Philippine Airlines and Cebu Air Inc. incurred a combined foregone revenues of P1.26 billion due to flight cancellations following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting here in Manila.
“PAL’s foregone or lost revenue due to Apec cancellations is approximately $18.75 million [P860 million]. PAL’s gross revenue per day is an estimated $7.5 million,” PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said.
Villaluna said close to 700 domestic and international flights were cancelled during the Apec meeting, accounting for 45 percent of what PAL would normally operate within a six-day period.
The country’s flag carrier operates an estimated 260 flights a day.
“We must stress, however, that the long term benefits of Apec outweigh these aforementioned losses” she said.
Cebu Pacific corporate affairs officer-in-charge JR Mantaring said revenue loss from flight cancellations due to the Apec meeting was estimated at P400 million.
“As there may still be further changes in flight schedules within this week, this figure may still change,” Mantaring said.
Cebu Pacific Group has cancelled over 680 domestic and international flights during the international conference.
The runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport will be closed from November 16 to 20 due to the arrival and departure of Apec leaders.
Passengers of PAL and Cebu Air with confirmed tickets within November 16 to 20 period have the option to rebook their flights, with rebooking and penalty charges waived.
PAL’s parent firm, PAL Holdings Inc., earlier reported a comprehensive income of P6.55 billion in the first nine months of the year from last year’s P169.1 million.
PAL Holdings attributed the sharp increase in comprehensive income during the period to strong revenues, which rose 10.8 percent to P81.98 billion from P73.98 billion a year ago.
PAL’s passenger revenue amounted to P68.37 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 12.5 percent from last year’s P60.78 billion.
Cebu Pacific, meanwhile, recorded a net income of P3.56 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 71 percent from last year’s P2.08 billion.
Revenues amounted to P42.26 billion in the nine-month period, or 9.9 percent higher than the P38.45 billion posted in the same period last year.