Cebu Pacific posts sharp growth in passenger volume for Jan-May

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific's passenger volume "sharply increased" in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year. The Gokongwei-led company said Friday that it flew 206,380 passengers in the January-May period this year. This represented a 44-percent increase from 143,186 passengers in the same period last year. Cebu Pacific attributed the increase to the company's introduction of new flights and the expansion of its fleet of aircraft. "Cebu Pacific is working to increase its operations aggressively in the Southeast Asian region. We are expecting the delivery of more brand-new planes until 2014, which can be used for our capacity expansion, frequency increases, and new destinations," said Candice Iyog, vice-president for marketing and distribution of Cebu Pacific. The airline is buying 22 more 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft for delivery starting in October this year until 2014. This will double the size of the company's fleet, Iyog said. Three of these new planes are expected to arrive this year. Also, Cebu Pacific announced that it had been recognized by Singapore's Changi Airport Group as the top airline in Southeast Asia, registering the highest growth in passenger traffic last year. The budget carrier flew approximately 375,000 passengers to and from Singapore in 2009, with a yearly growth of 57 percent. The airline flies from Singapore to Manila 25 times weekly, to Cebu daily (starting Oct. 31), and to Clark daily (starting Oct. 29). Singapore is the airline's most popular destination in Southeast Asia. "We are happy for this distinction by the Changi Airport Group, as we have been steadily bringing in passengers from the Philippines and other international destinations to Singapore. Our focus on offering consistent low fares and producing a high quality travel product is paying off," Iyog said. —JE/OMG, GMANews.TV