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.
AirAsia has expanded its online offering to include flights on other airlines as it transforms airasia.com into Asia Pacific’s leading travel and lifestyle platform. This was done in partnership with leading travel technology company Kiwi.com. Powered by Kiwi.com, AirAsia’s website users will be able to book travel on more than 100 airlines to destinations currently not served by AirAsia, including Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and the Americas.
airasia.com head of airline distribution Rajiv Kumar said in addition to the strategic partnership with Kiwi.com, which is focused on content and technology sharing, AirAsia is also exploring opportunities to partner directly with airlines and companies who complement our existing network and travel services beyond Asia Pacific.
airasia.com CEO Tony Fernandes said, “Today is an unbelievable day. When we started AirAsia as a low-cost airline back in 2001, I never thought one day we would be selling our competitors. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it never says never. Never say never and believe the unbelievable. Today, with the help of Kiwi.com, we are reinventing ourselves as more than just an airline, bringing to life our vision for airasia.com to be the region’s one-stop travel shop.”
Kiwi.com CEO Oliver Dlouhý said, “I’m extremely proud that Kiwi.com has been selected to power AirAsia’s transformation and its ambition to make airasia.com a leading travel and lifestyle platform. We have an abundance of airlines and ground carriers at our disposal and together with AirAsia and its enormous customer base, we are proud to be able to open their platform to the rest of the world.”
To celebrate the announcement and its partnership with Davis Cup by Rakuten, which takes place on 18-24 November 2019 in Madrid, Spain, AirAsia has kickstarted a global marketing campaign featuring its very own Spanish Allstar, airasia.com. The campaign was launched at AirAsia’s global headquarters RedQ in Kuala Lumpur to much fanfare with a promotional all-in return fare to Madrid from Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Sydney.
The campaign comes off the back of the company’s reorganization, which separates AirAsia’s airline operations from its travel and lifestyle arm, airasia.com. Since the reorganization was announced in August this year, more than 700 Allstar staff have been recruited, and in addition to being based across Asia Pacific, a new airasia.com campus will open in central Kuala Lumpur early next year.
Budget carrier Cebu Pacific announced on Thursday, August 15, that it is launching direct flights from Cebu to Busuanga (Coron) in Palawan.
Cebu Pacific’s subsidiary Cebgo will fly twice daily between the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Francisco B. Reyes Airport, beginning October 27 this year.
“We believe that these twice daily flights will enable residents from Cebu and other parts of Visayas and Mindanao to explore Palawan, without having to make the trip to Metro Manila to catch their flights,” said Cebgo president and chief executive officer Alexander Lao in a statement on Thursday.
“With this direct Cebu-Busuanga route, the islands of Coron and Culion are easier to get to. This will also allow locals from the rest of Southern Luzon to easily connect to Cebu and its network of over 20 domestic and 6 international destinations,” he added.
Cebu Pacific is having a seat sale for the new route from Thursday until Saturday, August 17, with a base fare as low as P299. The travel period is from October 27, 2019 to March 28, 2020.
Aside from Cebu, Cebu Pacific operates flights out of Manila, Clark, Kalibo, Iloilo, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro.
Its network covers over 100 routes and 64 destinations, spanning Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and the United States.
Cebu Pacific, the country’s biggest budget airline, widened its presence at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga province with the opening on Friday of three new routes, including flights to Tokyo, Japan.
The move opens up tourism and business opportunities for the central Luzon gateway while helping Cebu Pacific ramp up operations as it pursues an aggressive expansion strategy.
Cebu Pacific on Friday also inaugurated daily flights between Clark Airport and Bacolod and Iloilo.
Lance Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific CEO, outlined the company’s long history in Clark Airport, which it first tapped as a hub for daily flights to Cebu 13 years ago.
“Since 2006 we have never stopped flying to Clark. We have always believed in the potential of Clark as a gateway to Manila, to central and northern Luzon, a hub with over 25 million residents,” Gokongwei said during the launch event.
Cebu Pacific will also be the first airline to link Clark Airport to Narita International Airport in Japan with flights to operate four times a week.
The new routes will help make Cebu Pacific the largest carrier in Clark Airpo
Clark Airport is also being positioned as an alternative to the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
The Gokongweis are doubling down on their investment in Clark as the family’s JG Summit Holdings, a property, food, retail and airline conglomerate, is part of the consortium that will operate the Pampanga gateway.
Cebu Pacific earlier announced the start of daily flights between Clark and Puerto Princesa in Palawan by the fourth quarter of 2019.
The four new routes will boost Cebu Pacific’s total capacity in Clark by 40 percent in 2019 alone. This follows a 75-percent increase in 2018 with the launch of direct commercial air service to and from Davao and Panglao (Bohol) as well as additional frequency for the Clark-Macau route.
Tigerair Taiwan announced Monday plans to inaugurate a new flight route between Taoyuan in Taiwan and the Philippine city of Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island starting June 7, said reports.
It will become the third route between Taoyuan and the Southeast Asian country following the announcement by the Singapore-headquartered budget airline that it would begin flying from Taoyuan to Kalibo, a major hub for the tourist destination of Boracay island, reported UDN.
To promote the launch of the route, individuals who book tickets between 10:00 a.m. on April 10 and 11:59 p.m. on April 11 will enjoy a discounted price of NT$399 for each single journey ticket (excluding taxes). The departure dates must be between June 7 and Oct. 18, 2019.
There new route will offer three flights a week, according to Tigerair.
Puerto Princesa will become the fourth destination route targeting the Southeast Asian market offered by Tigerair Taiwan, which will soon be flying 29 international routes to 22 cities, the report wrote.
Palawan, the fifth largest island of the Philippines, boasts a plethora of wildlife, jungle mountains, and white sandy beaches. In 2016, Palawan was ranked the “Most Beautiful Island in the World” by readers of Conde Nast Traveller.
AirAsia is waiting for the government to provide the adequate infrastructure so that it can fly to San Vicente, the latest Palawan municipality to catch tourists’ attention. San Vicente’s nearly 15-kilometer white sand beachfront is one of the emerging beach destinations in the Philippines after Boracay Island was closed to tourists in late April.
As of last month, most tourists would have to take either a chartered flight or a 4- to 6-hour trip by land from Puerto Princesa City to reach San Vicente’s famous Long Beach.
“We’d like to fly to San Vicente, Palawan but the runway is still short,” AirAsia Philippines President Dexter Comendador told reporters here.
Comendador said they have been working with the provincial government of Palawan to develop the airport so that more tourists can enjoy the attractions of San Vicente.
“We’ve been working with them. Our plans are still based on how fast infrastructure can cope, how fast they can lengthen the runway,” he said.
The search for the next Boracay: San Vicente, Palawan.
AirAsia, however, is careful not to open too many flights to an island destination that may lead to the exploitation of an area, the airline’s chief Tony Fernandes said.
“The Borcacay closure was a great eye-opener for us. When we go to a new business destination, we make sure that the infrastructure can take a wave of tourists,” he said.
The government earlier banned tourists from entering Boracay for 6 months as the island undergoes a half-year clean-up and rehabilitation.
The island is expected to open by late October, or as soon as the government completes its road widening projects, sewage clean-up, and the recovery of wetlands and forestlands in the island.