Cebu Pacific said it will end the year as the biggest carrier in terms of capacity at the Clark International Airport and the Busuanga and Puerto Princesa airports in Palawan.
In a statement, the Gokongwei-led budget carrier attributed the increased capacity share in Clark to the direct flights to Guangzhou and Puerto Princesa, as well as between Puerto Princesa and Hong Kong.
Cebu Pacific said its capacity share at the Clark International Airport will hit 28% by end-2019. The airline mounts 190 flights weekly from this hub to Bacolod, Bohol, Caticlan, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Narita and Singapore.
“Cebu Pacific has taken a measured pace of expansion in Clark, but we have always believed in the potential of Clark. Over the past 12 months, our capacity growth in Clark hit over 90%. With the growth in passenger traffic in Clark, we are bullish that the new routes we launched over the past few months will continue to perform strongly,” Alexander G. Lao, chief strategy officer of Cebu Pacific, was quoted as saying.
The airline is also set to end the year with 46% total capacity share in Puerto Princesa and the Busuanga Airport. Cebu Pacific mounts 190 flights a week to and from Palawan.
“We remain confident that Hong Kong will bounce back, and despite current concerns, there is continued demand for travel between Hong Kong and the Philippines. We are confident in the potential of Palawan to grow tourism sustainably, and we will continue to work with our stakeholders in Palawan to better connect the province to the rest of the Philippines and to key tourist catch points in Asia,” Alex B. Reyes, vice-president for commercial at Cebu Pacific, said.
Cebu Pacific increased capacity by 23% to 19 million seats as of end-September.
Cebu Air, Inc., the listed operator of Cebu Pacific, said its nine-month profit surged 142% to P6.75 billion, as it added flights and raised average fares.