By HENRY EMPEÑO |

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Leading Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific will be opening a direct route to Tokyo, Japan, flying direct from the Clark International Airport to address increasing demand from tourists and overseas Filipino workers for seamless connections.

Charo Logarta, Cebu Pacific’s director for corporate communication, said the airline will open the Clark to Tokyo route on August 9 to serve more international flyers in the Central and North Luzon areas, especially migrant workers.

At the same time, the airline will open daily flights between Cebu Pacific hubs in Clark and Iloilo, as well as between Clark and Bacolod.

Then beginning October 27 this year, the carrier will mount daily flights between Clark and Puerto Princesa in Palawan.

“With the commencement of its direct service to and from Tokyo, Japan, Cebu Pacific will be the first Philippine carrier to mount flights between Clark and Tokyo via the Narita International Airport,” Logarta said in a media briefing at the Sakura Restaurant here on Thursday.

Logarta said that Cebu Pacific had seen a 40% expansion in Clark in 2019 alone with 11 existing direct flights to foreign destinations including Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau, and local ports like Cebu, Boracay, Davao and Bohol.

“We have always believed in the potential of Clark, and we have never left Clark since opening the first Clark to Cebu route in 2006,” Logarta said, pointing out that Clark has emerged as one of Asia’s fastest-growing airports.

The firm, which has taken pride as the biggest Filipino budget carrier, “has been growing with Clark, putting up more flights as the market expanded,” she added.

Right now, Logarta said, Cebu Pacific has the widest network among local carriers, with a total of seven hubs, a fleet of 73 aircraft, and more than 60 destinations worldwide.

The firm also plans to double its fleet size in Clark and expects to fly 200 million passengers by 2010.

Meanwhile, Michael Ivan Shau, the airline’s chief operations officer said opening more routes at Clark will also help open up both business and tourism in nearby areas.

“There’s still a lot of opportunity for expansion within the Philippines—inter-island connections from key cities like Clark and Cebu,” Shau said in a statement released during the briefing.

“We believe that there is a significant untapped market in northern provinces in the Philippines (and) creating direct links between domestic destinations and our other hubs will spur tourism and movement of goods and investments, whilst doing away with having to pass through the main hub in Manila,” Shau added.

Clark had served as Cebu Pacific’s hub for North and Central Luzon for the past 10 years, serving a population of over 23 million with direct connections to some local and international ports.

Aside from Clark, Cebu Pacific also operates flights out of six other strategically placed hubs in the Philippines: Manila, Kalibo, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro (Laguindingan) and has maintained leadership in the domestic market with 37 destinations and over 2,130 weekly flights.