Starting June 12, Cebu Pacific (CEB)of the Gokongwei’s, will reduce its domestic fares permanently by as much as 32 percent to encourage more people to fly amid rising fuel prices.
Candice Iyog, CEB vice president for marketing said this includes the fuel and insurance surcharge, aviation security fee and 12 percent VAT.
Iyog said the ‘all-in’ pricing format is introduced with a seat sale across CEB’s domestic network, adding, the promotional offer will run from June 12 to 17, 2008 and is valid for travel on July 1 to October 15, 2008.
“There are more than half a million seats allocated for this promotion, Iyog said.
‘All-in’ fares for short sectors such as Manila-Legaspi are at P699 one-way while a one-way Manila-Cebu flight would cost P999 and a Manila-Davao sector would cost only P1,499 during the seat sale.
At seat sale levels, these reduction represent savings of up to 56 percent over today’s rate, Iyog added.
CEB is shifting to an ‘all-in’ pricing format so passengers will immediately know the total amount they need to pay and can easily compare CEB fares with other modes of transportation including ferries and buses, Iyog said.
After the seat sale, the one-way Manila-Davao would cost P2,499 ‘all-in’ while a one-way Manila-Cebu is sold at P1,499 while Manila-Legaspi, one-way is P999.
“We would like to continue domestic tourism’s growth momentum by introducing reduced all-in fares. We want to assure the public that CEB will do everything possible to keep air fares down because this is also good for the economy,” Iyog said.
Iyog also added that they are doing this to respond to the public’s desire for a more transparent and simple communication of fares.
“We really hope that this new move is deemed as a positive change in the industry and we encourage other airlines to do the same,” Iyog emphasized
CEB has a fleet of 10t A319s, eight A320s, and two ATR 72-500 aircraft.
The airline flies to 16 international destinations with the addition of Kota Kinabalu next month.
It will also add Tuguegarao and Naga, in its domestic network this June and San Jose (Mindoro) next month.