The launch of direct flights to the Philippines is expected no earlier than next winter

The aviation and tourism markets do not expect the start of direct flights to the Philippines earlier than in a year, Kommersant found out. The authorities have been discussing the opening of flights with this country for six months, and on December 7, Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko instructed to speed up the process. According to Kommersant, Aeroflot has permission for these flights, but, according to experts, it will take up to six months to launch tours and roll out the destination. But by the next winter season, the country could compete with destinations such as Thailand or Egypt. An important factor will be affordability: now the average bill for a weekly trip for two is 350–500 thousand rubles.

The start of sales of trips to the Philippines will not occur until next winter, even if direct flights are opened this season, experts and tourism industry participants interviewed by Kommersant believe. On December 7, Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko instructed the Federation Council Committee on Economic and Social Policy to join in the consideration of the issue of resuming direct flights with this “friendly country for Russian citizens and business.” The resumption of air traffic, she said, was discussed during meetings with the leadership of the parliaments of the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.

The possibility of launching flights to the Philippines has been discussed since June. At the end of November, the head of the Ministry of Transport, Vitaly Savelyev, at a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation, reported that airlines were working on launching flights to the Philippines and Indonesia. But with the latter, according to Kommersant’s sources, the situation is complicated by “risk assessment due to sanctions restrictions.” We are talking about fears of secondary sanctions in cases where Western businesses are present in the capital of airports or service companies. But, according to a number of Kommersant’s interlocutors, in the case of the Philippines, “mutual understanding has been reached.”

According to Kommersant, Aeroflot must retain permission to fly to the Philippines. As one of Kommersant’s sources notes, if only this company operates flights, then only its partner, Biblio-Globus, will probably have the opportunity to create tourist programs. Kommersant sent inquiries to major air carriers.

Before the pandemic, there were no regular flights between the Russian Federation and the Philippines; charter flights were operated mainly from cities in the Far East. Attempts to charter a long-haul fleet from Moscow, according to the recollections of market participants, were unsuccessful: the planes were poorly filled. In the fall, the mayor of the Philippine resort city of Cebu, Michael Lopez Rama, reported at the WEF 2023 that direct charter flights from Vladivostok could be launched as early as January 2024. But even if airlines decide to start organizing flights, tour operators and agents will need three to six months to increase demand and sales in the new destination. “Therefore, if we talk about the efficiency of flights, then this is next year,” concludes one of Kommersant’s interlocutors. Another adds that there was no great demand for flights there, recalling that in 2020, when quarantine began, a single Azur Air flight was enough to take Russians out of the Philippines.

The Philippines is a winter destination, and both tourism and airlines’ plans for this winter are already in place, with the main destinations being the UAE, Egypt, Mauritius, Thailand, Seychelles, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Cuba, experts say.

Now direct flights from the Russian Federation are available to 41 countries out of 69 previously open to the Russian Federation, says the head of the Association of Air Transport Agencies, Dmitry Gorin. In conditions of limited air traffic, any new destination will find its market, he believes. Thus, the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Hong Kong effectively restarted, and Thailand extremely quickly recovered to “pre-pandemic” transportation volumes. There was interest in Cuba or completely new flights to Venezuela. Currently, Russian tourists have no problems getting to the Philippines thanks to many connecting points, including through China.

Kommersant’s interlocutors note that when launching a new product, it may be difficult to offer an attractive price. Now a winter holiday in warm countries for two in the budget segment will cost from 250 thousand rubles. for a week’s package. And the average check is from 350 thousand to 500 thousand rubles. Holidays in higher categories of accommodation, says Dmitry Gorin, will cost from 750 thousand rubles. for two or more. International tourism, he adds, is also affected by currency volatility factors.

Executive Director of the Association of Russian Tour Operators Maya Lomidze notes that before the pandemic, the Philippines was a fairly popular niche destination: hundreds of thousands of Russians vacationed there every year, mainly from the regions of Siberia and the Far East. Now, with the resumption of direct flights, the country, according to expert forecasts, will again be quite in demand and may enter the top 20 popular foreign destinations.

Aigul Abdullina, Alexandra Mertsalova