Advance bookings up for CebuPac flights

CEBU Pacific Air, the country’s biggest budget airline, recorded an increase in advance bookings due to robust demand for air travel.

In a report to investors, Cebu Pacific said its three-month forward bookings starting Aug. 10, 2015 were at 22 percent of its total seats. This means bookings for the period were up 17 percent since the start of the year.

Moreover, Cebu Pacific said its long-haul business continues to pick up as it already sold 34 percent of seats for the next three months.

The carrier has been ramping up its long-haul business, once dominated by flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL).

Cebu Pacific already flies five long-haul routes: Dubai, Sydney, Kuwait, Riyadh, and Doha. It claims to be the largest carrier flying between Manila and Sydney with a market share of 37 percent.

Its aggressive expansion and the sharp drop in oil prices have lifted the bottom lines of Cebu Pacific and other carriers.

Cebu Pacific’s listed operator, Cebu Air Inc., said net income during the first six months of 2015 jumped 63.6 percent to P5.2 billion. The company benefited from an increase in passenger volume as the first semester results covered the busy summer travel months.

The firm’s total revenues were up 10.4 percent to P29.51 billion. Passenger revenue alone was up 9.4 percent to P22.8 billion as the airline served about 9.2 million passengers, higher by 8.2 percent over the same period in 2014.