Cebu Pacific adding more aircraft to its fleet, optimistic on air travel recovery

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific said Wednesday it is adding six new aircraft to its fleet as it prepares for higher travel demand in 2022, banking on the recovery of the aviation and tourism industries from the pandemic lockdowns.

In a statement, the airline said it is receiving a total of six aircraft this year —two A321neo, one A320neo, two A330neo, and one ATR 72-600.

“We've already taken deliveries of the two A321neos, the A330 and the A320. Another A330neo, along with the ATR 72-600, are expected to arrive. We are among the few airlines in the world and the only one in the Philippines to take deliveries during a pandemic, which is a testament to CEB’s resilience, liquidity, and expected recovery as we enter 2022,” said Alex Reyes, Cebu Pacific’s head of strategy.

Cebu Pacific said it received on November 28 its first A330neo which paves the way for it to become the greenest airline in Asia.

The airline’s newest aircraft features 459 lightweight seats which allows more travelers to be carried in a single flight, resulting in lowest carbon footprint per passenger.

Cebu Pacific, likewise, said it is now operating above 60% of its pre-COVID domestic network and capacity and has been ramping up its domestic and international networks.

It has added more flights to key domestic destinations, namely, Boracay, Bohol, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General Santos, following the easing of travel restrictions.

This month, the airline has raised its daily flights from Manila to Boracay to 11 times daily from nine times daily.

Operations between Cebu and Manila will also increase to 11 times daily from nine times daily.

Flights to Cagayan de Oro will be ramped up to seven times daily from five times daily and Manila to Davao flights will go up to five times daily from three times daily in December. 

For international destinations, Cebu Pacific said it will resume its operations to Fukuoka every Tuesday starting December 7; to Bangkok every Thursday and Saturday, starting December 11; and to Taiwan every Wednesday, starting December 15.

“We continue to rebuild our domestic and international network to support tourism growth in 2022 while continuing to promote safe and responsible travel. This is the only way to regain trust and confidence in travel, paving the way towards economic recovery,” said Candice Iyog, vice president for Marketing and Customer Experience at Cebu Pacific. 

The Philippines saw an 84% drop in foreign arrivals in 2020, receiving 1.32 million visitors, compared to 8.26 million in 2019. Japan, South Korea, and China are its biggest tourism markets.

“We, in the Department of Tourism, believe that our days of despair are over as we’ve seen many encouraging signs in the last few weeks. This includes the continually dropping COVID case numbers, easing of alert levels and restrictions on mobility, and even the lessening of quarantine days for fully vaccinated Filipinos returning from overseas,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

“I would like to thank Cebu Pacific for being a staunch partner of the Department of Tourism. Your signature ‘Piso Fare’ promos have been a tremendous help to keeping Filipinos inspired to travel locally amidst the pandemic, which formed the backbone of our recovery strategy. And even before this crisis, 5J was a solid partner in promoting greater sustainability in our industry,” she added.

Cebu Pacific operates the widest domestic network in the Philippines covering 33 destinations on top of its 12 international destinations, and has one of the youngest fleets in the world, with 74 aircraft and an average fleet age of 5.94 years as of December 1, 2021.—AOL, GMA News