Philippine Airlines mounts special flights between Cebu and Laoag enabling travelers from the 'Queen City of the South' to fly to the northern city and experience a weekend of art, music and culture.

PAL's 86-seater Dash 8-400NG with registration RP-C5911, took off from Mactan Cebu International Airport at 8:45 AM, with art and music enthusiasts, leisure travelers and several social media influencers on board.

Cebu Pacific, the Philippines’ leading airline, transitions its Juander Shuttle service to 100% electric, zero-emission minibuses for the commuting needs of its employees.

CEB provides the Juander Shuttle service for free to transport its employees to and from its main office in Pasay City to various pick-up and drop-off locations along selected routes within Greater Metro Manila.

Cebu Air Inc reported a first-quarter net profit of P1.1 billion, bouncing from a P7.6 billion net loss in the same period last year, driven by its strong passenger and ancillary revenues.

This is CEB’s first profitable quarter since the pandemic, as it generated total revenues of P20.9 billion, 211% higher than the first quarter last year. The steep growth was largely driven by recovery of its passenger business, which generated P14.3 billion, 352% higher year-on-year. This was followed by ancillary business which generated P5.46 billion, up 221% year-on-year.

CEB flew over 4.8 million passengers in the first quarter, 135% higher year-on-year. This drove  seat load factor to jump to 83%, up 13 percentage points year-on-year. 

CEB flew 32,000 flights in the first quarter, up 94% year-on-year. Operating expenses, on the other hand, increased only 63%, as increased utilization of aircraft and operating systems, coupled with higher productivity of crew and personnel, also contributed to the improvement of the airline’s profit margin.

Operating income turned positive to P1.24 billion in the first quarter from an operating loss of P5.34 billion in the same period last year.

CEB remains to have the largest network in the Philippines, flying to 34 local and 24 international destinations by end of the first quarter. With 60 routes and over 2,100 weekly flights, CEB’s domestic network was already operating above pre-pandemic levels during the first quarter. International network, on the other hand, continued to gain traction following the easing of travel requirements of north Asian countries. CEB also resumed flights to Melbourne and Macau and restarted flights to Hong Kong from Cebu during the quarter.

CEB expects that in the second quarter, it will exceed its pre-pandemic capacity on a systemwide basis, supported by an optimistic outlook as the tourism industry continues to recover, plus the strengthening of its Clark and Cebu hubs. CEB expects to reach 2019 international capacity levels during second quarter, while domestic operations will continue to grow with additional flight frequencies to various destinations, coupled with flight resumption of routes such as Manila – Laoag, Iloilo – Puerto Princesa, and Iloilo – Cagayan.

►RELATED: CEB SUPER PASS

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2GOKADA CREATORS CRUISE

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2GO Travel advocates for local tourism through its unique content creator program. The 2GOKada Creators Cruise will gather over 100 content creators, dubbed the 2GOKada, for three days of workshops, activities and a concert onboard MV 2GO Masagana from May 20 to 23, 2023.

The 2GOKada Creators Cruise is a campaign that champions tourism via sea travel in partnership with Department of Tourism (DOT) to encourage young travelers to explore the wonders of the Philippines and invite their followers to discover the country themselves. This cruise-like experience will be making its way to Iloilo and Bacolod for a stopover tour, showcasing a few of the major tourist spots in Western Visayas as part of the activity highlights.

Apart from DOT, 2GO Travel also partners with Careless Music, an independent record label that manages up and coming artists from around the country, to perform and TikTok Philippines, short-form mobile video social media platform, to sponsor a workshop during the 2GOKada Creators Cruise.

"We see it fitting that we have our press briefing in Iloilo. The 2GOKada Creator Cruise will be docking in both Iloilo and Bacolod and I am excited what these talented creators will be sharing on their platform. We hope this campaign encourages young people to explore the Philippines first, to visit Western Visayas and experience traveling with 2GO,” said Blessie Cruz, Group Head/AVP for Marketing of 2GO Group, Inc.

₱99 SEA SALE

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To encourage more travels within the Philippines, 2GO Travel is having a P99 Sea Sale, inclusive of 50 kilo baggage allowance on April 27 to May 2 for travels between June 1 to July 18, 2023. Destinations are from Manila to Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Coron, Dipolog, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Ozamiz, Tagbilaran and Zamboanga. VISMIN interports are also available from Cebu to Cagayan de Oro, Butuan and Ozamiz.

NEW ROUTE

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Making travels more accessible with 2GO Travel, the Batangas-Iloilo-Bacolod route for South Luzon passengers recently opened. Travelers may now book their trips from Batangas to Iloilo and Bacolod skipping the 2-hour travel to Manila making a more convenient and accessible route for South Luzon travelers.

►SEE: BACOLOD TRAVEL GUIDE

Passengers can easily book their trips online through the 2GO App or through the website at travel.2go.com.ph. They may also book their tickets at 2GO retail outlets, SM Business Centers, any of the 2,000 authorized agents nationwide, or call (02) 8528-7000.