FILE PHOTO
Cebu Pacific breached the 19-million passenger mark last year as it ramped up operations mainly in key domestic and international markets.
Cebu Pacific Friday said it had flown 19.1 million passengers in 2016, up 4 percent from year-ago level. Flights were 86 percent full for the whole-year average. For 2017, the carrier could carry about 20 million passengers, Cebu Pacific said in a disclosure.
“This significant increase in number only shows our firm commitment in trafficking trade and tourism in all the destinations we operate in,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
The carrier said that on Dec. 27, 2016 alone, Cebu Pacific and unit Cebgo had carried 64,684 passengers—the highest number of travelers flown in one day.
That figure surpassed the previous record of 62,947 passengers flown on Jan. 3, 2016.
Cebu Pacific said growth in passenger volume was largely driven by the airline’s low-cost short-haul services and increased frequencies in key domestic markets. It said the former recorded a 9.3-percent growth compared to 2015, while the latter reflected a 2.6- percent increase.
It posted “notable” passenger growth in international destinations such as Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen in China, Taiwan (Taipei), and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. In the Philippines, domestic traffic increased in Cauayan, Siargao and Ozamiz.
Cebu Pacific, a unit of Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc., offers flights to 37 domestic and 29 international destinations, operating a wide network across Asia, Australia and the Middle East.
It has a fleet of 58 planes composed of four Airbus A319, 36 Airbus A320, seven Airbus A330, eight ATR 72-500 and three ATR 72-600 aircraft.
Between 2017 and 2021, the budget airline expects delivery of one more brand-new Airbus A330, 32 Airbus A321neo and 13 ATR 72-600 aircraft.