Cebu Pacific captures 51% of domestic air cargo market – CAB data

Listed budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) of tycoon John L. Gokongwei Jr. cornered a 51 percent share of the domestic cargo market in the first quarter of the year, data from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed. Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said the airline carried 23 million kilograms in cargo from January to March this year on the back of its extensive and expanding Philippine network, multiple daily flight schedules, and competitive rates. On the other hand, the CAB data showed that national flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and its affiliate PAL Express serviced 17.5 million kilograms in the first quarter of the year. Likewise, Cebu Pacific serviced 3.25 million passengers in January to March this year comprising of 2.52 million domestic passengers and 733,127 international passengers. “We can attribute this to the growing aircraft fleet. We were operating 43 aircraft in the first quarter compared to 40 in the same period last year,” Iyog said. Cebu Pacific operates a fleet of 43 aircraft: 10 Airbus A319, 25 Airbus A320, and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft. It expects the delivery of 17 more Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo, and four Airbus A330 aircraft between 2013 and 2021. PAL, jointly owned by taipan Lucio Tan and diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. – together with affiliate PAL Express (formerly AirPhil Express) ferried 2.83 passengers in the first quarter. Since the entry of SMC through the infusion of $500 million in fresh equity, PAL embarked on an aggressive re-fleeting program aimed at acquiring 100 new aircraft. It has a fleet of 45 aircraft consisting of five Boeing B747-400s and five B777-300ERs as well as four Airbus A340-300s, eight A330-300s, 19 A320-200s, and four A319-100s. — DVM, GMA News