CEB carries over 2.8-M passengers in first quarter

MANILA, Philippines - Budget carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) carried over 2.8 million passengers in the first quarter this year, up 12 percent from the same period a year earlier, on the back of a 32- percent growth in international traffic.

In a statement, Cebu Pacific, the airline brand of the Gokongwei family’s JG Summit Holdings Inc., said it flew 672,456 international passengers from January to March 2011 compared with 511,178 passengers a year earlier.

Given the strong results, the airline said it is confident it would achieve its 12 million-passenger target this 2011, an increase of 14.28 percent from the 10.5 million passengers flown in 2010.

“We attribute this first quarter growth to flight frequency increases to key international markets, brought about by the additional capacity from our brand-new Airbus A320. Our 15th Airbus A320 was delivered just last January, increasing our fleet size to 33 aircraft,” said Candice Iyog, vice-president for marketing and distribution.

During the quarter, Cebu Pacific doubled its Manila-Incheon (Seoul) services, making it twice daily last January. It also added thrice weekly flights to its Manila-Bangkok services, making it a 10 times weekly service last February.

“Cebu Pacific achieved an 87 percent load factor from January to March, an increase of four percentage points year-on-year. We attribute this to CEB’s trademark low fares, the increasing number of passengers who avail of our affordable seat sales months in advance, and our extensive route network,” she said.

Iyog said that the airline also introduced Lite Fares last March, further lowering fares for guests and expanding passengers’ options for their baggage allowances.

Cebu Pacific operates the most number of routes and flights in the Philippines, using the youngest aircraft fleet in the country. This is composed of 10 Airbus A319, 15 Airbus A320 and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft.

By the end of 2011, Cebu Pacific will be operating a fleet of 37 aircraft – with an average age of 3.5 years - one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. Between 2012 and 2014, the no-frills airline will take an additional 16 Airbus A320 aircraft.