The provinces of Nanning and Guilin of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China are opening direct flights to Cebu starting in March.

Direct flights from these Chinese provinces to Manila will also be reopened soon.

Governor Ma. Biao of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region made this announcement during his bilateral meeting with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia last January 6.

Garcia went with Provincial Board Members Peter John Calderon and Wilfredo Caminero to Nanning to sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a sisterhood agreement between Cebu and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Continue Reading

Local carrier Spirit of Manila Airlines said they are set to commercially operate next month.

Basilio P. Reyes, chairman of Spirit of Manila Airlines, said their second aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) MD 83, delivered recently is expected to service their regional flights.

Reyes added that they also expect the deliveries of additional jets which are intended to service their Clark-Dubai-Bahrain and Kuwait flights to cater to the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Continue Reading

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) is a key sponsor of the Premiere Middle Eastern luxury brand and business development conference ‘Leaders in Luxury’; where it is highlighting the luxury offering available at Abu Dhabi International Airport’s new Terminal 3.

This includes more than 20 dedicated designer boutiques and luxury goods exclusive to the airport, and is part of ADAC’s “Shop-Dine-Unwind” concept.

Shop-Dine-Unwind is a combination of fine dining and luxury shopping at Abu Dhabi International Airport’s Terminal 3, where the best-in-class boutique retail and dining has been an instant success with passengers since it opened earlier this year.

The concept will be an integral part of the future Midfield Terminal Complex, where it will offer 25,000 square metres of premium retail and food and beverage space. Continue Reading

Clark international flights for as low as P999!

Cebu Pacific entices travelers to head to Korea and Japan this coming winter months with our seat sale starting now until October 27, 2009, for travel December 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010.

Manila-Incheon, Cebu-Incheon and Cebu-Pusan seats are up for grabs for the ‘Go Lite’ seat sale fare of P2,499. Those with check-in baggage will just add P100 upon booking. Our Manila-Osaka seats are also available at the seat sale fare of only P2,599.

Fly from Clark to Bangkok, Macau, Hong Kong and Singapore with a ‘Go Lite’ P999 seat sale with the same promo and travel periods. This is on top of an ongoing promotion of 30 kilos free baggage allowance to anyone traveling these international routes from Clark from October 15-December 31, 2009.

Cebu Pacific is also offering a ‘Go Lite’ P888 seat sale to Zamboanga from Manila, Cebu and Davao, as well as to Clark from Cebu.

Hurry, book your seats now at www.cebupacificair.com

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Hawaiian Airlines, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:HA), announced on Friday that Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific Air is launching twice-weekly connecting flights between Manila and Laoag City, both in the Philippines, to complement Hawaiian’s service between Honolulu and Manila.

The service will be launched on 2 November and will allow Hawaiian customers to fly round-trip from Honolulu to Laoag City, with a stopover in Manila, earning HawaiianMiles awards on each flight.

The flights will be operated on Mondays and Thursdays from Manila to Laoag City, with return flights from Laoag City to Manila on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

To promote the new service Hawaiian is offering a special introductory fare of USD35 each way for connecting flights between Manila and Laoag City.

A global benchmark survey of leading airport hubs has found that online booking among passengers using the Brazilian gateway, Sao Paulo Guarulhos, has risen almost 50% over the last twelve months.

Compared to last year’s SITA Passenger Self Service Survey when 42.3% of passengers surveyed used online booking, this year 61.5% of survey respondents declared they had booked their flight online which means the Brazilian airport is fast catching up on the global average of 63.7% across the six airports surveyed.

The 4th annual SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self-Service (PSS) Survey is an in-depth look at the attitudes and habits of a representative sample of the 232 million passengers who use these six leading international airports: Sao Paulo Guarulhos, Brazil; Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta; Mumbai International; Charles de Gaulle, Paris; Moscow Domodedovo; and O.R. Tambo Airport, Johannesburg. The data is extracted from interviews with 2,193 passengers conducted at the departure gates earlier this year. Continue Reading

Continental Airlines has confirmed that it is to launch a new service from Los Angeles to Maui and from Orange County to Honolulu. The airline is also planning a second daily flight on the Los Angeles-Honolulu route. These flights begin 7 March 2010.

“With more destinations in the Pacific than any U.S. carrier, we are pleased to offer our customers additional travel options to Hawaii,” said Jim Compton, Continental’s executive vice president of marketing. “The flights will provide increased convenience to travelers and will complement routes provided by future Star Alliance partners.”

The new daily flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Maui’s Kahului Airport (OGG) will depart at 17:05 and arrive at 19:45. The return flight will depart Maui at 21:15 and arrive at Los Angeles at 05:45. Continental will operate the flights with a Boeing 737-800 with 160 seats.

Continental’s new service between Orange County’s John Wayne Airport (SNA) and the Honolulu International Airport (HNL) will initially operate four-times weekly, departing Orange County at 17:20 and arriving in Honolulu at 20:05. Continue Reading

Etihad Airways has launched flights from its Abu Dhabi home-base to Cape Town, South Africa’s second most populous city and the country’s leading tourist destination.

The new flights operate via the airline’s current daily Airbus A330 service to South Africa’s commercial capital Johannesburg. Cape Town is Etihad’s second destination in South Africa and its fifth on the African continent, joining Khartoum, Cairo and Casablanca.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said, “South Africa is a leading global destination of choice for tourism and commerce and we are thrilled to launch a daily service to Cape Town, our second city in the country.

“In addition to the strong demand for flights from expatriate South African nationals, business and leisure travellers, many thousands of football fans are expected to travel there next year when South Africa hosts the 2010 FIFA World Cup.” Continue Reading

Jet Airways will be launching soon their second daily flights from Hong Kong and India vice versa, with daily services on the Delhi-Hong Kong sector using Airbus 330-200 aircraft.

The new Hong Kong daily flights will begin from India on 30 September and from Hong Kong on October 1,2009. The Delhi – Hong Kong sector will also complement the airline’s existing Mumbai – Hong Kong services.

From September 30, 2009 to October 24, 2009 and from March 28, 2010 to October 30, 2010, flight 9W 72 will depart Delhi at 22:50, arriving in Hong Kong at 06:55. Flight 9W 71 will then depart Hong Kong at 13:30, arriving in Delhi at 16:50.

From October 25, 2009 to March 27, 2010, flight 9W 72 will depart Delhi at 22:45, arriving in Hong Kong at 06:20. Flight 9W 71 will then depart Hong Kong at 13:35, arriving in Delhi at 17:20.

Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways, said, “We are delighted to connect Delhi and Hong Kong with daily services, and launch our inaugural flight from Hong Kong to Delhi on the occasion of China National Day.