Low-cost airlines information center
By Budget Airline News
Cebu Pacific launched twice weekly non-stop flights between Manila and Doha Hamad Airport, Qatar. The non-stop service departs Manila every Monday and Thursday at 21:35 to arrive in Doha at 02:45 the next day. The return flight departs Doha every Tuesday and Friday at 04:15 to arrive in Manila at 18:35.
The new route utilizes Cebu Pacific’s brand-new Airbus A330-300 aircraft, with a configuration of 436 all-economy class seats. [Read more…]
By Budget Airline News
Cebu Pacific will operate direct daily flights between Manila and Dubai, beginning October 7, 2013. Cebu Pacific will be the only Filipino carrier to fly direct to Dubai. Daily flights from Manila to Dubai are scheduled to depart at 4:40PM (Manila time), while flights from Dubai airport to Manila depart at 11:10PM (Dubai time). It will be the budget airline’s first long haul destination.
“Cebu Pacific is proud to be the only Filipino carrier to fly direct to Dubai. We are glad to be of service to over 700,000 Global Filipinos who are in UAE. Now, Filipinos in Dubai can enjoy fares that are up to 40% lower than current offerings and fly direct to Manila, a mere 9 hours away from their loved ones, via a CEB flight,” said Alex Reyes Cebu Pacific General Manager, Long Haul Division.
“With CEB’s direct service to Dubai, Filipinos overseas can look forward to going home more often. Their relatives and friends can also visit them in Dubai more often,” added Reyes.
Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) shows that UAE ranks second to Saudi Arabia in terms of number of land-based new hires and rehires. In 2010, there were 201,214 land-based workers deployed to UAE.
“Dubai is the largest long-haul market to and from the Philippines. IATA PaxIS data indicate more than 70% of passengers in this route take multiple stops, and connecting flights because no home carrier offers a non-stop service,” said Reyes.
CEB’s Manila-Dubai flights will be operated on the Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a configuration of more than 400 all-economy class seats. Guests can also enjoy WiFi connectivity inflight.
By Budget Airline News
Budget airline Flydubai has announced it will begin flying to the holiday destination of Male, Maldies. The new route will begin on January 19, 2013 with an initial schedule of 5 round-trip flights per week.
Flights to Male will depart from Terminal 2 of the Dubai International Airport every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, Return fares from Dubai to Male start at AED 1,730 (USD $470) including taxes.
“We are very excited about adding Male to our destination network,” said Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith.
“As the first low-cost carrier from the UAE to fly to the Maldives, we are making this island paradise even more accessible to travellers across our network. Flydubai offers a low-cost model with innovation and excellent service. This proposition has proved very popular with our passengers and will undoubtedly be a draw for those looking to experience one of the world’s top holiday spots at an affordable price.”
By Budget Airline News
Low-cost, long-haul airline AirAsia X has announced it will be suspending its service from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Tehran, Iran. The last flight will take place on October 14, 2012.
In a statement, AirAsia X said the suspension of its 4x weekly service to Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport it due to economic reasons, including the volatility of the Iranian currency.
According to the AirAsia website:
“AirAsia X will offer guests who hold bookings after these dates an option of a full refund or credit shell. All changes will be made at no additional cost to mitigate the inconvenience caused as a result of the withdrawal. All affected guests will receive an e-mail stating the available options.
Affected guests who booked flights via our exclusive sales agents in Iran should contact them directly for service recovery options.”
By Budget Airline News
Budget airline Air Arabia has begun service to the southwestern city of Ufa, Russia. This is the UAE-based airline’s third destination in Russia, following Moscow and Yekaterinburg.
The initial schedule will be 2 flights per week on Tuesdays and Fridays. Flights will depart Sharjah International Airport at 6:55pm and arrive in Ufa at 01:55am local time. Return flights will depart Ufa International Airport at 02:55am and arrive in Sharjah at 05:55am local time.
In a statement, Air Arabia CEO Adel Ali said: “We are pleased to introduce this new service to Ufa which comes as part of our route expansion strategy in the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe.”
By Budget Airline News
Pegasus Airlines, a low-cost carrier based in Turkey, has announced a new international route from London to Dubai via Istanbul. Service will commence on October 18, 2012, with an initial schedule of 4 flights per week.
Flights will depart London Stansted on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Return flights will depart Dubai on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Total flying time is just over 7 hours plus a la-over in Istanbul.
Guliz Ozturk, the CCO of Pegasus, commented: “We are delighted to be launching flights to the Middle East’s glory that is Dubai. Having recently celebrated five years at London Stansted, in a year that also saw us become the airport’s fifth largest airline in terms of numbers of passengers carried, we look forward to adding to the airport’s choice of destinations for the British public.”
Dubai is Pegasus Airlines’ 57th destination.
By Budget Airline News
Wizz Air has announced it will offer direct flights from Budapest, Hungary to Tel Aviv, Israel starting December 6, 2012. The initial schedule will be three flights per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
In a statement, Wizz Air CEO József Váradi said: “Wizz Air is delighted to bring really low fares to Tel Aviv and launch its new route to/from Budapest. We expect our low fares to be a driving force in generating more tourism both in Budapest and Tel Aviv with our new route set to carry 45,000 passengers in the first year of operation. With fares starting from just €37.99 the airlink to Budapest will now be attractive for tourism and city breaks and also offer unbeatable value for business travelers. Israeli tourists will enjoy Hungary’s world class SPA’s, gastronomy and renowned wineries and we urge them to snap up the lowest fares quickly on wizzair.com.”
One-way fares start from just €37.99 including taxes.
By Budget Airline News
On September 2, 2012, Mihin Lanka airlines launched its new route from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Bahrain. The initial schedule will be five round-trip flights per week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
Mihin Lanka is a low-cost airline fully owned by the government of Sri Lanka. Bahrain is its 8th international destination, following Trichy, Gaya, Varanasi, Dubai, Sharjah, Dhaka and Jakarta.
One-way fares start from 18,700 LKR ($141 USD) + taxes.
By Budget Airline News
Air Arabia has announced it will offer direct flights from its base in Sharjah, UAE to Odessa, Ukraine starting October 12, 2012. This will be the low-cost airline’s 76th destination and its 4th in Ukraine.
The initial schedule will be two round-trip flights per week on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The outbound flight will depart Sharjah International Airport at 9:25am and arrive at Odessa International Airport at 12:40pm. The return flight till depart Odessa at 1:40pm and arrive in Sharjah at 8:20pm local time.
By Budget Airline News
Low-cost airline Flydubai has announced it will offer direct flights from Dubai, UAE to Basra, Iraq starting with effect from August 8, 2012. The airline will initially offer four round-trip flights per week on this new route.
FZ229 is scheduled to depart Dubai Terminal 2 at 8:45am, landing in Basra International Airport at 9:40am local time. The return flight FZ230 departs Basra at 10:40am,, arriving in Dubai at 1:25pm local time.
Basra will be Flyduvbai’s fifth destination in Iraq, after Baghdad, Najaf, Sulaimaniyah, and Erbil.
Return fares from Dubai to Basra start at AED 2,205 ($600) and include one piece of hand luggage weighing up to 7kg, one small laptop bag or handbag plus 20kg of checked baggage.
