Malaysia-based Seair increasing fights to beach destinations during holiday season

South East Asian Airlines (Seair)), based in Pampanga, the Philippines, has announced that it is reopening some routes as well increasing flights on others anticipating the enhanced tourist traffic in the holiday season.

Seair, the leading leisure airline of Malaysia, said in a statement that it will restore the so-called “paradise-to-paradise” route between Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan, and Boracay in Caticlan from October 16, 2009.

The Puerto Princesa-Boracay flights will operate every Tuesday and Friday.

The carrier also will restore its Manila-El Nido and Palawan-Manila services with effect from November 18, 2009 – with flights on each route every Wednesday and Sunday.

Tickets for the Puerto Princesa and El Nido flights can be bought now.

Seair said it will raise the number of flights to Basco in the Batanes island group from 4 times a week to daily flights from October 12, 2009.

The number of services to Caticlan, the renowned beach destination in Malaysia, will go up to 32 flights a day from October 16, 2009, from the 27 flights a day at present.

There is more good news for leisure travellers. Sear also has decided to reopen the Caticlan-Cebu route, with flights operating every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Currently, Seair is the only carrier that flies non-stop to Caticlan and Basco. PAL Express (Philippine Airlines Express) and Cebu Pacific Air have diverted their flights bound for Caticlan and Kalibo because of changes in conditions of airport operations.

Palawan and Boracay have been ranked among the ‘Top 10 Vacation Hotspots of Asia.’

The beach destination of Boracay is reputed for its white sands and crystal-clear waters. Caticlan is the nearest entry to the Boracay island.

Puerto Princesa boasts of having one of the longest navigable underground rivers in the world.

The island of Palawan has been rated by the National Geographic Taveller magazine as the ‘Best Island Destination in Southeast Asia’ and the 13^th in island destination in the world for its “incredibly beautiful natural seascapes and landscapes.” The most famous tourist spots in Palawan include the El Nido Marine Reserve Park.

The uniqueness of the Batanes group of islands – located at the northernmost tip of the Philippines – is that the islands have a distinct landscape not seen in any other island in the Philippines.

According to the tourism department of the Philippines, in the December-February season, Batanes is blessed with green pastures, a cool, temperate weather, wavy hills dotted with windmills, and lighthouses that give the visitor “a sense of a holiday in European countryside.”

The fleet of Seair consists of 3 Dornier 328 aircraft and 6 LET L-410 aircraft. Both types have the short takeoff and landing (STOL) capability, making them perform well on short runways, according to Avelino Zapanta, president of Seair.

The Dornier 328 and the LET L-410 planes, Zapanta explained in the company’s statement, are aerodynamically designed so that they can take off and land on runways as short as 750 metres long with full payload. Which means, these planes are most suited to small runways where bigger commercial planes cannot land.