Phuket gets connected to the Philippines
The Thai resort island of Phuket will be connected to the Philippines for the first time this summer, following the launch of a new direct flight by Cebu Pacific Airways (CEB).
Commencing on 16 August 2013, the new service from Manila will become the first and only direct flight between the two destinations, and is expected to boost leisure traffic from the Philippines to Thailand.
“Cebu Pacific is proud to make the island of Phuket accessible to even more travellers,” said CEB’s Vice President of Marketing & Distribution, Candice Iyog. “Aside from Phuket, CEB also pioneered direct low-cost flights from Manila to Siem Reap in Cambodia, Hanoi in Vietnam, Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and Bali in Indonesia. All can be considered honeymoon destinations, as well as backpacker destinations, so we hope guests start planning their trips early and book now,” she added.
Phuket becomes CEB’s second destination in Thailand following Bangkok, which it serves with 16 weekly flights from Manila, Cebu and Clark. The new Manila-Phuket service will operate three times a week, departing the Philippine capital’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, using an Airbus A320 aircraft. The return flight will depart Phuket the following day.
The Phuket launch marks the latest phase in CEB’s international expansion. It is also planning to commence flights from Cebu to Taipei on 5 July, with its first ever long-haul service taking off from Manila on 7 October, bound for Dubai.
Currently, CEB flies to 22 international destinations using its fleet of 43 aircraft. But by 2021, the airline expects to take delivery of more than 50 new A320, A321neo and A330 aircraft.