After trimming its network in March over fuel costs, Cebu Pacific is adding five international routes between October 26 and November 23. Three leave from Cebu.
On March 23, Cebu Pacific told passengers it was cutting international flying from April, citing the fuel crisis set off by the conflict in the Middle East. Davao–Bangkok, Iloilo–Bangkok and Iloilo–Singapore were suspended, and frequencies dropped on routes including Manila–Jakarta, Manila–Kuala Lumpur and Cebu–Singapore. The airline had also been due to start Clark–Hanoi on May 2.
Between October 26 and November 23, the country’s largest budget carrier is adding five international routes back to the map, and the pattern says something about where it is placing its bets.
Cebu Takes Three of the Five
Cebu–Ho Chi Minh City restarts on October 26. Cebu–Shanghai begins on November 17, and Cebu–Nagoya on November 19. Clark–Hanoi follows on November 19, and Manila–Xiamen on November 23.
Three of those five fly out of Cebu, the Visayas hub that has long been a second gateway for Philippine international travel. Travelers in the Visayas can fly out of Mactan–Cebu International Airport on these routes without connecting through Manila. Cebu Pacific says it will be the only Philippine carrier flying nonstop between Cebu and Shanghai, and the only one offering nonstop flights between Cebu and Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture and the center of Japan’s auto industry.
The Clark route points the other way. Clark International Airport is in Pampanga, north of Manila, and Cebu Pacific says it remains the only carrier flying direct between Clark and Vietnam. Manila–Xiamen, serving a port city in China’s Fujian province, is the fifth route, and the airline describes it as reinstated.
ElysPlanet has argued that the Philippines is losing the regional tourism race partly because of access, and tracks the inbound side in a running guide to new direct flights to Manila. New outbound links from Cebu and Clark work on the same problem from the other direction: each one removes a connection for a Filipino traveler.
What Is Not on the List
The March schedule changes were set to run through October 23 to 25. The August announcement of the five routes does not list the suspended Davao–Bangkok, Iloilo–Bangkok or Iloilo–Singapore services, and does not say whether the reduced frequencies on Manila–Jakarta, Manila–Kuala Lumpur and Cebu–Singapore will return to seven weekly flights.
Seat Sale: Book by October 15
Cebu Pacific’s seat sale closes October 15, with one-way base fares from ₱199 on domestic routes out of Manila, including Bacolod, Iloilo, Kalibo, Tacloban and Puerto Princesa. International base fares run from about ₱799 to ₱10,839 depending on the destination, with Kaohsiung, Macau, Taipei, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Sydney, Seoul and Bangkok on the list. The travel window, October 1 to March 31, 2027, spans the start dates of all five new routes.
The headline fare is not the final price. Base fares include a 7 kg hand-carry allowance but exclude web admin fees, the ₱550 international terminal fee and the fuel surcharge. The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the government’s civil aviation regulator, now resets that surcharge every 15 days. It reached a record Level 19 in April, when the charge on a long domestic route climbed as high as ₱1,834, and Cebu Pacific reported a ₱5.87 billion net loss for the first half of the year, mainly on higher jet fuel costs. Check the full total at checkout before you book.
Field Notes
Cebu–Ho Chi Minh City: resumes October 26; three weekly flights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).
Cebu–Shanghai: begins November 17 from Cebu, November 18 from Shanghai; three weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday from Cebu; Wednesday, Friday, Sunday from Shanghai).
Cebu–Nagoya: begins November 19; four weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday).
Clark–Hanoi: begins November 19 from Clark, November 20 from Hanoi; three weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday from Clark; Wednesday, Friday, Sunday from Hanoi).
Manila–Xiamen: begins November 23; twice weekly (Monday, Friday).
Seat sale: one-way base fares from ₱199 (domestic) and about ₱799 (international), bookable through October 15 on cebupacificair.com or the app, for travel from October 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027. Fares exclude fees and surcharges, and seats vary by route.
Worth knowing: schedules and frequencies change often. Confirm on cebupacificair.com before booking, and check entry requirements for China, Japan and Vietnam.