LOW-COST carrier AirAsia Philippines is expecting stronger demand for travel with the start of the “Ber” months after guests booked various domestic and international destinations during the recent Philippine Travel Mart fair.
In a statement on Thursday, the airline said the top domestic destinations booked by guests for travel within 90 days were Caticlan (Boracay), Tagbilaran, and Cebu, while the top three international destinations were Bangkok, Osaka, and Narita.
“We see our guests now preparing early for their vacation during the latter part of this year. This positive reception from our guests will help us jumpstart our goal of growing our market share next year through the mounting new flights to East Asia with the help of the reactivation of our Kalibo and Clark hubs,” AirAsia Philippines Chief Executive Officer Ricardo P. Isla said.
Currently, AirAsia Philippines has 400 weekly flights to 27 domestic and international destinations out of Manila, five out of Cebu, and one out of Clark.
Starting Sept. 1, the airline will continue to service its guests from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 to other international destinations such as Macao (daily), Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Shanghai (2x weekly), Bangkok (daily), Hong Kong (daily), Kota Kinabalu (3x weekly), Osaka (daily), Seoul (3x daily), Taipei (2x daily), Kaohsiung (3x weekly), and Taipei (4x weekly), and via Mactan-Cebu International Airport to Tokyo (daily) and Seoul (daily).
Domestic flights via NAIA Terminal 2 continue to fly to Bacolod (3x daily), Bohol (4x daily), Caticlan (7x daily), Cagayan de Oro (2x daily), Cebu (7x daily), Davao (5x daily), Iloilo (4x daily), Kalibo (3x daily), Puerto Princesa (3x daily), Roxas (3x weekly), and Tacloban (4x daily), and via Cebu to Caticlan (3x weekly) and Davao (3x weekly), as well as daily flights to Caticlan from Clark International Airport.
Meanwhile, AirAsia said it signed an agreement with Duty Free Philippines on Sept. 1 to offer discounts for guests buying in the latter’s three stores.
Starting September, guests flying with AirAsia are eligible to receive up to 5% off on all purchases across three Duty Free stores namely in Fiestamall, Luxe, and NAIA Terminal 3.
“We hope that this exercise will add an extra level of excitement to reunions, especially since we expect some 1.7 million tourist arrivals until December. We know that the Ber months are the onset of reunions so what better way to delight our guests than to give them more room for spending for pasalubong to their loved ones,” Mr. Isla said.
“This is also timely especially since most of our local and international destinations have started to pick up for the final quarter of 2023,” he added.
The carrier added that guests flying AirAsia and other airlines will get a “Free Flights Fiesta” raffle entry for every $200 spent on duty-free items. The Free Flight Fiesta will be raffled four times from Oct. 5 to Jan. 5 next year for a round-trip ticket to Tokyo and Seoul, which is valid for travel for one year.
“This collaboration between Duty Free Philippines and AirAsia stands as a remarkable milestone. As we pursue the endeavor of enhancing the travel and duty-free shopping experience of international travelers, we continue to contribute to the flourishing landscape of Philippine tourism,” Duty Free Chief Operating Officer Vico A. Angala said.
“Our goal is clear, to offer a seamless and exclusive duty-free shopping privilege that enhances the overall travel experience of AirAsia’s guests,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
