DAVAO CITY – City Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre has asked the City Council Committee on Transportation and Communication to look into the airfare rates for the Davao–Manila route, which he said cost more than the air travel from Manila to Hong Kong.
During Tuesday’s regular session of the City Council, Alejandre said the high airfare rates are disadvantageous to the city’s booming tourism industry.
Alejandre, who is the chairman of the City Council Committee on Tourism, noted that the city has been experiencing increasing visitor arrivals as can be seen during the recent Kadayawan Festival.
However, he said the relatively high airfare rates have generated complaints from visitors and even residents flying the Davao-Manila route.
To verify the complaints, the councilor said he made his own online booking on September 4 with two leading airlines. He found out that Philippine Airlines tickets for the Davao-Manila-Davao route costs PHP11, 589.
To compare, Alejandre said he booked the Manila-Hong Kong route with the same airline and the cost was PHP10,588. Both bookings were done as last-minute purchase.
With Cebu Pacific, he said the airfare for Davao-Manila-Davao costs PHP7,421 while Manila-Hong Kong costs PHP6,876. Booking a month ahead, Alejandre said the Davao-Manila-Davao airfare ticket costs PHP8,453 in the same airline.
“I was surprised that foreign travel is cheaper than traveling between Davao and Manila,” Alejandre said.
Alejandre warned the costly airfare rates would adversely impact the city’s tourism industry if not addressed. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)
