Dubai’s Emirates offers discounted summer fares to the Philippines

Dubai airline Emirates is offering discounted fares to the Philippines this summer.

Economy class fares to Manila start from Dhs2,315, Clark from Dhs2,225 and Cebu from Dhs2,425. Meanwhile business class tickets begin from Dhs9,205 to Manila, Dhs10,805 to Cebu and Dhs10,065 to Clark.

The lower fares are valid from June to August 2018 with bookings available from June 11-24, a statement said.

Emirates currently operates flights twice daily to Manila, and once a day to Cebu and Clark (via Cebu).

The carrier’s summer offer comes even as it seeks to boost passenger traffic which dipped in May.

Traffic in May fell by 50 per cent compared to the previous month.

The airline also grounded 20 planes last month due to sluggish demand during Ramadan, Emirates president Tim Clark told reporters last week.

The jets that have been grounded include Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s. The aircraft are currently parked at the Al Maktoum International Airport.

“On top of Ramadan we have May, so demand for travel is down significantly in the Muslim world,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual meeting.

“It’s not exactly easy” doing business during this time, Clark added.

The grounded aircraft are expected to return to service following the Eid Al Fitr holiday in mid-June, with the fleet returning to maximum capacity by September or October.

However, Clark also clarified that the airline was still expecting strong demand during summer.

“We have very strong summer bookings at higher prices,” he said, adding that the airline was on the lookout for any signs that higher ticket prices were hurting demand.

Read more: Emirates grounds 20 planes; facing ‘double whammy’ – Tim Clark