Cebu Pacific eyes Airswift

Cebu Pacific is looking at widening its domestic network as it conducts “exploratory talks” with Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) for the potential acquisition of the latter’s boutique airline, Airswift.

On Monday, the Gokongwei-led airline confirmed that it was engaging with ALI but “nothing definitive has been agreed upon.”

This was in response to the report by The STAR saying that Cebu Pacific was in talks for the acquisition of AirSwift.

“Cebu Pacific is always on the lookout for opportunities to grow and expand its network, including partnership with other parties,” the budget carrier explained.

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AirSwift provides direct flights to popular tourist destinations like Palawan, Cebu, Boracay and Bohol.

For its part, Cebu Pacific currently services over 35 domestic and 24 international destinations.

According to ALI’s latest annual report, AirSwift and the retail electricity supply business of the Ayala family had a combined revenues of P3.11 billion last year, showing an 18-percent annual growth.

Cebu Pacific said it would make disclosures if any of its potential business opportunities would firm up.

“We also endeavor that whatever business proposals we carefully evaluate, we never let it become a distraction to our core business,” it added.

Amid the ongoing talks, Cebu Pacific is also in the process of finalizing its P1.4-trillion aircraft order for up to 152 A321neo (new engine option) jets with global manufacturer Airbus by the third quarter of this year.

The airline and jet manufacturer inked their memorandum of understanding for the biggest jet purchase in Philippine aviation history earlier this month. The low-cost carrier is expecting delivery of the first batch of aircraft by 2028.

These latest moves by Cebu Pacific are in line with its projection of a travel boom in the coming years. Previously, Cebu Pacific CEO Michael Szucs told the Inquirer they were expecting annual passenger volume to grow to 60 million by 2035, or triple the number of guests it had serviced last year.

This year, it has earmarked a P60-billion capital expenditure for mostly aircraft-related spending. The airline has received seven of the expected 18 aircraft deliveries for 2024. INQ