PAL to open direct flights between Cebu and Seoul

Asian Economic News, Oct 2, 2000

MANILA, Sept. 27 Kyodo

Philippine Airlines (PAL) will start operating direct flights between the central Philippine city of Cebu and the Korean capital Seoul on Sunday, the Philippines' flag carrier announced Wednesday.

Flights will operate twice a week using wide-body Airbus 330-300 aircraft that can accommodate 48 passengers in business class and 230 in economy.

PAL said the five-hour direct flights would serve primarily tourists, including honeymooners from South Korea, for whom Cebu and its neighboring resort island of Boracay are becoming popular destinations.

''The demand is already apparent -- the majority of passengers on our Seoul-Manila flights are actually tourists bound for Boracay while a growing number head for Cebu so direct services are the logical next step,'' PAL vice president for sales David Lim said in a statement.

South Koreans rank among the top 10 visitors to Cebu with 5,839 arrivals in 1999, or about 2% of all foreign visitors to the island.