The Cebu Pacific Air on Saturday announced it will strictly impose a new policy on hand-carry baggage acceptance to further improve its flight services and for the convenience of air travelers.
The move, according to CEB corporate communications director Charo Logarta Lagamon, is in line with the airline´s continued efforts to streamline operations and provide a more efficient check-in experience at the airport.
She said beginning Thursday (July 19), passengers are allowed one carry-on or hand-carry baggage inside the cabin, with a maximum weight of seven kilograms and dimension of up to 56cm x 36cm x 23cm.
¨This dimension includes most wheeled cabin bags and backpacks. The hand-carry baggage must fit inside the overhead bin,” Lagamon said.
In addition to one carry-on or hand-carry baggage, Lagamon said, each passenger may also bring one small bag not exceeding 35cm x 20cm x 20cm. This includes handbags, purses and laptop bags that can fit under the seat. “©
Lagamon said adult passengers traveling with infants may carry-on one small bag containing baby food and necessities, aside from their allowed hand-carry baggage. “©
“Assistive or medical items such as walking canes, foldable walkers, as well as items purchased inside the airport [airside] are on top of the hand-carry baggage allowance for each passenger,” she added.
Meanwhile, CEB has signed an agreement with Switzerland-based IPR Conversions Ltd. to convert two of its ATR 72-500 passenger aircraft into freighter planes, making the carrier the only passenger airline in the Philippines with dedicated cargo planes.
“We will be able to offer cargo capacity that no other carrier in the Philippines can provide,” said Lance Gokongwei, CEB president and chief executive officer.
“With the freighter aircraft, we will further support the growing needs of the logistics industry, especially as the Philippines’ e-commerce businesses expand rapidly and look for faster delivery schedules,” he added.
Cebu Pacific expects to receive the first of two converted aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2018. The cargo aircraft will continue to be operated through CEB’s wholly owned subsidiary, Cebgo.
IPR Conversions, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, is one of the leading ATR freighter conversion service providers in the world. The conversion of two of CEB’s passenger ATR 72-500 aircraft into dedicated air freighters involves the installation of a large cargo door, allowing standard containers and pallets used throughout the aviation industry to be loaded.
The aircraft will have space for seven AKE Unit Load Device (ULD) containers; and can carry more than seven tons of cargo.
Both aircraft will be converted at the facility of Sabena Technics DNR S.A.S. in Dinard, France. Sabena is one of France’s leading maintenance and modification services (MRO) providers for both civilian and military aircraft.
The move marks the first foray of Cebu Pacific in operating specialized aircraft to transport cargo.
With a longer body to fit in more freight, an increased wingspan and more powerful turboprop engines, the ATR aircraft is ideal for expediting the transport of high-value and time-sensitive commodities such as marine products, computing equipment and even heavy machinery to various points across the country.
It is suited to landing and taking-off in airports with runways less than 1.2 kilometers long—which is too short for jet aircraft.
Only about one-third of the 90 airports in the Philippines can land jets.
