Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines Offer Promotional Events for Filipino Passengers

Cathay Pacific (CX) and Singapore Airlines (SIA), two of the world's most multi-awarded five-star carriers, have major events lined up in the Philippines in an effort to attract more local passengers.

Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG

CATHAY PACIFIC ROADSHOW

The Hong Kong-based carrier is launching its first ever roadshow in the Philippines. From August 29 to September 4, Cathay Pacific will set up a station at Power Plant Mall's North Court in Makati. One of the central features of the roadshow is that Cathay Pacific will showcase some highlights of its long-haul business and premium economy class seats to the public.

In addition, Citibank card holders can take advantage of an exclusive promotion. Passengers who use their Citibank cards to purchase one business or premium economy class seat can purchase a second seat for as little as US$50 plus taxes and surcharges. Cathay Pacific will also be offering promotions for destinations beyond their Hong Kong hub.

Image Source: Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific's new Business Class seat was launched in 2011. It features a reverse-herringbone 1-2-1 configuration where the side seats face the windows and the middle seats face each other.  It has a full-flat bed, storage space specifically designed for certain items, and an in-flight entertainment (IFE) system with audio-video on demand and provisions to allow passengers to watch contents from their portable devices. These seats are commonly found on board newer Airbus A330 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Chris McGinnis, Travel Advisor
The airline's Premium Economy Class was launched in 2012. These seats are considerably wider than regular economy class and there are only 26-34 seats depending on the aircraft type. They are configured with 7-abreast (2-3-2) on the Airbus A330 and Airbus A340-300 aircraft, and 8-seats abreast on the Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.  The seats are 19.5 inches wide and offer a pitch of 38 inches, and a recline of up to 8 inches from the upright position.  Additionally, premium economy passengers have a 25-kg baggage allowance compared to 20 kg for regular economy passengers.

Those who wish to take advantage of Cathay Pacific's promotions and to see for themselves the premium products that the world's best airline has to offer are encouraged to go to Rockwell Mall before September 4 to visit the Cathay Pacific booth.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES ONLINE SALE

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines is having an online sale of its own to commemorate its move from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 on September 1.

Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG
Passengers who wish to travel from Manila to Singapore between September 1 to 7 can get tickets for a low all-inclusive return fare as low as US$165 per passenger, excluding taxes and fees payable at the airport. In order to take advantage of the fare, a minimum of three passengers must travel in the same party.  They must also return within 7 days and can't amend the ticket once booked.  Passengers leaving Manila must fly on SQ919 and book their return on any flight except SQ910.  The fare can be purchased only by booking online at singaporeair.com. The promotional fare offered is a considerable discount compared to the lowest regular fare routinely offered, which is approximately USD$340, more than twice the cost of the promotional fare. However, passengers must book before September 1 in order to get the discount.

ACCOLADES FOR CATHAY PACIFIC AND SINGAPORE AIRLINES

Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines represent some of the few carriers that have made it on to Skytrax's elite list of five-star carriers. In addition, Cathay Pacific was voted as the World's Best Airline for 2014 in the annual Skytrax World Airline awards. The carrier previously won the same award in 2003, 2005 and 2009. In January 2014, Cathay Pacific also won Best Business Class for 2014 in the Airline Excellence Awards sponsored by airlineratings.com. In the Customer Service Excellence Awards 2013 sponsored by the Hong Kong Association for Customer Service Excellence, it won the "Gold Award" among others.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines is not far behind. In the 2014 World Airline Awards, Singapore Airlines ranked third, just behind Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific.  In July 2014, Singapore Airlines won Best Airline by Business Traveller Germany, Best Airline by businessinsider.com for a second consecutive year, Overall Best Airline for a third consecutive year and Best in-flight meals by Japan-based AB Road, and Best International Airline for an eighth consecutive year by TravelAge West in the US during its 2014 Wave Awards.

BOTH CARRIERS SERVICE MANILA DAILY

Both Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines offer more flights to Manila each day than any other foreign carrier.  Together they provide up to 10 flights daily connecting Manila with the rest of the world through their respective hubs in Hong Kong and Singapore. Both carriers utilise wide body aircraft on their Manila flights, which often feature some of the latest in-flight amenities such as audio-video on-demand in-flight entertainment and lie-flat seats for business class passengers. Like Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific is also expected to move to Terminal 3 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in an effort to reduce congestion at the ageing Terminal 1. However, neither Cathay Pacific nor the Manila International Airport Authority has publicly announced a definite transfer date yet.

In addition, Cathay Pacific flies once a day to Cebu, and its regional subsidiary Dragonair flies once a day to Manila and Clark.  Singapore Airlines' regional subsidiary SilkAir also mounts regular flights to Cebu, Davao and Kalibo.  

9 comments:

  1. Lie-flat seats? SIA 772?

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  2. Yes, some 772s, particularly those in registration numbers in the 9V-SV* series have these. I was on an aircraft configured with these on two occassions.

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  3. i hope that you can make an article with regards to the newly renovated NAIA3, what changes they made and added, add some pictures too please.

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  4. Are CX 747's still doing the HKG-MNL route?

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    Replies
    1. Nope. CX just retired their last 747 today with the final flight to SFO.

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  5. Actually they are continuing the 747s for the next few months, however it will be confined to regional routes only. I read on airlineroute.net that they will make sporadic visits to MNL (just once a week).

    http://airlineroute.net/2014/08/19/cx-744-w14update1/

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  6. CX didn't retire their 744's completely. They just retired them for longhaul use. They will still be used around the region.

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  7. I hope PAL's executives visited the roadshow to see for themselves how a full service, legacy carrier products should be like! Then they will realize that CX's premium economy is more luxurious than PAL's mabuhay class on the A321 - the aircraft that flies routes as far as NRT, SIN, ICN, etc... Or even worse, they'll see that CX & SQ's regular economy is better than PAL's "premium" economy. Shameful!

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  8. Excellent article. Very interesting to read. I really love to read such a nice article. Thanks! keep rocking. promotional gifts

    ReplyDelete

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