South East Asian Airline Philippines Flies to Vigan

Online, March 7, 2011 (Newswire.com) - South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR), the country's premier leisure airline announced it will start flying from Manila to Vigan City, Ilocos Sur on February 25, 2011 every Friday and Sunday. One-way airfare is at PhP 2,500.

"SEAIR is proud to commence a new route to the North and give consumers more choices for travel destinations", said Avelino Zapanta, SEAIR president.

"Apart from that, SEAIR gives affordable promos rates to Vigan to effectively tap the growing local and international tourist markets," he added.

Vigan City is the provincial capital of Ilocos Sur. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999 for its rich Spanish colonial history and well-preserved 18th-century Spanish monumental buildings lining its cobblestone streets. The old ancestral houses in the Mestizo District were built by Chinese traders and are frequently visited by locals as well as tourists from Asia, US, and Europe. The Vigan Cathedral and Kalye Crisologo are two of the most famous sights in the city.

Located in the northwestern coastal region of Luzon, Vigan experiences a cool dry season from November to April, and a wet season from December to February.

Uniquely Vigan treasures include the Vigan longganisa (the Bigueños' garlicky version of the Mexican salami), the famous Vigan empanada, and the beautiful hand-woven abel cloth, which some families include as part of their heirloom.

Vigan is also the best take-off point to some of the most breathtaking sights and destinations in the north including Kabigan Falls and Blue Lagoon Cove in Pagudpud; the windmills in Bangui; Paoay Lake National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Paoay Church, and the Malacañang of the North or Balay ti Amianan (former President Marcos's official residence in Ilocos Norte) in Paoay; Cape Bojeador in Burgos; and the Sand Dunes of La Paz.

"With the expansion of SEAIR's routes and destinations, this is indeed a testament that SEAIR listens to customer preferences", said Zapanta.

Flights to Vigan take 50 minutes via the Dornier 328 aircraft, the fastest and most advanced jet-prop in the region. The plane features the latest in German technology and enables SEAIR to offer the fastest flights from Manila to Boracay at 35 minutes.

Dornier 328s are capable of Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) in about 750 meters with full pay load and are the most appropriate for small runways such as those found in Caticlan and Batanes, as well as other hard-to-reach destinations where bigger commercial planes cannot land.

SEAIR has been serving key tourist destinations since 1995, including Basco (Batanes), El Nido, Tablas (Romblon), Cebu, Clark, Taytay (Palawan), and Kalibo (Aklan). The airline has the longest history of uninterrupted service to Boracay direct via Caticlan. It also offers the most routes to and from Caticlan with flights from Caticlan to Manila, Clark and Cebu.

It recently launched flights to Singapore via Clark using the 144-seater Airbus aircraft.

SEAIR is the nation's second oldest airline.

To purchase tickets, visit www.FlySeair.com or call 849-0100. For packages, call SEAIR Leisure Escape Packages at 843-7308. Join SEAIR Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/flyseair for updates on promos and new routes.