Cebu Pacific will launch its cargo operations tomorrow, Jan. 16, marking yet another milestone in this airline's young life.
After almost four years of concentrating on passenger traffic, Cebu Pacific is now poised to expand its other income-generating venture, namely cargo, which was being handled by Aboitiz Air up until 1999.
"We have already developed our domestic passenger business as number two in the industry. We are now ready to take on cargo," said Lance Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific president and CEO.
The next move is to fly overseas, he added.
The airline's VP-GM for cargo operations Salvador "Dody" Ramirez said the cargo business will be dubbed as Cebu Pacific Express Cargo, and will operate as a separate corporate entity generating its own revenues.
"In one day alone, we can load around 50,000 to 60,000 kilos of various products including tuna, electronics, vegetables, fruits, live animals, among others," Ramirez said.
These goods will initially be transported on the regular flights of Cebu Pacific.
"Perhaps in the future, we will acquire our own freighter but for now, it is still a mixture of baggage and cargo," added Ramirez.
For this year, Cebu Pacific is looking at a gross revenue of P232 million from its cargo operations alone almost double of last year's P120 million.
"We intend to really improve the revenues we generated in 1999. This is a good business, but we would have to really make good our marketing strategy," Ramirez said.
By having its own cargo operations, Cebu Pacific would also beef up its existing cargo handling employees. At present, the significant additions to the cargo staff are Gary Cruz, director for cargo sales and services, and Amador Luz, senior cargo planning specialist.
Cebu Pacific will celebrate its fourth anniversary this coming March 8.