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Cebu Pacific plans to use Clark as 3rd hub after Manila, Cebu

CEBU Pacific (CEB) is eyeing Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga, as its third hub after Manila and Cebu.

Lance Gokongwei, CEB president and chief executive officer, said the airline plans to use Clark to fly daily to Hong Kong, four times a week to Singapore and Macau, and three times a week to Bangkok and Taipei.

The airline would first seek the necessary approvals from the respective civil aviation authorities of each country it plans to operate to, including the countryโ€™s Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

โ€œIf we get the necessary approvals from all the governments concerned, we will make Clark our third base and hub after Manila and Cebu,โ€ said Gokongwei. The head of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) already welcomed CEBโ€™s plan.

โ€œClark addresses a much-needed demand, and this is shown in the exponential growth of passenger traffic and cargo volume in the relatively short time that it has been in operation as an international airport. With CEB there, we expect to grow faster,โ€ said Victor Jose Luciano, CIAC president and CEO.

Gokongwei said the plan is strategically important to Cebu Pacific since making Clark a base of aircraft and a hub for flights to and from various regional destinations gives the airline a major presence in Central Luzon, one of the countryโ€™s fastest-growing regions, and in the whole of Northern Luzon.

This move, he added, pits it directly against other foreign budget airlines that had been allowed to use Clark for their regional services. โ€œWe hope to get a favorable response from all other governments considering that our own government has given their carriers similar rights to Clark,โ€ said Gokongwei.

CEB expects to carry about 300,000 passengers in and out of Clark per year initially but is confident of increasing this volume as Clark continues to spur growth in the region, being the gateway to the northern corridor.

โ€œWe want to help accelerate the growth of the region, as well as the commercial aviation market. We have done this in other parts of the country by offering our permanently low โ€˜GOโ€™ fares and serving more destinations using our new Airbus fleet,โ€ Gokongwei said.

Gokongwei added that as CEB takes delivery of more Airbus aircraft, Clark will see CEB introducing more local and regional flights to make travel to and from the North more convenient.

CEB currently has 14 new Airbus aircraft and is acquiring up to 20 more. It has also recently placed an order for up to 14 ATR 72-500 aircraft with the delivery of the first two in early 2008. CEB expects to operate a fleet of 46 aircraft by 2013.

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