CEBU PACIFIC, operated by Cebu Air, Inc., expects to surpass last year’s passenger volume, fueled by its route expansion plans and its aim to bolster its Clark hub, the budget carrier said.
“In terms of our total passenger growth numbers, we carried 24.5 million passengers last year. We expect to grow our passenger numbers by roughly in the mid-20%,” Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer Alexander G. Lao said in a media briefing on Tuesday.
This year’s passenger growth forecast of nearly 30 million passengers is faster than last year’s growth of 17%, which increased to 24.5 million from 20.9 million passengers in 2023.
The company’s forecast for this year will be driven by its route launches, fleet expansion, and the continued strengthening of its hubs in the country, Mr. Lao said.
“When we talked about opening the Davao and Iloilo bases, about expanding Cebu and Clark, a lot of this work started in October, or the winter 2024 season. So, that growth has already begun. We planted the seeds as early as last year,” he added.
For this year, Cebu Pacific will further boost its Clark hub with the launch of more domestic flights from Clark International Airport starting March 30.
This is in line with a resolution issued by the Manila Slot Coordination Committee of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to remove turboprop aircraft operations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
With this, the budget carrier is positioning its Clark hub as a premier gateway to the Philippines’ top destinations, Mr. Lao said.
Starting March 30, Cebu Pacific will mount daily flights from Clark International Airport to El Nido and Coron (Busuanga).
Just last week, the budget airliner announced that it will relocate its turboprop aircraft operations from NAIA to Clark International Airport on March 30.
Affected flights include Manila-Masbate-Manila and Manila-Siargao-Manila, which are operated by its regional brand Cebgo. These flights will now be moved to Clark.
With the addition of these new flights to its network, Cebu Pacific will now operate 15 domestic and international destinations from Clark.
To date, Cebu Pacific operates in 37 domestic and 26 international destinations in Asia, Australia, and the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the company is expecting seven new aircraft deliveries in 2025, lower than the 17 new aircraft it received last year.
With this, Mr. Lao said its capital expenditure (capex) budget for this year may likely be lower than the P50-billion capex in 2024, which was mainly allocated for aircraft-related expenses.
For the third quarter, Cebu Air incurred an attributable net loss of P173.19 million, compared to an attributable net income of P1.28 billion in the same period last year, as higher expenses put pressure on the company’s profit for the period.
At the local bourse on Tuesday, shares in the company closed 0.18% lower to end at P27.80 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose