Seair Plans Taipei Route, Caticlan and Puerto Princesa from Clark

After announcing that it will likely defer the relaunch of its popular Manila-Caticlan service due to the acquisition of Tigerair Philippines by Cebu Pacific, Seair International has revealed that it is now seeking approval to operate service between Manila and Taipei.

Copyright Photo: D.Wilson/PFN

The airline filed a petition last week with the Civil Aeronautics Board to be designated as the official Philippine carrier to Taiwan. As part of the petition, the airline requested permission to operate international non-scheduled services according to existing air service agreements between the two nations. 

The Civil Aeronautics Board has scheduled a hearing for March 20 to consider the petition. If approved, Taipei will become the first international destination for the newly formed carrier. Seair International was supposed to recommence service between Manila and Caticlan this month using their Dornier 328 aircraft but the plan was postponed after the anticipated merger of Cebu Pacific and Tigerair Philippines threatened the service. 

According to Avelino Zapanta, Seair International President, since the route to Caticlan was to be launched on a borrowed slot from Tigerair Philippines, there was no assurance that the new airline could continue to use that slot for the foreseeable future with Tigerair now under the control of Cebu Pacific. 

Cebu Pacific controls nearly 35 percent of all slots at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in addition to the 3.5 percent held by Tigerair Philippines. When combined, Cebu Pacific now controls the largest percentage of slots at the country's highly congested main international gateway.

Meanwhile, Seair recently announced on its Facebook page that it will soon launch flights from Clark International Airport to Caticlan and Puerto Princesa.