Cebu Pacific passenger load in Singapore up 26%

MANILA, Philippines - Cebu Pacific (CEB), the airline brand of listed budget carrier Cebu Air Inc., said it carried almost 160,000 passengers in the Singapore route in the third quarter of 2011, a growth of 26 percent compared to the same period last year, at a quarterly load factor average of 85 percent.

“We consider Singapore as one of CEB’s major growth markets, especially with the number of overseas Filipino workers and foreign tourists there. CEB offers the most number of flight options from Manila, Cebu and Clark for our passengers’ utmost travel convenience,” CEB vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said.

To boost its seven-times daily Singapore flights, CEB is holding a seat sale from Nov. 9 to 11, or until seats last, for travel from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2012. Seats priced at P1,088 are available from Clark to Singapore, while P1,488-seats are available from Manila and Cebu to Singapore.

After the seat sale, passengers can avail of CEB’s lowest year-round Lite Fares to Singapore: from Clark and Manila (P1,699) and from Cebu (P1,899).

“CEB fares are up to 75 percent lower compared to other Philippine carriers flying to Singapore, and up to 11 percent lower than other international low-cost carriers such as Tiger Airways. This is in line with CEB’s continuous commitment to promoting tourism and trade in the ASEAN destinations we fly to,” Iyog added.

CEB recently announced it will add flights from Singapore to Manila (from 32 to 35 weekly flights) starting Jan. 7, 2012.

“We aim to expand further in the Asia-Pacific region as we expect delivery of 54 more brand-new Airbus aircraft from December 2011 until 2021,” she said.

The airline was awarded by the Changi Airport Group (CAG) as the Southeast Asian airline which registered the highest growth in passenger traffic during the fifth annual Changi Airline Awards 2010, recognizing the contribution of CEB to Singapore’s air hub status.

CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 18 Airbus A320 and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft. 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 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 23 Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders, and two Airbus A320 aircraft on operating lease agreements.