Air Juan to serve Cebu-Catbalogan route

CATBALOGAN CITY, March 8  -- Commercial landplane and seaplane operator Air Juan Aviation, Inc. will launch its maiden Catbalogan-Cebu flight this March 17.

Air Juan’s flights to Catbalogan would boost the city’s tourism industry, hasten the transport of people, and help its economy, said city officials.

Last March 6, officials of Air Juan and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) landed at the Catbalogan Airport in Buri Island for a test flight of the nine-seater aircraft.

City tourism officer Ador Hurtado said Thursday the airline would offer two flights a week, Saturdays and Mondays from Catbalogan to Cebu City.

If there are still vacant seats, the Air Juan Catbalogan-Cebu flight would make a stop-over to Biliran to pick up more passengers, Hurtado said.

A Cebu-Biliran-Catbalogan flight will take about two hours, while a direct flight from Cebu to Catbalogan will only take 50 minutes.

Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan welcomed the development after years of convincing airline firms to launch flights to the city, the capital of Samar province.

“They say it was impossible. But in God's time, everything is possible. Finally, Air Juan will now fly to Catbalogan!” Uy-Tan said in a text message.

“I urge the people of Catbalogan to support this opportunity that we have long been dreaming to happen,” she added.

By making the airport operational, the local government expects to bring in not just more tourists, but more investments geared towards socioeconomic and sustainable development.

The CAAP said the city’s airport is now ready to accommodate light aircraft, and would expand its runway next year to accommodate bigger planes.

Air Juan, a pioneering aviation company, provides fast and hassle-free air transport services to some of the country’s most beautiful and less-chartered destinations like Baler, Balesin, Boracay Island, Busuanga, Coron, Cuyo, Mamburao, Marinduque, Puerto Galera, and Subic.

With the new route, Air Juan now services three areas in the region, including the Cebu-Maasin and Cebu-Naval routes.

The company, the first commercial seaplane operator in the Philippines, is a duly licensed scheduled airline by CAAP, Civil Aeronautics Board, and is accredited by the Department of Tourism as a Tourist Air Transport provider. (RTA/PNA)