Cebu Pacific is now RP's largest airline in terms of passenger load

MANILA, Philippines - Gokongwei-owned Cebu Pacific (CEB) is now the country’s largest airline in terms of total number of passengers flown on domestic and international routes.

Based on Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) data, CEB flew almost 2.449 million domestic and international passengers from January to March this year, nearly 110,000 more than Philippine Airlines’ system-wide figures of 2.34 million.

CEB claimed the leading domestic carrier status last year when it captured 50 percent of total market share. It remains the number one carrier in 2010, with a 51 percent market share. It started operations only in 1996.

“Our consistent focus and commitment to offering the lowest fares for value service continue to pay off. We expect to grow even more in the coming years as we take delivery of more brand-new planes which we will use to expand our capacity, increase frequencies, and fly to more local and foreign destinations,” CEB vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said.

CEB is buying 22 more 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft for delivery starting in October this year until 2014, which by then would make the airline’s Airbus fleet the largest in the country as well. 

The airline currently operates the youngest fleet in the country, composed of 21 Airbus and eight ATR 72-500 aircraft.

“Our expansion will drive our costs lower, benefiting the flying public with CEB’s trademark low fares,” Iyog added.

Last year, CEB flew 8.8 million domestic and international passengers, with a 31 percent year-on-year growth. This year, it expects the number to rise to 10 million. By 2013, CEB expects to carry a total of 15 million passengers, exceeding the capacity of the NAIA Terminal 3, its home base.

From the last quarter of 2010 onwards, CEB expects to strengthen its network of 33 domestic and 15 international destinations with more routes and increased frequencies. It recently announced its newest Brunei route, slated to start on Aug. 21.

“We have driven down the cost of flying to allow more people to fly. In every new destination we fly to, we always offer the lowest fares, forcing other airlines to match our travel product. With every new route, we promote travel, trade and tourism at the same time,” she noted.

The third largest low-cost carrier in Asia, CEB flies to the most number of destinations and routes in the Philippines, to the most ASEAN destinations and routes from the Philippines, and is the only low-cost carrier flying to all three major North Asian countries of Japan, China and South Korea.