Cebu Pacific eyes 12.1M passengers per year by 2013

ASIA'S third largest budget airline Cebu Pacific is bullish on its outlook to fly 12.1 million passengers in 2013 to service trade and the tourism industry.

In a statement, Cebu Pacific said passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-3) might swell to the full 13 million capacity of the airport if expansion plans will not be considered.

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"By 2012 alone, we expect to carry 13 million passengers system-wide as we take delivery of 10 new Airbus A320 aircraft in the next three years and expand to new domestic and international destinations," Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice-president for marketing and distribution said.

Iyog said Cebu Pacific would not have reached a rapid expansion if not for the airline’s transfer from old domestic terminal which only had a capacity of two million.

"Transiting passengers, for instance, could catch their connecting flights with ease since our domestic and international operations are under one roof, as are other airlines, which put everyone on equal footing," said Iyog of the Terminal 3.

“Our population is growing and Asia, including the Philippines, has been tagged as a growth area. We believe that our airports, being the welcoming gateway into our country, should be adequate now and in the future,” she added.

All three terminals of NAIA and the domestic terminal have a total capacity of 33 million passengers a year. Last year, 24.5 million travellers passed through the four terminals.

Recent reports said that airport authorities plan to spend P40 billion in the next 10 years to expand Manila’s airport capacity to keep up with rising air traffic.

Around 90 percent of the country’s air traffic is in Manila’s four airports (three NAIA terminals and the domestic terminal) which have a capacity of 33 million passengers per year. In 2009, 24.5 million people passed through these airports.

Cebu Pacific’s total domestic traffic going through Manila reached 6.1 million last year, up by 33 percent from the previous year’s 4.6 million. International traffic went up 29 percent to 1.2 million passengers in 2009 from 1.1 million passengers in 2008.

The Gokongwei-led airline expects to carry more than 10 million domestic and regional passengers this year. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)