Thursday, April 26, 2007 Cebu airline’s passengers grow By Malou M. Mozo Sun.Star Staff Reporter
GOKONGWEI-led Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) registered a 57 percent jump in passenger traffic last year due to the increase in its domestic flights and the completion of its refleeting program.
In January and February this year, air traffic was at 64.1 percent and 88.5 percent, respectively.
“Traditionally, these are our weakest months,” Candice Alabanza Iyog, CEB vice president for marketing and product said.
Last month, the airline ran at an 85 percent traffic rate, she added.
For its Cebu domestic operations, CEB, in its 2006 annual report, had a 46 percent increase in the number of domestic flights in and out of the province. It has 222 flights.
Domestic routes grew 100 percent, from only four by the end of 2006 to eight domestic routes.
Domestic destinations were up by 80 percent, or from five last year to nine destinations as of March.
Iyog also observed that the province is becoming a magnet for foreign travelers.
International flights grew by 300 percent. There was also a 100 percent increase in international routes and a 67 percent growth in international destinations to and from Cebu last year.
This month, the airline is operating 40 international flights in Cebu compared with only 10 during the same period last year.
International routes increased to four this year from only two in 2006, while international destinations grew from four to five this year.
This clearly indicates a burgeoning development for Cebu’s tourism and economic sectors, Iyog said.
With Filipinos traveling more than what they used to in a year and coupled with low airfare rates offered by the company, she said CEB is “slowly dominating the domestic market travelers.”
Competitor
Iyog also reported that CEB is leading the market in terms of flight frequencies, with a 31-percent increase or 652 weekly flights, compared with its closest competitor, Philippine Airlines, with only 498 flights.
The same data also revealed the airline flies to 20 domestic destinations and 26 domestic routes.
With the completion of its refleeting program, the company’s fleet age is less than a year.
“This is the youngest fleet of any Filipino airline by a huge margin and one of the youngest in Asia,” Iyog told a press conference at Café Adriatico in Crossroads, Banilad last Tuesday.
CEB is placing orders for 20 A320 carriers, which are scheduled for delivery between 2011 to 2013.
“This will allow us to grow our fleet from 14 Airbus aircraft to 32 Airbus aircraft by 2013,” Iyog said.
In order to bridge the gap from now until the first delivery in 2010, CEB is leasing additional A320 aircraft for the short-medium term.
Apart from the two brand new A320’s already delivered this year, another one or two A320’s will be delivered later in the year. An additional three or four A320 aircrafts are expected for delivery by 2009.
“Assuming all options are taken, CEB will have a fleet of 22 A320s, with 179 seats and 10 A319s with 150 seats by 2013,” she said.
Iyog added that CEB is in partnership with Europcar, which provides car rentals and airport transfers, and Octopus Travel for hotel booking services, which will also be available online.
