Cebu Pacific Air deepens Japan presence with first branch office

Cebu Pacific Air has opened its first branch office in Japan to serve as the hub for all its activities and business transactions in the country.

Heading the office in Chou-ku Tokyo is Tomohiko Matsumoto, who was appointed country manager for Japan in December 2017. A veteran in the travel and aviation industries with over 25 years’ experience, he served as country manager and international air cargo manager for Qatar Airways and more recently, as sales and marketing manager for Japan for Tigerair Taiwan.

Mike Szcus, chief executive adviser at Cebu Pacific Air, commented that the airline’s new branch office in Japan will bring the airline into the “next stage of growth” in the market, which is today “one of the most important across our network”.

“In 2017, we flew over 435,000 passengers between the Philippines and Japan. Compared to the (size of the Japan outbound market), there is much room to grow,” noted Alex Reyes, vice president for cargo at Cebu Pacific Air.

Now on its 10th year of operations in Japan, Cebu Pacific Air operates a total of 70 flights a week between Japan and the Philippines. Cebu Pacific Air flies between Manila and Narita, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka, as well as between Cebu and Narita, utilising its fleet of Airbus A330 and A320 aircraft for these routes.

Aside from B2B and B2C transactions such as group reservation services, ticket sales and customer support, the Japan brance office will also drive marketing strategies and promotional activities of Cebu Pacific Air in the country.