Cebu Pacific Air (5J, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) has blamed capacity dumping by rival carriers for its decision to cut all but one of its Middle Eastern services.

The Filipino carrier said in a statement this week that it will suspend services from Manila Ninoy Aquino International to each of Kuwait, Doha Hamad International, and Riyadh on June 14, and July 1 and 3 respectively. Service to Dubai International will be retained, however.

"The entry of Cebu Pacific into these markets benefitted passengers with lower fares and more choices," Paterno Mantaring, Vice President (Corporate Affairs), said. "Of late, other carriers have aggressively added more flights, which has resulted in substantial oversupply of seats and fares that are so low, hence making the routes unsustainable."

"We have to continuously review our routes to ensure their viability. At this point, it makes more sense for us to re-deploy the aircraft used for our Riyadh, Doha and Kuwait service to routes where we can further stimulate demand and sustain our low fare offers."

Cebu Pacific serves each of the destinations nonstop in competition with fellow carrier Philippine Airlines and each of Qatar Airways, Saudia, and Kuwait Airways. However, Etihad Airways, and Emirates have strong price offerings despite operating via Abu Dhabi International and Dubai International respectively.

In a separate statement, Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) announced it would be suspending its Manila Ninoy Aquino International-Abu Dhabi International services from July 8 onwards. The carrier said it would undertake "route assessment initiatives" for the duration of the service's suspension.