Cebu Pacific flew 3.74M passengers as of March

Budget airline Cebu Pacific flew over 3.74 million passengers during the first quarter, an increase of 6 percent from the same period last year, the Gokongwei-led carrier said in a statement Thursday.

Cebu Pacific said the gains came from the expansion of its network, increased flight frequencies in “key markets” and lower ticket prices.

The increase did not include gains from the acquisition of Tigerair Philippines, which was completed in February.

The airline started recognizing contributions in the second quarter of 2014, company spokesman Jorenz Tañada said.

In a statement, Tañada said twin affirmations from the US Federal Aviation Administration and European Union would help the company enhance its position in the market.

“With the recent lift of the EU ban and the FAA Category 1 upgrade for the Philippines, [Cebu Pacific] is in a stronger position to explore the possibility of serving even more of our ‘kababayans’ and travellers in new markets like Guam, Hawaii, and the EU,” he said in the statement.

Cebu Pacific also cited growth in several international tourism and trade markets, such as Indonesia, Japan and China, that contributed to foreign tourist arrivals in the country.

The airline recently launched a daily service between Manila and Narita-Tokyo and a four times weekly service from Manila to Nagoya in Japan.

Cebu Pacific CEO Lance Gokongwei said Cebu Pacific expected to fly about 17 million people this year, up 18 percent from 14.4 million in 2013.

The figure includes operations from Tigerair Philippines.

CEB’s 51-strong fleet is comprised of 10 Airbus A319, 30 Airbus A320, three Airbus A330 and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft.

It is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world.

Between 2014 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 11 more brand-new Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo and three Airbus A330 aircraft.

Cebu Pacific is currently the only profitable domestic carrier, having posted a net income of P511.9 million in 2013.

That figure was 85 percent below the previous year mainly due to foreign exchange losses.

Increasing demand for budget travel boosted revenues to P41 billion, up 8 percent last year.