Airphil Express Offering More New Routes Via Its Cebu Hub

Manila Bulletin
February 6, 2012

Airphil Express announces the expansion of its Cebu hub.

Starting February 9, passengers can now fly with ease from Cebu to Cotabato (v.v.), Cebu to Kalibo (v.v.), Cebu to Legazpi (v.v.), Cebu to Surigao (v.v.) and Cebu to Pagadian (v.v.) via Airphil Express.

The additional five routes bring the current total number of Airphil Express’s Cebu hub flights to 14, making the Queen City of the South a major hub for the budget carrier. Previously serviced routes include Cebu to Manila (v.v.), Cebu to Davao (v.v.), Cebu to Caticlan (v.v.), Cebu to Iloilo (v.v.), Cebu to Bacolod (v.v.), Cebu to Cagayan De Oro (v.v.), Cebu to Zamboanga (v.v.), Cebu to Tacloban (v.v.), and Cebu to Ozamis (v.v.).

“The move is seen to boost the number of flyers availing the services of Airphil Express,” says Alfredo Herrera, Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing. “With more additions in the number of routes and frequencies in daily flights in the pipeline, we are anticipating about 100 percent increase in the number of passengers this year or 8 million flyers in 2012,” he reveals.

Airphil Express also experienced a remarkable growth in its customer base last year. From 2010’s 1.8 million, it ballooned to more than 122 percent in 2011. The growth is attributed to its continuously increasing number of routes and the acquisition of additional aircrafts with bigger seating capacity. The company has also embarked on Adventours, an awareness-building campaign that promotes its new routes by supporting domestic tourism.

“We don’t only advertise the new routes, for instance, Caticlan. We also promote the experience behind a Boracay trip. That is, we hype up its food, its people and its culture,” Herrera explains further. “Our Boracay route was a huge success because we marketed that route as part of our Adventours Package.”

While Airphil Express also considers its much-anticipated regular Express Sales as a key contributor to the growth, it prefers to give more credit to its excellent customer service. “We also offer other intangibles like listening to the consumers and satisfying their needs. We were the first to offer the 24/7 customer support service,” he says.

In line with the additional routes, Airphil Express is also continuously expanding its fleet. This year, it will add three 180-seater Airbus 320s, which can fly at a longer flight distance with lesser fuel consumption. This brings the total number of Airphil Express aircrafts to 11 Airbus 320, three Q300s and five Q400s.