Cebu Pacific eyes flights to Australia, Saudi Arabia

Cebu Pacific, the country’s biggest budget airline, is planning to start flights to Australia in the third quarter and Saudi Arabia before the end of 2014 as part of a strategy to expand its long-haul business, CEO Lance Gokongwei said Tuesday.

Gokongwei said flights to Australia, in particular, would proceed despite the reported oversupply in seat capacity coming from Southeast Asia.

Carriers like Singapore Airlines and Quantas have already started to “down-gauge” services, consultancy firm CAPA Center of Aviation said in its May 20 report.

Gokongwei said Cebu Pacific was banking on increased tourists arrivals, as well as the Filipino-Australian community, which he estimated at 250,000 people.

“Our philosophy has always been the same. We try to expand markets by offering lower fares,” Gokongwei said at the sidelines of the 10th Asean Finance Ministers’ Investor Seminar yesterday.

Gokongwei declined to cite specific cities in Australia that Cebu Pacific was targeting given that certain regulatory approvals were still needed.

“We hope to make announcement in the next month or so. Then we start selling two to three months forward,” Gokongwei said. “Hopefully, [we can fly to Australia] before the end of the third quarter.”

He added that Cebu Pacific will start flights to Saudi Arabia in the second half. The carrier already launched flights to Dubai in October last year.

Long-haul services are forming a key part of the company’s business as it expands its fleet of long-range planes.

Cebu Pacific said in a separate statement that it took delivery of the second of three Airbus A330 aircraft it is scheduled to receive this year. The airline is due to take delivery of an additional Airbus A330 in August 2014.

By end of 2014, the airline will be utilizing five wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft for its long-haul operations.

With this delivery, the budget carrier now operates a fleet of 52 aircraft comprising 10 Airbus A319, 30 Airbus A320, four Airbus A330 and eight ATR-72-500 aircraft.

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