Cebu Air plans long-haul flights Cebu, Air, plans, long-haul, flights

Cebu Air, the Philippines’ largest budget carrier, plans to start flights to the US, Middle East, Australia and Europe in 2013 to tap demand from Filipinos living outside the country.

The airline, which operates as Cebu Pacific, intends to lease as many as eight Airbus A330-300 aircraft, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Fares will be 35 percent less than full-price competitors, it said.

Cebu Air will target the more than 8.5 million Filipinos leaving overseas as it challenges Philippine Airlines, the nation’s largest long-haul carrier. AirAsia X and Jetstar also operate budget long-haul flights from Asia as rising wages spur travel.

he Cebu City, the Philippines-based airline intends to offer direct flights to the country to draw passengers away from services requiring multiple stops, said President Lance Gokongwei.

Cebu has slumped 32 percent in the past year in Manila trading, compared with a 39 percent gain for PAL Holdings, the parent of Philippines Air. Cebu Air closed little changed at 67.10 pesos today.

The carrier, which currently operates only short-haul services, expects to fly 14 million passengers this year compared with almost 12 million in 2011.