Philippines Domestic Air Transport

Air fares in the Philippines are cheap. In November 2007 CEBU PACIFIC started an action, giving away 10,000 tickets for 1 (yes one!) peso. They say, that every pinoy should fly at least once in his life. The fares for hops between the islands are from 350 to
3000 peso depending on the season, on the airline and the route. South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR) are rather expensive, but they deserve small and very small islands. In 2007 SEAIR was the only company to deserve the small island of Camiguin.
But be warned: the fares displayed are only a part of the price you pay.
There are multiple taxes and fees. We recommend to multiply the displayed price by two. And there are always the terminal fees for departing travellers. They are usually modest for domestic terminals, from PHP 20.00 in the province up to PHP 200.00 in Manila.

Domestic Aiports in the Philippines

Only few domestic airports are equiped with an Instrument Landing System (ILS). Some are equiped with a VOR, a sort of radio beacon.
So, the domestic flights are based on Visual Flight Rules (VFR).

This is usually no problem because the Philippine's pilots are among the best in the world. But when there is heavy weather with either very low cloud levels ore strong lateral winds, the pilots take no risks and either land on a saver airport or does even return.
We therefore recommend that you program the phone numbers of the airports and the airlines in your cell-phone. If you are unsure of the weather conditions of your route, you can quickly inquire.
Airport IATA ICAO Island Phone number
Angeles City CRK   Luzon  
Bacolod BCD RPVB Negros  
Cagayan de Oro CGY   Mindanao  
Mambojao     Camiguin  
Caticlan MPH   Boracay (Panay)  
Cebu City CEB RPVM Cebu (Maktan)  
Davao DVO   Mindanao  
General Santos GES   Palawan  
Iloilo ILO   Panay  
Kalibo KLO   Panay  
Laoag LAO   Luzon  
Legazpi LGP   Luzon  
Manila MNL RPLL Luzon  
Siquijor?     Siquijor  
Subic Bay SFS   Luzon  
Tagbilaran TAG   Bohol (Panglao)  
Zamboanga ZAM   Mindanao  

Domestic Airlines deserving the Philippines Islands

The list shows the situation by November 2007. There are airlines that appear and disappear. There are new routes and routes cancelled.
There are more flights to certain destinations during high season. There are also destinations which are only deserved during high season. Before you plan your trip, inquire about timetables by clicking on the airline's name in the table below.
Airline
Conncting to
Phone number
Philippine Airlines (PAL), is the national airline of the Philippines . It is the first commercial airline in Asia and the oldest of those currently in operation. The airline flies to twenty domestic airports and thirty foreign cities in three continents. Its primary hub is Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
 
Air Philippines is a low-cost airline based in Pasay City , Manila . It operates extensive domestic scheduled services from Manila and Cebu . Its main base is Subic Bay International Airport. Air Philippines significantly increased ties with Philippine Airlines (PAL), including the merging of frequent flier plans, timetables, and ticket sales.
 
The Cebu Pacific Air was founded in 1996 and is a low-cost airline based in Philippines. It is the second largest airline in Philippines, after Philippines Airlines. The Cebu Pacific Air is a subsidiary airline owned by JG Summit Holdings.
 
Asian Spirit is an airline based in Pasay City, Manila.. It operates scheduled domestic and international tourist services, mainly feeder services linking Manila and Cebu with 24 domestic destination Asian Spirit has the distinction of being the first scheduled airline to serve Boracay.
 
South East Asian Airlines ( SEAIR ) is an airline based in Pampanga, the Philippines . It operates domestic services and its main bases are Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila. The airline was established in 1995 and started operations in August 1995.
 
 

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