Philippine Travel Blog – The Travelers Guide to Philippine Destinations

South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) recently announced that it will launch its first domestic jet services from Manila to Cebu on July 1, 2011 and Manila to Davao on July 2 as part of the SEAIR-Tiger Airways Partner Airline Programme.

Special starting fare offers will be for as low as 499 PHP one-way to/from Cebu for travel on July 1 to October 29, 2011, and 999 PHP one-way to/from Davao for travel on July 2 to October 29, 2011. Passengers can now buy tickets online at FlySeair.com and tigerairways.com, or call +63 2 849 0100, the SEAIR Hotline for domestic and international flights.

SEAIR will have up to 10 daily flights to and from Cebu and up to six daily flights to and from Davao from its jet operations base at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) domestic terminal.

Cebu and Davao are the major tourist gateways in the Philippines for Visayas and Mindanao, respectively. Cebu, the “Queen City of the South”, also known locally as Sugbo, is the capital city of the island of Cebu and the oldest city in the country. Its popular tourist attractions include the Magellan’s Cross Shrine, an important historical landmark that signalled the beginning of the Spanish occupation in the Philippines, and the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño (Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño), which houses the Santo Niño de Cebú (Holy Child of Cebu), the oldest Catholic relic in the Philippines.

Apart from exploring the Spanish side of Cebu, nature-loving travellers can discover rich marine life at scuba diving spots in Moalbal, Malapascua, and Pescador Island, or hop on a ferry to its island neighbors, Bohol and Negros, for dive safaris in Cabilao and Apo Island.

The largest city in the country and the premier hub of Mindanao, Davao is home to some of the country’s top beach and mountain resorts, most notably the Pearl Farm in the secluded island of Samal, just 45 minutes off the coast of the city. Adventure-seekers can sign up for a two-day climb at Mount Apo, the Philippines’ tallest mountain at 9,692 ft located just 40 km northeast of Davao, or sample durian, “the king of fruits”, which, due to its unusual flavor and odor, have aroused intense passion in some and dislike in others. The annual week-long Kadayawan Festival in August, the biggest of its kind in Mindanao, is celebrated during the peak season of durian and mangosteen (another fruit) as a thanksgiving celebration for the bountiful harvest of flowers and fruits that Davao is known for.

The Cebu and Davao flights are the first domestic flights under the SEAIR-Tiger Airways Partner Airline Programme, which allows SEAIR to distribute its seats through the established online booking system, www.tigerairways.com. SEAIR is the first Tiger Airways Partner Airline in the Asia Pacific region.

“SEAIR’s great value fares and this expanded network will offer travellers even more value-for-money destinations to choose from, together with worry-free bookings. The introduction of high frequency domestic jet routes will also drive the creation of new jobs as well boost tourism across the Philippines,” said SEAIR President and CEO Avelino Zapanta.

SEAIR is the second oldest airline in the country. It has the reputation of having pioneered commercial flights to the country’s fastest growing tourist destinations including Boracay, Batanes, and northern Palawan. Now on its 16th year of operation, it has expanded its reach regionally with jet services to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 5th, 2011 at 12:27 am and is filed under Promos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.