-
Cebu Pacific remains “cautiously optimistic” as it expands its domestic services in support of Philippine recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
-
Last June 21, Cebu Pacific started its five times daily flights between Manila and Boracay, as well as its daily services to Bohol
-
With the arrival and rollout of more vaccines, Cebu Pacific is hopeful its networks will revert to pre-pandemic levels soon
-
As of June 17, Cebu Pacific has flown 6 million COVID-19 doses from China, on top of more than 1.4 million doses carried to 15 Philippine provinces
Cebu Pacific remains “cautiously optimistic” as it expands its domestic flight services to support Philippine recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last June 21, Cebu Pacific started its five times daily flights between Manila and Boracay as well as its daily services to Bohol.
“We remain cautiously optimistic as we prepare for the bounce back and will do everything that is within our control to support and aid that,” Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and customer experience Candice Iyog said in a statement.
“With the arrival of more vaccines and the pace at which vaccines are being rolled out, we are hopeful that in due time our networks will recover to pre-pandemic levels,” Iyog added.
Cebu Pacific noted a June 18 report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that said carriers’ operating conditions will continue to depend on the domestic travel market amid changing travel restrictions as nations work to inoculate their populations. Cebu Pacific is a member of IATA, a trade association for the global airline industry.
“Over the last months, the recovery of air passenger demand has been mainly driven by domestic markets that have mostly remained unaffected by travel restrictions. In the meantime, international travel was restricted by most countries and governments are only starting to relax those restrictions as they vaccinate their populations and stabilize the epidemiological situation,” IATA said.
IATA expects that in the near future, airlines’ operating conditions will be determined by two factors—the availability of the domestic markets that they can rely on, and the progress in vaccinations in the main countries in their networks.
The trade association also observed that carriers in the Asia Pacific and South American countries often have large domestic markets to rely on, but that vaccination rates remained slow.
Cebu Pacific is the only airline among Philippine companies that have come together to help the government’s pandemic relief efforts under the banner of Ingat Angat, a private sector-led campaign that aims to help restart the Philippine economy.
As of June 17, Cebu Pacific has flown 6 million COVID-19 doses from China, on top of more than 1.4 million doses carried to 15 Philippine provinces.
The airline has been rated 7/7 stars by airlineratings.com for its COVID-19 safety compliance as it continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety in accordance with global aviation standards. This includes contactless procedures, thorough cleaning and disinfection protocols for all aircraft and facilities, mandatory wearing of masks and face shields for both passengers and crew, as well as antigen testing for Cebu Pacific frontliners before duty.
In addition, its aircraft are also equipped with hospital-grade high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters with 99.99% efficacy to keep viruses at bay.
The airline currently operates the widest network in the Philippines, covering 32 local destinations, as well as provides services to six international destinations.
