Cebu Pacific Increases Passengers By 9% In 2015 To 18.4-M

A total of 18.4-million passengers flew via low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific in 2015, an increase of 9 percent from the 16.9-milion flow in 2014, the airline company said on Wednesday.

Cebu Pacific revealed that this increase was attributed to low-cost long-haul services and increased frequencies in key domestic markets.

Passenger growth was also significant in international destinations such as Hong Kong, Tokyo (Narita) and Nagoya in Japan, and Beijing and Shanghai in China, the airline company said.

On the back of increased presence in Australia and the Middle East, passenger flow in long-haul flights routes grew by 146 percent year-on-year. Over 150,000 passengers were carried between Manila and Sydney for full-year 2015.

Cebu Pacific continues to be the largest carrier on the Manila-Sydney route with 40 percent market share from November 2014 to October 2015, according to the latest report from Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE).

On the other hand, passenger growth on flights to and from the Middle East remained robust, driven by sustained capacity between Manila and Riyadh, Kuwait, and Dubai, and the launch of Manila to Doha in June 2015.

Flights between Manila and Dubai posted the highest number of passengers among the Middle East routes with over 230,000 guests flown in 2015.

There were also more passengers flown to short haul international destinations such as Hong Kong, Japan and China.

In particular, the launch of Cebu Pacific operations from Manila and Cebu to Tokyo (Narita), and Manila to Nagoya pushed passenger volume to and from Japan to 39 percent to over 280,000 in 2015.

The airline also mounted flights between Manila and Fukuoka, its fourth destination in Japan, in December 2015.

As for domestic passengers, Cebu Pacific noted a surge by 7.41 percent in 2015, following added frequencies between Manila and Tagbilaran (Bohol), and Cebu and Tandag (Surigao del Sur). Both routes posted over 100 percent in passenger growth year-on-year.

Cebu Pacific carried a record-breaking 62,947 passengers on Jan. 3 which is the highest number of passengers flown in one day, according to its VP for Corporate Affairs Atty. JR Mantaring.

“This scalable growth in our key domestic and international markets reflects our commitment in driving trade and tourism in the countries we operate in,” Mantaring said.

Cebu Pacific currently offers flights to a network of over 90 routes on 64 destinations, spanning Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. It is slated to launch direct flights between Manila and Guam, its first US destination, on March 15.

Cebu Pacific’s 57-strong fleet is comprised of eight Airbus A319, 35 Airbus A320, six Airbus A330, and eight ATR 72-500 aircraft.

It is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. Between 2016 and 2021, the airline company expects delivery of three more brand-new Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo, and 16 ATR 72-600 aircraft. (PNA) BNB/ANP