CLARKFIELD, Pampanga, Philippines — Budget airline Airphil Express is further expanding its service network this year and eyeing more passengers from the strongly emerging tourist markets of North and Central Luzon.
Starting March 29, Airphil Express will offer flights from Clark International Airport to Cebu, Davao, Kalibo and Puerto Princesa and vice-versa. The four new additional routes will bring the airline’s total daily scheduled local trips to 32 destinations.
Airphil Express senior vice president for sales and marketing Alfred Herrera said the airline hopes to tap into the burgeoning North and Central Luzon population of 18 million people, which represents 25% of the entire Philippine population.
“Add to that the growing number of foreign tourists who are also exploring the northern area of the country, who can now conveniently travel directly to Visayas and Mindanao,” Herrera added.
The Clark to Cebu flights will be offered every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; Clark to Davao every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; Clark to Kalibo every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; and Clark to Puerto Princesa every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Internationally, Airphil serves Manila-Singapore and Cebu-Hong Kong.
Clark flights will use Airbus A320s, each of which has a capacity to carry 180 passengers. Early this year, Airphil acquired three Airbus A320s, bringing the total fleet to 11 Airbus 320s, three Q300s and five Q400s.
Airphil serviced over 4 million passengers in 2011, a 122% jump from 1.8 million passengers in 2010. This year, the budget carrier is targeting 8 million.
AirAsia Philippines, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Air Asia Bhd., will also launch domestic flights from its hub in Clark to Davao and Kalibo on March 28.
South East Asian Airlines (SEAir) will fly to Kalibo and mount international flights to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, and daily flights to Bangkok in May. SEAir currently flies out of Clark 13 times weekly to Singapore, six times weekly to Hong Kong, and thrice weekly to Bangkok.
Other airlines operating in Clark include Asiana Airlines and Jin Air of South Korea, and low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific Air.
In a related development, Clark International Airport reported a 38% growth in international passenger traffic to 160,847 in the first two months of 2012 from 116,125 year-on-year.
The January total was 85,686 from 62,013 in the same month last year and February, 74,979 from 54,112.
The airport’s January revenues reached P37.33 million, up 24% over January 2011’s P29.9 million.
Photo from http://www.airphilexpress.com/our-fleet.php
