Cebu Pacific, the country’s largest budget airline, said Wednesday passenger traffic rose 9 percent and exceeded its 2015 target of 18 million, after it opened more international routes.
Cebu Pacific, the airline unit of the Gokongwei Group, said it flew 18.4 million passengers in 2015, up from 16.9 million passengers it carried in 2014.
The average load factor, which pertains to number of seats occupied, averaged 83 percent last year.
Cebu Pacific said the growth in passenger volume was largely driven by the airline’s low-cost long-haul services and increased frequencies in key domestic markets.
The airline also posted notable passenger growth in international destinations such as Hong Kong, Tokyo (Narita) and Nagoya in Japan and Beijing and Shanghai in China.
Passengers flown on Cebu Pacific’s long-haul routes grew 146 percent year-on-year, on the back of increased presence in Australia and the Middle East.
The airline carried over 150,000 passengers between Manila and Sydney in 2015.
Data from Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed Cebu Pacific remained the largest carrier on the Manila-Sydney route, with 40-percent market share from November 2014 to October 2015. During this period, overall traffic between Manila and Sydney also grew 69 percent.
Passenger growth on flights to and from the Middle East remained robust, driven by sustained capacity between Manila and Riyadh, Kuwait, and Dubai and the launch of Manila-Doha in June 2015.
Among the Middle East routes, flights between Manila and Dubai posted the highest number of passengers, with over 230,000 guests flown in 2015.
Passengers flown to short-haul international destinations such as Hong Kong, Japan and China also increased.
Passenger volume to and from Japan, in particular, grew 39 percent to over 280,000 in 2015 as the airline successfully stimulated traffic with the launch of its operations from Manila and Cebu to Tokyo (Narita) and Manila to Nagoya.
The airline also mounted flights between Manila and Fukuoka, its fourth destination in Japan, in December 2015.
Domestic passengers increased 7.41 percent in 2015, following added frequencies between Manila and Tagbilaran (Bohol) and Cebu and Tandag (Surigao del Sur).
Both routes posted over 100 percent in passenger growth.
“Last Jan. 3, 2016, the Cebu Pacific Air group carried a total of 62,947 passengers—the highest number of travelers we have ever flown in one day. This scalable growth in our key domestic and international markets reflects our commitment in driving trade and tourism in the countries we operate in, and enabling more travelers to connect with families and friends around the globe,” JR Mantaring, Cebu Pacific’s vice president for corporate affairs said.
The airline offers flights to a network of over 90 routes on 64 destinations, spanning Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. It is slated to launch direct flights between Manila and Guam, its first US destination, on March 15, 2016.
Cebu Pacific’s 57-strong fleet is comprised of 8 Airbus A319, 35 Airbus A320, 6 Airbus A330, and 8 ATR 72-500 aircraft.
CEB expects delivery of three more brand-new Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo and 16 ATR 72-600 aircraft between 2016 and 2021.