October 30, 2018 was a red-letter day as AirAsia officially had its inaugural flight from ILOILO to CAGAYAN DE ORO!
Red and white motif was all-over the Iloilo International Airport signalling the direct air link between the island of Panay in Western Visayas to Mindanao on its northern corridor via world's best low-cost airline.
Ilonggos anticipated this route service since August with excitement as a second airline flying between Iloilo and CDO would mean more competitive price and scheduling. Indeed, AirAsia offered special introductory ALL-IN fares for as low as PhP490.
And quite surprising there was no long queue at the counter compared with my previous AirAsia flights and checking in was a breeze. Add to that, I already did a mobile check-in 3 days before so I just flashed my ID and the QR code (as e-boarding pass) at the airport's main entrance and the check in counter.
I also made sure my hand-carry bags weighed less than 7 kilos, since I think that's where most of the check-in problems started. After dropping off my baggage at the counter, I received a printed copy of my boarding pass plus claim tags for my two bags.
Passengers on this inaugural flight also received freebies which we "unfolded"at the pre-departure area. Our loot bag had travel essentials like a neck pillow, bag tag and more.
And in no time, our AirAsia plane arrive from Cagayan de Oro after its maiden 40-minute flight from Mindanao. We got to witness an aviation tradition when new routes are first flown - a water salute.
A water salute is a touching airport tradition involving two firetrucks spraying arcs of water over an arriving or departing flight. It could be for a) a new airline company operating out of the airport for the first time, b) for a new airplane operating commercially for the first time, c) if the Captain of the airplane or an ATC member is retiring and d) if the airline is closing down the route and its the last flight of that airline from that particular airport. (source)
It didn't take that much time for us to be called to board our flight. And another "tradition" for us is to take a clean shot (devoid of passengers) of the plane's interior - whether first to board the plane or last to deplane.
After the plane SOP's - plane safety demos, etc, we finally took off for an approximate 40-minute air travel to Cagayan de Oro. We familiarized ourselves the in-flight magazine named Travel3Sixty and the Santan inflight menu catalog. The former gave us an idea how far and wide the reach of AirAsia not only in the Philippines but also around Asia and beyond.
The latter made our stomach's grumble as it showcased what's on their inflight menu. The most popular is Uncle Chin's Chicken Rice - the Malaysian version of Hainanese Chicken. Santan's take consists of roasted chicken strips partnered with seasoned rice and served with Uncle Chin's signature (and secret) chili-ginger-garlic sauce concoction.
How I wished it didn't have to be a secret since I loved the sauce that perfectly complemented the roasted chicken (already delicious on it's own) and savory rice... Our foodie dreams were interrupted by a sudden contest announcement!
And we landed almost a few minutes ahead of our schedule! It was a smooth flight with no hints of turbulence. And travel traditions after another, we took the opportunity to thank our pilots and cabin crew for making the inaugural AirAsia Iloilo-Cagayan de Oro flight safe, smooth, fun, and festive!
Now we await what the City of Golden Friendship and the neighbouring towns and provinces of northern Mindanao has in store for us....
Experience AirAsia for yourself with these scheduled flights between Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro daily.
How I wished it didn't have to be a secret since I loved the sauce that perfectly complemented the roasted chicken (already delicious on it's own) and savory rice... Our foodie dreams were interrupted by a sudden contest announcement!
"What is AirAsia's tagline?"
Can you answer that? If you answered "Now, Everyone Can Fly!", you're correct like the kid who got it right beating all of us who were still pressing the overhead light(?) off that became the basis of who "raised their arms first". And that correct answer was worth a "round trip domestic flight" to/from any of AirAsia's routes.
Experience AirAsia for yourself with these scheduled flights between Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro daily.
Now, everyone can fly!
