CLARK FREEPORT– Dragonair, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways has joined the growing family of international airlines at the Clark International Airport (CIA) here, as it launches flights to 18 cities in China and some 130 other destinations worldwide.
Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) president and chief executive officer Victor Jose Luciano said yesterday Dragonair’s first daily flight from here would be to Hong Kong starting May 29.
“This airline offers travellers seamless connections to some 130 destinations worldwide,” Luciano noted.
Luciano said “Dragonair is a renowned China expert. The airline has routes to mainland China and to some 130 destinations all over the world.”
He said “the integration of Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair linked their international destinations and domestic routes to China which brought forth significant benefits to the travelling public. It also further improved Hong Kong’s position as a leading international aviation hub.”
The Cathay Pacific Group, including Dragonair and Air Hong Kong, now operates more than 150 aircraft. Its fleet is being significantly modernized with a total of 30 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft set to arrive this year.
Luciano said the new Cathay Pacific aircraft will form the backbone of the airline’s ultra-long-haul passenger fleet.
“Cathay Pacific Group has also upgraded its in-flight product with new cabin designs being introduced on the entire medium- and long-haul fleet. The new cabins are, uniquely, being fitted in First, Business and Economy Class taking the travel experience to new highs,” he added.
“Clark has positioned itself as a hub for low-cost carriers but is now attracting legacy carriers. These are now taking a serious look at Clark airport,” said Luciano
Luciano said that Dragonair will be the second legacy carrier that will operate in Clark airport. South Korea’s Asiana Airlines is the first legacy carrier to locate in the Clark airport.
Dragonair is an affiliate member of the Oneworld Airline Alliance. It has an all Airbus fleet of 31 aircraft consisting of A320s, A321s and A330s.
Dragonair, together with its parent, Cathay Pacific, operated over 56,000 flights, carried nearly 25 million passengers and over 1.52 billion kilograms of cargo and mail. The airline was established in Hong Kong on May 24, 1985 with its hub at the Hong Kong International Airport.
Luciano said Airphil Express also started here its thrice-a-week Clark-Singapore and four-times-a-week Clark-Hong Kong international flights on May 17 and 18 respectively. Airphil Express is the budget carrier of the country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL).
“We welcome Dragonair and Airphil Express as the newest members of the international airlines operating at Clark International Airport,” Luciano said.
South East Asian Airlines (Seair) has also launched its Clark-Kalibo flights which will further increase passengers going to the world famous Boracay Beach Resort. Aside from Kalibo flights, Seair-Tiger also flies to Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Kota Kinabalu.
Luciano said CIAC is targeting at least 1.5 million passengers before the end of 2012 amid additional international and domestic flights of Air Asia Philippines, Airphil Express, Seair-Tiger and Dragonair. The airport here hosts 292 domestic and international flights per week.
CIA also hosts Cebu Pacific Air flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Macau, as well as domestic flights to Cebu.
Other airlines operating at Clark Airport include Asiana Airlines and Jin Air which flies regularly to Incheon in South Korea.
Luciano cited the growth of domestic passenger volume to 73,791 from January to May 15 this year compared to only 16,918 in the same period last year.
“There has been an exponential growth of passengers especially in the domestic front which grew 336 percent from January to May this year, as compared to the same period last year,” he noted.
Luciano attributed this to domestic flights of both AirAsia and Airphil Express which launched flights to Kalibo, Davao, Cebu and Puerto Princesa last March 29.
AirAsia Philippines also started flights to Davao and Kalibo last March 28 and to Puerto Princesa last April 20.
International passenger volume increased to 31 percent or by 355,034 passengers from January to May this year compared to 270,900 in the same months last year.
“The entry of AirAsia, Airphil Express and the expansion of Seair-Tiger has brought tremendous growth to passenger volume in Clark,” said Luciano.
Luciano said CIAC is fast tracking the construction of the P360 million Phase II expansion of the CIA passenger terminal to accommodate the growing numbers of passengers. The present terminal is good only for two million passengers annually. The project is expected to be completed early next year.
