Cebu Pacific: Honolulu Flights Coming in 2016

Cebu Pacific is gearing up to launch its first flights to the United States. The budget carrier had initially stated that it was targeting service to Hawaii by the end of this year. However, the carrier is now indicating that flights to Honolulu will launch in early 2016, following the acquisition of the required permits.

cebu pacific hawaii flights
Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG
According to Lance Gokongwei, CEO of Cebu Pacific, the budget carrier believes that Honolulu will be a strong market given the large number of Filipinos living in Hawaii. "We are looking at early next year for Honolulu," said Gokongwei. "Once we have the necessary approvals, we will make the announcement."

When Cebu Pacific begins flights to Hawaii, it will compete directly with Philippine Airlines. The budget carrier is expecting the same market stimulation that it has seen in its other long-haul markets, as the price of airfare is driven down by the new competition.

The Philippines to Hawaii market has been without competition since 2013 when Hawaiian Airlines cancelled its non-stop service between Manila and Honolulu, citing intense competition from Philippine Airlines. Hawaiian Airlines previously stated that it could not compete with lower airfares due to its higher operating costs. But Cebu Pacific will undoubtedly be able to level the competitive landscape with its even lower operating cost-structure than Philippine Airlines.

Cebu Pacific is also hoping to attract connecting traffic to lure those bound for cities on the United States mainland, as well as passengers travelling from North Asian cities to Honolulu. The carrier believes that Manila is in a good position to attract this type of traffic. "Using Manila as a hub, probably a lot of North Asian countries can have more direct flights to Honolulu," added Gokongwei.

Cebu Pacific is currently unable to reach the cities on the West Coast of the United States due to range limitations of its existing fleet. The carrier currently flies six Airbus A330-300 aircraft on long-haul routes. However, the carrier is presently studying its options for the acquisition of aircraft that can serve longer range destinations.

Cebu Pacific recently strengthened its position in Southeast Asia, following the establishment of an agreement with Singapore-based Tigerair, which will provide enhanced connectivity for travellers that will be able to tap into the extensive route networks of both Cebu Pacific and Tigerair. Cebu Pacific hopes to source more feeder traffic with the new strategic alliance.

Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific is also seeking regulatory approvals to fly to Guam and expand its footprint in China. In a petition filed with the Civil Aeronautics Board, Cebu Pacific applied for the reallocation of 1,260 seats, currently held by AirAsia Zest. Cebu Pacific would like to use the new allotments to operate three additional flights from Manila to Beijing and four additional flights from Manila to Guangzhou.

Cebu Pacific currently operates long-haul flights from Manila to Sydney, Doha, Riyadh, Dubai, and Kuwait. The budget carrier is presently looking at increasing flights to Australia. Last week, it accepted delivery of its thirty-second brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft.

22 comments:

  1. I would like to see CEB fly also in North America particularly in Canada ..Competition with PAL and also with other Asian Airlines could bring easc Airfare Down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CP is a long way off from making flights to the mainland US unless they plan on purchasing an aircraft that could make the journey. Their "long haul" division (A330) is yet to make a profit and has proved difficult for them to operate.

      Delete
  2. Paging mr.hongkong its your turn now

    ReplyDelete
  3. ha ha ha-yes! This blog seems incomplete without Mr. Hong Kong's pointless rants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It seems you pinoys miss me when I don't show up on this blog. I wonder why?

      Delete
  4. Oh please, even If you give me a free ticket, why should I fly to Hawaii via Cebu Pathetic?

    Did this yellow ass airline learn from their mistakes from that baby incident? I don't think so. They want to rake in profits rather than safety. Typical Cebu Pathetic at its finest.

    Piso piso fare to Hawaii? LOL

    As long as this dumb airline continues to have bad customer service, their expansion doesn't mean shit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mr. HK, come with me to Honolulu for free on CebuPac. I will book you with Ala Moana Hotel, a 4-star hotel for you and your significant other (if you have one or two now). Just say yes and give me your address. Definitely, no BS, this is real. Just want you to be happy and to change for the better with CebPac.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe not. I would rather fly with a Prestige airline like CX to fly to Honolulu than to take a Flight with Cebu Pathetic. Even PAL is miles better than Cebu Pathetic. I've flown with them multiple times for business trips.

      Come back to me when Cebu Pathetic can fix their sorry ass customer and in-flight service

      Delete
    2. CX does not fly to HNL, Mr. HK.

      Delete
  6. Range limitations of CebPac's existing feet: Well, again, you need to be logical, why? If CebPac can fly its A330 from MNL to HNL for 10 hours more or less then it can fly from HNL to LAX or SFO for seven (7) hours more or less. FilAms now are no longer sugar cane or pineapple workers but highly-trained executives, accountants, nurses, doctors. Always be careful with your journalism!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cebu Pac cannot fly MNL to HNL, disembark passengers and embark passengers then continue to LAX or SFO (or any US city) due to the "Freedom Rights" (see ICAO). At most, they could do a "Tech Stop" in HNL and refuel then continue to mainland US, but I guarantee that would not be profitable.


      And LAX or SFO is only 4-5 hours from HNL, not 7.

      Delete
    2. We are only explaining the "bits and pieces" of A330 here.
      CP's Alex Reyes is doing his job as manager of international destinations/flights/new routes!

      Delete
    3. Reyes is clueless, like the majority of the so called "management" of CP. The long haul division of CP has been struggling to make a profit and that attributes to very poor management. The mainland US is not obtainable with CP's current fleet, and the proposed MNL-HNL route will be a difficult undertaking.

      Delete
  7. Mr Hong Kong,I doubt if you have ever flown in an aeroplane

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have flown with many airlines. Cebu Pathetic was the worst of them all.

      Delete
  8. Mr Hong Kong, As far as LCCs go Cebu Pacific rates fairly high on my list. I have flown on the airline more than 100 times over the past decade and have only encountered three minor problems. On each occasion the airline's staff have resolved the problem in a professional and courteous manner. Sure, their services seldom run to schedule these days, but that is caused by problems beyond their control Remember constructive criticism can often be helpful but bagging the airline because of the action of just one employee smacks at small-minded vindictiveness.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kailan pa kaya magsimula ang CP? Malapit nang mamatay ang mga baby boomers ditto sa Hawaii at sa mainland! My gosh, wala na yatang lunas ang aming pagtitiis! Gusto ko pa namang uuwu sa pinas ng tatlong beses isang taon para mag-enjoy ako nang husto at para mawaldas ko lahat ang aking pinaghirapan ditto sa capitalismong America. Kailan kaya.........?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Di mag-United o PAL ka kahit triple ang pasahe mula HNL to MNL!
      Palagay ko ay Ilocano ka na naghihintay ng Piso Pisa fare? (no offense). Taga Sarrat din ang lola ko.

      Delete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. they treat customers worse than shit. their only reply to my email below was to refer me to their rules and regulations:
    Dec 21, 2015

    Dear Sir:


    I was booked on flight 5J7296 route SYD-MNL on Dec 17 2015, at 1 pm to arrive at 5.30 pm that evening.


    The flight was delayed first to 3.30 pm then subsequently to 5.45 pm but staff had no explanation or more information for the reason why. We just waited in complete limbo frustrated hungry and thirsty!


    No refreshments were offered to the passengers, not even a bottle of water!


    We eventually took off at 6pm with the Captain announcing that he had no prior information about the delays/disruption and neither did staff and crew at Sydney Airport!. He then went further to surmise that this delays/disruption might have been caused by the previous flight having been diverted to Canberra arriving Sydney much later than scheduled. He said that flight regulations require crew to rest for 24 hours before flying again and so Manila staff should have communicated this to Sydney staff crew and more importantly to the passengers affected. He said that this was not done.


    Once airborne, the Captain announced that he would fly fast enough to get us to Manila at 9pm that night but we never actually landed until well after 10.45 pm!. That was a total delay of a whopping 5+ hours!


    He said he would forward complaints received by him from passengers to the 'big boss' the following day and personally ensure that something was done about these delays/disruptions.


    I am therefore writing to request that Cebu Pacific should refund the full cost of my flight and pay me compensation for this delay/disruption according to your general terms and conditions and obviously according to the Air Passenger Bill of Rights Policies.

    I hope you find the above information adequate but please dont hesitate to contact me if you need more.


    DR. SG-E

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 5 hr delay does not get a refund. This is normal for US mainline carriers.

      Delete
  12. Hello, does anyone know when Cebu Pacific is finally serving Hawaii to Manila flights? Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

Powered by Blogger.