteños closer.
“The Dumaguete City Council will work with our Davao counterpart to forge a partnership between our cities for tourism development.”
Davao City councillor Danilo Dayanghirang, representing Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio at the launch, said: “The Philippines is becoming smaller because of Cebu Pacific.
“We look forward to more flights between cities around the country as we move towards a stronger Philippines.”
Mrs Lagamon said the new routes would also boost trade and industry in the south. “Additional routes also expand our cargo service capability,” she said.
“This will mean faster and more efficient means for traders, exporters and entrepreneurs to move their products and raw materials; or for our overseas Filipinos to be able to send their packages back home easier.
“We are optimistic that the overall improvement in our cargo logistics network in Mindanao will boost the local economy.”
The new Davao routes join existing Cebu Pacific services to Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Zamboanga and Manila — the last of which is now served by four daily flights.
Davao is now more connected within domestic destinations as Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) launched on Thursday, July 27, at the Marco Polo Hotel Davao two more flights between Davao and the cities of Dumaguete and Tacloban harnessing over 10 million-strong combined market.
The airline, starting last Wednesday, July 26, is now flying three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) between Davao and Dumaguete and four times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday) from Davao to Tacloban and vice versa starting Thursday, July 27. Department of Tourism assistant secretary Eden Josephine Davaid, in a statement, said with over eight million tourist arrivals in Mindanao, and Western and Central Visayas key areas (Dumaguete and Tacloban) one million combined tourist arrivals, the new connections will serve over 10 million tourists, both domestic and foreign. “Plus we add Cebu cities and provinces 700,000 tourists and Masbate’s 250,000-strong tourist arrivals, endless opportunities await with this newly-launched route,” David said.
CEB corporate communications director Charo Lagamon said with the new routes, Davao’s position as one of the airline’s hubs in Mindanao is strengthened. Representing Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang said these direct flights answer the market’s growing need for inter-island connectivity. The routes, he said, is reflective of the competitiveness and reliability of CEB. “It will not only increase tourists and trade among three cities, it will make the residents closer with each other,” Dayanghirang said quoting Duterte-Carpio. Davao City Tourism Operations Officer head Generose Tecson said the launching of new routes are a welcome development for all three cities.
“It opens more avenues for business and tourism arrivals, for Davao most especially. Being the gateway in Southern Mindanao, everyone going around has to touch base with our city first,” Tecson said. Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, for his part said, the city tourism offices of the cities will work closely to promote tourism in each city, thus, inviting more tourists.
“To cater the growing number of tourists, we will continue to encourage investors to put up hotels, convention centers to accommodate the people,” Remollo said adding Dumaguete has a bed capacity of over 5,000 rooms. He added that with the air link between Davao and Dumaguete, connectivity between Mindanao and Siquijor will be enhanced. The flights will be carried by the Cebgo fleet of ATR aircraft. Aside from the direct Davao flights, CEB also launched flights between Cebu and Masbate, Zamboanga and Cotabato, and Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga. Dayanghirang, however, asked the airline to push more routes to and from Davao.
One of the routes pushed is the Davao-Bohol air link. “We hope to launch more routes to and from Davao City,” Lagamon said. Go Hotels, a sister company of CEB also operates in Dumaguete, Tacloban. Davao City as Mindanao hub Lagamon reported that for 21 years, CEB have a seamless network (direct and connecting flights) linking Davao to six hubs, 37 domestic destinations and 26 international routes. “We are launching 894 flights per week to and from Mindanao,” she said. This year, Lagamon said, CEB targets to serve 20 million passengers. For the first quarter of this year, a total of 4.8 million passengers were already served by the airline amounting to P6.8 billion revenue, 55 percent of the total revenue are from domestic market share.
Globe Telecom has opened its first Gen3 store for Davao City, at Gaisano Mall of Davao.
It is described as “a new retail experience” by Irra Zarina Escandor, who owns GMI Global Ventures, the first Gen3 store owner in Davao City.
Gmall Globe Gen3 store retail manager Ace Cabana says customers will experience lifestyle vignettes designed to catch attention. There will not be any queues as a tablet will be used to help customers.
Cabana says the topography of the store is reconfigurable and interactive. Globe products and services will be showcased within different zones featuring video-on-demand providers, music providers, plan packages and gadgets.
Designed by Tim Kobe, founder/CEO of Eight and designer of Apple Stores and Nike pop-ups, the Gen3 stores were first launched simultaneously in Mindanao’s Limketkai Mall in Cagayan de Oro City, and at SM North Edsa in Quezon City.
New Cebu Pacific direct domestic flights from Davao are seen as another door of opportunities for the local tourism industry especially for the upcoming Kadayawan Festival, said City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) official. By July 26, Cebu Pacific will have scheduled flights three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between Davao and Dumaguete. They will also fly four times a week from Davao to Tacloban and vice versa starting July 27. Schedules will be every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
The flights will be carried by the Cebgo fleet of ATR aircraft. “We’re very happy with these updates as it means opportunities for us. We’re deep into planning for Kadayawan so we’ll include these new routes in our plans. We’re going all out now with preparations and events. We’re setting up a Kadayawan Village at Magsaysay Park and hoping that Dabawenyos will also help promote and join the activities,” said CTOO Head Generose Tecson. It was earlier reported that the tourism sector in Davao City had been “slightly affected” by the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao especially with the hotel bookings, accommodations, and events being cancelled for security purposes.
Aside from the direct Davao flights to be launched by the last week of July, Cebu Pacific will also launch flights between Cebu and Masbate, Zamboanga and Cotabato, and Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.
Top Japanese fashion retail brand Uniqlo will open its first store in Davao City at SM Lanang Premiere this Friday.The store opened its doors today for a special preview to about a hundred selected shoppers mostly members of the media, bloggers, social media influencers and VIPs.
Uniqlo Philippines chief operating officer Katsumi Kubota said the opening is in time for the 5th year anniversary of the brand’s presence in the Philippines.
The fashion brand will open two more branches in SM City Davao located in Ecoland this June 2 and in SM Cagayan de Oro by the end of June.
The SM Lanang branch is the 37th branch in the country. Combined the stores in the Philippines has about 3,000 square meters of retail space.
Kubota said the three stores in Mindanao will have 100 local personnel. It will also offer the same clothes and accessories sold in its other stores.
“We recognize the economic growth of the region, we are very excited as we are looking forward to bringing our high-quality and innovative LifeWear pieces closer to Dabawenyos.” Kubota said.
The brand is known for its LifeWear; innovative, high-quality clothing clothing following the Japanese principles of simplicity, quality and longevity.
The opening of the stores in Mindanao comes in the heels of the martial law declaration by President Rodrigo Duterte across Mindanao.
Councilor Mabel Sunga-Acosta of the first district of Davao City and a guest of the store’s special preview said the opening of the store means that the current situation more or less is business as usual but with heightened security measures.
It was the brand of a polo shirt I received as pasalubong from a Japanese friend way back in the early 2000s. Everyone would agree that this apparel brand has been a favorite pasalubong from relatives and friends working in Japan or have visited that country every time they return home in the Philippines, be it fashion wear for kids, teens and adults, male and female alike.
Indeed, Uniqlo has become a favorite shop store among Filipinos in Japan, the reason it entered into partnership with Henry Sy-controlled SM Retail for its expansion in the Philippines in 2012.
In June of the same year, retail giant SM Supermall opened Uniqlo’s first store in the country at the SM Mall of Asia with a promise to make it a leading fashion wear brand by year 2020, targetting to open at least 200 branches.
Since then, the Japanese fast fashion retailer Uniqlo continued to massively expand with 36 branches now operating in different key cities in the Philippines, most of which are in Metro Manila.
Five years after it established its maiden store in the country, Uniqlo announced it is finally stepping foot on the island of Mindanao, at SM Lanang Premier in Davao City, where the brand’s 37th store and the first in Mindanao will be opened.
The announcement indeed made Dabawenyos to get excited, especially the fashionistas, who are fond of the brand. For sure, shoppers are expecting a different shopping experience in Davao City with the store’s opening.
Uniqlo is known for its high quality designed wardrobe essentials made with innovative fabrics at a very affordable price.
But before it formally opens its doors on May 26, SM and Uniqlo will hold on Wednesday, May 24, the Mindanao launch, an exclusive event for media and very important guests to have a glimpse of what’s in store for Dabawenyos.
Guests will be toured within the 1,200 square meter space occupied by the store at the ground level, near the main entrance of SM Lanang.
Uniqlo’s SM Lanang branch is one of the three stores that are set to open in Mindanao. On June 2, the store’s 38th branch will be opened at SM City Ecoland, also in Davao City. By end of June, the 39th store will be opened at SM Cagayan de Oro Downtown Premier.
“We are committed to growing our business in Mindanao, and look forward to delighting our customers in this region for years to come…We aim to make the lives of the Filipinos better through our innovative and high-quality Uniqlo Life Wear pieces,” Uniqlo Philippines chief operating officer Katsumi Kubota was quoted as saying in earlier reports.
Uniqlo stores showcase a full line up of Uniqlo Life Wear, an innovative, high-quality clothing collection that is universal in design and comfort made for everyone.
Also available are Uniqlo’s Heattech and Airism, the brand’s proprietary technology clothing lines. Airism is Uniqlo’s line of functional innerwear that solves a variety of discomfort by controlling sweat. The clothing line features quick-drying technology that keeps skin smooth and dry when perspiring. Meanwhile, the Heattech collection is an innerwear line that features heat retaining properties to keep the wearer warm and a soft tecture to keep the wearer comfortable.
The Cebu Pacific (CEB) has announced its participation in the largest travel event and tourism campaign in Davao region, the Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS). The carrier’s move is in support of the VDFS, which was launched four years ago, to promote Davao and peripheral areas in southern Mindanao as safe, enjoyable and exhilarating travel and adventure destinations for both local and foreign tourists.
As part of the seven-week activities, CEB is flying-in top adventure travel bloggers and digital influencers from Singapore, Japan and South Korea to visit Davao and check out attractions such as the beaches in Mati City, Aliwagwag Falls and Eden Eco Adventure Park, go dolphin-watching off the coast of Mati, white-water rafting in the Davao River, pub-crawling in Davao’s city center, or shopping at the Aldevinco Center. “CEB takes pride in having the most flights to and from Davao. But more than the flights, we need to do our part to help entice tourists to fly to Davao and experience what the region has to offer.
Davao and adjacent provinces have so much to offer tourists from all walks of life — from thrill-seekers to laidback travelers, families on vacation, barkadas on a getaway and even solo backpackers,” said JR Mantaring, CEB’s vice president for Corporate Affairs.
Cebu Pacific has the most extensive domestic route network among Philippine carriers, with direct, inter-island connections to major tourist destinations. The carrier operates flights out of six strategically placed hubs in the country in Manila, Cebu, Davao, Clark, Kalibo, and Iloilo. Operating a hub in Davao, CEB has 141 flights to and from Davao, with six direct domestic routes (Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Zamboanga and Manila) and a direct flight to Singapore. The airline’s extensive network covers over 100 routes and 66 destinations, spanning Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and United States of America.
Launched in 2014, the Visit Davao Fun Sale is a partnership between local governments in the region, the Department of Tourism, other national government agencies and private enterprises to promote tour packages and unique experiences to tourists such as food and delicacy must-tries, as well as leisure and wellness activities. This year’s tours include special packages for Davao City, Island Garden City of Samal, Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur where one of the trails to Mt. Apo is located, and the Hamiguitan Range and Wildlife Sanctuary. Since its launch, VDFS has helped push tourism growth in the region to double-digit levels, capping 2016 with 100,000 tourist arrivals. VDFS 2017 runs from April 16 to May 31.
The seventh Lego-certified store in the Philippines opened on April 22, 2017 at the Abreeza Ayala Mall offering more and exclusive merchandise of the famous toy brand to Dabawenyos. The Lego Store in Davao City is the second store in Mindanao, the first being in Cagayan de Oro City, which opened last April 1. “We know that Lego is a very popular brand and we want to bring it closer to all our fans, collectors, families, and kids.
We want to also give them the full Lego experience,” said Sharlene Ortiga, LAJ Marketing Retail Manager, at the sidelines of the store’s opening. LAJ Marketing Philippines is the exclusive distributor for Lego merchandise in the Philippines. Ortiga said Lego Store Abreeza features exclusive items that are not available in other stores. “This store is fully designed and authorized by Lego for us to operate with their complete package and guidelines,” Ortiga said.
The store features the Pick-a-Brick Wall, a custom-built fixture filled with Lego bricks and elements where shoppers can hand-pick and select pieces they need. It also offers exclusive Lego sets available like the Doctor Who and Big Bang Theory sets. At present there are seven Lego-certified stores in country, Park Triangle in Taguig, which is also the first Lego-certified store in the Philippines; Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa; Trinoma and UP Town Center in Quezon City; The 30th in Pasig City; Abreeza Ayala Mall in Davao City; and Centrio in Cagayan de Oro City.
At present, Ortiga said they are just looking into having two stores in Mindanao. However, she said they are eyeing to have another provincial store by the end of this year but she did not disclose yet where this store will be. She also said they are still studying the possibility of putting up a Lego-certified store in the Visayas. “For the Visayas we already have other channels where we are distributing Lego but here in Mindanao there are only a few so we decided to open a complete Lego Store here to serve the needs of our Lego customers,” Ortiga said.
AirAsia said on Friday it will mount new routes from Cebu and Davao starting April as it continues to expand its network outside Metro Manila.
New flights will be launched from Cebu to Davao, Palawan, and Boracay/Caticlan and from Davao to Clark, Cebu, Palawan, and Boracay/Caticlan in April 22, 2017, the airline said.
The Cebu to Boracay and Palawan flights will operate daily while flights to Davao are scheduled twice daily, it added.
The Davao to Boracay flights will operate daily; Davao to Palawan at three times weekly; and Davao to Clark at four times weekly.
“We feel strongly about supporting the growth and development of cities outside Metro Manila by providing more options and added convenience for travelers to fly to their desired destinations without going to the main airport in Manila,” said Philippines AirAsia chief executive Capt. Dexter Comendador.
The airline said it is offering promo one-way fares for the new routes starting at P399. The travel period for the promo fares is between April 22, 2017 and August 31, 2017.
Chimes Boutiques has opened a new flagship store in its home town Davao city.
“I never imagined 12 years ago that we would be able to deliver a truly world-class experience to our humble shores,” observed Chimes Boutiques CEO and SVP of Felcris Group, Cindy Yap at the store’s unveiling.
Chimes was originally founded by the second generation siblings of the Yap family – founders of hypermarkets and convenience stores in Mindanao – who saw an opening for a channel selling luxury retail brands in Davao. With such a store, she figured, Mindanao’s well heeled would no longer have to travel to Manila, or overseas, for fine fashion.
“Change is a constant element in everyone’s life and [after 12 years] that moment came for us, as well. We decided to develop a selling strategy that would meet the wishes of our client – passionate travelers always on the lookout for something new,” she said.
The 37,000 sqft Governor Sales Street store was completely refurbished – all the way to the new logo – in a project led by retail designers Cyndi and Happy Fernandez of Moss Manila.
Chimes stocks more than 100 brands spanning beauty, accessories, ladies ready-to-wear, menswear, home and children. Among the labels: local brands Aranaz, Happy Skin, Rajo Laurel, Vania Romoff, Renegade Folk and Sunnies Studios.