Cebu Pacific Seals the Deal: Ayala’s AirSWIFT Joins the Fleet

(SPOT.ph) We could see Cebu Pacific direct flights from Manila to El Nido soon.

Gone are the days when heading to one of Palawan's most coveted destinations meant either shelling out a considerable chunk of your travel budget on a direct flight or spending six grueling hours on the road from Puerto Princesa. 

In a landmark P1.75 billion deal, budget airline Cebu Pacific has purchased 100% of Ayala Land Inc.'s AirSWIFT boutique airline. If you're headed to El Nido anytime soon, check out how this move in aviation could affect your future travel plans. 

Also read: Cebu Pacific Signs P1.4T Purchase Agreement for 152 Aircraft

Here's what this Cebu Pacific acquisition of AirSWIFT means for your travel plans:

Do you plan to fly to El Nido via AirSWIFT anytime soon? There's no need to panic. A statement released by Cebu Pacific says that for now, AirSWIFT’s flight schedules and service will remain the same. This means it would be business as usual for all passengers for both airlines—TLDR: You can still buy tickets, manage your bookings, check-in, and perform other pre-flight needs via the AirSWIFT website. 

"Our investment in AirSWIFT has been a key enabler in the growth of El Nido as a world-class tourist destination. With this transaction, we are hopeful that the expertise of Cebu Pacific will bring lower cost options and greater accessibility to El Nido,” said Ayala Land Inc., Capital President Alfonso Javier Reyes.


Once AirSWIFT becomes fully integrated into Cebu Pacific, all of AirSWIFT's routes, and ATR42 and ATR72 planes will be transferred to the Gokongwei-owned airline. This means we could soon see low-cost flights to popular destinations with smaller airports, such as El Nido and Sicogon, and additional flights to crowd-favorites such as Coron, Boracay, Bohol, and Cebu. 

This move comes after news of Cebu Pacific's 1.4 trillion purchase of new aircraft touted as the largest aircraft order in Philippine aviation history—showing the airline means serious business when it comes to widening its network and connectivity for domestic and international travelers. 

"We are excited to play our part in increasing accessibility to local destinations that have high potential and are world-renowned for having some of the best beaches in the world," says Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer Xander Lao.


Now, you might be wondering when we'll start seeing low-cost El Nido flights—an important detail if we want to minimize the damage to our wallets. SPOT.ph contacted representatives of Cebu Pacific, who maintained that everything would be "business as usual until further notice." We guess we'll have to watch for more updates on this.

For more information, visit AirSWIFT and Cebu Pacific's website.

Also read:
10 Places to Stay in El Nido for Every Type of Traveler
10 Under-the-Radar Spots in Dumaran and San Vicente, Palawan

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