Cebu Pacific sets new records in May

MANILA, Philippines - Cebu Pacific (CEB) surpassed its passenger load record set last April when it flew more than 1.1 million passengers and achieved an all-time high average of 91 percent seat load factor the following month.

CEB first reached the one-million mark in April 2011, a first for any Philippine carrier. Seat load factor refers to how full the planes are.

The airline flew 1.1 million passengers on its 16 international and 33 domestic destinations from May 1-31, 2011. This translates to a 16 percent year-on-year growth compared to May 2010 figures.

“CEB, as a homegrown carrier and the low-fare pioneer in the Philippines, is proud to be a major contributor to the strong aviation market in the country. It continues to give a lot of passengers more opportunities for air travel, with its increased flight frequencies and additional four Airbus A320 aircraft deliveries in the second half of this year,” CEB vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said.

By the end of 2011, CEB will be operating a fleet of 37 aircraft - with an average age of less than 3.5 years - one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. Between 2012 and 2014, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of an additional 16 brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft.

A Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation article last May 16 disclosed that the Philippines’ seat capacity to both international and domestic destinations is within 34,000 weekly seats of overtaking Hong Kong, which is the eighth biggest aviation market in the region.

The top five with the largest weekly seat capacity to Asia are China, Japan, India, Indonesia and South Korea.

“We remain committed to working closely with the relevant government agencies to boost the Philippines as one of the busiest airports in Asia. This includes moving out general aviation and increasing runway capacity in Manila for more streamlined operations,” Iyog added.

CEB is the Philippines’ largest turbo-prop operator, operating the most inter-island flights to the top tourist destinations in the country. The airline opened Siargao, Pagadian and Cauayan (Isabela) to air travel, and helped lower fares to Coron (Busuanga) and Boracay (Caticlan).

It also offers the most seats and flight frequencies to Cebu and Davao, two of the largest business-traffic routes in the country, stimulating same-day business travels and weekend vacations.