CebuPac passenger traffic up 8.9% at end-May

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific Air and sister company Cebgo saw passenger traffic increase in the first five months of the year, aided by the travel-heavy summer season.

Data from operator Cebu Pacific Air showed 8.45 million passengers patronized the Gokongwei-led airlines from January to May, up 8.9 percent from the same period last year.

Capacity during this period was up 2.8 percent. That meant seat load factor, a measure of flight utilization, improved to 87.5 percent from 82.5 percent in the same period in 2015.

For May alone, both airlines carried 1.84 million passengers, up 3.2 percent from a year ago. Load factor that month, however, dipped to 87 percent from 87.9 percent a year ago as capacity increased 4.2 percent.

For the whole of 2016, Cebu Pacific was targeting to carry 20 million passengers, about 11 percent higher than the volume in 2015. The gains would come as the carrier expands its fleet and adds more routes.

Cebu Pacific recently announced the launch of three more domestic routes to boost its presence in the Eastern and Western Visayas regions.

Cebu Pacific said it would launch daily flights between Cebu and Ormoc and Cebu and Roxas and four times weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) between Cebu and Calbayog starting Nov. 19 this year. It would be using the ATR 72-500 aircraft.

“Cebu Pacific remains steadfast in providing the best connectivity options for passengers at lowest fare in the market. With the additional routes in and out of Cebu, the Queen City of the South, more guests can travel and visit scenic spots in the Visayas region,” the company said in an earlier statement.

Aside from Cebu, Cebu Pacific also operates flights out of five other hubs in the Philippines: Manila, Davao, Clark, Kalibo, and Iloilo. The airline’s network covers over 90 routes and 64 destinations, including other parts of Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

Cebu Pacific’s 57-strong fleet is comprised of seven Airbus A319, 36 Airbus A320, six Airbus A330 and eight ATR 72-500 aircraft. Between 2016 and 2021, it expects delivery of two more brand-new Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo and 16 ATR 72-600 aircraft.