Cebu Pacific Air (5J, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) is considering partnerships with Emirati and Saudi budget carriers to act as feeders for its longhaul services into the Middle East.
CAPA says the Filipino longhaul LCC is planning to add Sharjah as a permanent fixture to its intercontinental network in a bid to leverage the Emirati city's Air Arabia (G9, Sharjah) connections. Cebu commenced temporary services to Sharjah during Dubai International's runway works last year and during operations there, saw a number of passengers - largely Filipino migrant workers - connect beyond Sharjah.
While Cebu has since returned to using Dubai International, it is now considering launching a dedicated Manila Ninoy Aquino International-Sharjah service to tap into Air Arabia's network which includes flights throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and the CIS.
Saudi budget carrier flynas (XY, Riyadh) reportedly noted the popularity of Air Arabia's promoted connections to Manila from Dammam, Riyadh, Gassim, and Hail and is now considering a partnership with Cebu in which it would feed its Saudi Arabian traffic into Cebu's Riyadh services.
In related news, Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) is set to return five single-class A330-300s to their German lessor following its decision to drop planned services to Kuwait, Jeddah International, and Muscat. The jets, according to local media outlets, are set to exit the fleet by year end.
