Cebu Pacific maintains lead in first half (2:43 p.m.)

MANILA -- Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific has solidified its position in the domestic air travel market in the first half while remaining on track of flying 10 million passengers by the end of this year.

Data from Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed that Cebu Pacific flew a total of 4,088,493 domestic passengers in the first half of 2010, which is 1.2 million more than erstwhile leader Philippine Airlines’ 2,882,102 domestic passengers.

The figure translates to a year-on-year growth of 13 percent for Cebu Pacific as they extend their dominance in the domestic air travel for almost two years.

The budget carrier even captured up to 50 percent of the domestic market share last year. It remains the number one carrier in 2010, with 48.75 percent domestic market share according to CAB.

Earlier, Singapore’s Changi Airport Group recognized Cebu Pacific as the top airline in the region after it flew around 375,000 passengers to and from Singapore last year, with a yearly increase of 57 percent. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)