Only three airlines immediately spring to mind when one thinks of Philippine air travel. Among these are Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia Philippines. However, there is one airline that we don’t notice much, despite the fact that they offer the most affordable fares between Manila and Boracay. This is Royal Air Philippines, and it is time to get to know more about this airline.
Beginnings as a charter airline
On August 22, 2002, Royal Air Charter Service took to the skies for the first time as a charter service. After receiving a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from the CAB in May 2017, the airline began boosting the number of its chartered domestic and international flights.
Ex-SWISS BAe Avro RJ100 planes were put to use on June 21, 2018, when the airline first started offering daily nonstop service between Cebu and Macau. Together with the Philippines’ Department of Tourism, the airline said on July 27 that it would start running daily charter flights between Macau and Subic Bay.
The shift to commercial scheduled flights
This airline was granted permission to begin offering regularly scheduled domestic and international service by the CAB on July 26, 2018. Daily domestic commercial operations from Clark International Airport in Pampanga to five destinations, including Cebu, Caticlan in Aklan, Tagbilaran in Bohol, and Puerto Princesa and San Vicente in Palawan, were announced by the airline in September 2018.
Airbus A319 and A320
The airline’s first domestic commercial flight, from Clark to Caticlan and return, took place on December 14, 2018. After leasing two Airbus A319s from Cambodian low-cost carrier Lanmei Airlines, the company was able to increase both its international charter service and domestic commercial operations.
Charter flights between Cambodia and China and major Philippine towns like Clark, Manila, Kalibo, and Puerto Princesa have been made available by the airline. The first of four weekly flights between Cebu and Davao began on May 19, 2019, when the airline also announced the establishment of its Cebu hub.
The first Airbus A320-200 joined the airline’s fleet on January 6, 2020. Previously flown by Lanmei Airlines. On January 9th, the plane made its first scheduled flight for the airline, from Manila to Sihanoukville in Cambodia. In November 2020, Royal Air acquired its second A320-232 from another local airline named Pan Pacific Air.
As of this writing, Royal Air Philippines fleet consists of two A319-100 and two A320-200. They are also the only operator of the Airbus A319 to date, but definitely not the first. Other operators of the A319 in the past were Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines.
Cheapest flights from Manila to Boracay
As of this writing, Royal Air Philippines offers the cheapest flights from Manila to Caticlan, the airport closest to the famed island of Boracay. They are also the very first airline to launch international flights from Caticlan. Royal Air Philippines completed its inaugural flight between Caticlan and Taipei on December 26.
Royal Air is also planning to launch more international flights from Caticlan to Incheon and Caticlan to Busan.
Other Royal Air Philippines international services include flights between Tagbilaran and Busan and Tagbilaran and Incheon.
So to all the curious air travelers out there, you might want to also try out Royal Air Philippines when you fly from Manila to Boracay. As far as I know, their terminal is at the NAIA terminal 4. Maybe it’s time for me to book a ticket on Royal Air and do a flight review soon.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
