Cebu Pacific books 57% of domestic market in 2022

Budget airline Cebu Pacific said Friday it has increased its domestic market share to 57% last year, cementing its position as a leading carrier.

Citing data from the Civil Aeronautics Board, Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific, said its domestic market share last year was five percentage points higher than the 53% market share it booked during the pre-pandemic 2019.

The airline added that it flew close to 13.5 million domestic passengers in 2022, up 312% year-on-year, “indicating strong recovery in both capacity and passenger traffic.”

Including its international operations, Cebu Pacific said it flew over 14.8 million passengers last year, up 335% year-on-year with a seat load of 75%, which rose by 14.7 percentage points.

Higher travel demand both domestically and internationally, coupled with the easing of various travel regulations, drove the steep recovery for the carrier in 2022, the airline said.

Cebu Pacific said key destinations such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also eased their travel restrictions during the fourth quarter of 2022, enabling the airline to accelerate recovery of its international network.

Hong Kong, one of the airline’s largest markets, also lifted its mandatory quarantine requirements in December, it said.

Cebu Pacific said it will lease five aircraft in 2023 to address capacity and growing passenger demand.

These are on top of the 10 new Airbus NEO aircraft that will be delivered in 2023 to expand the airline’s entire fleet.

“Three of the aircraft will be used to re-start the Clark base. The two other aircraft will be used to support overall growth ambitions as CEB recovers fully from the pandemic," said Xander Lao, Cebu Pacific president and CEO. —VAL, GMA Integrated News