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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Cebu Pacific adds six new aircraft to support recovery

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Cebu Pacific said Tuesday it will take delivery of two airplanes this month to bring this year’s additional aircraft to six in preparation for the recovery and growth of the travel industry in 2022.

The airline unit of the Gokongwei Group said this year’s six new aircraft include two A321neo (new engine option), one A320neo, two A330neo and one ATR 72-600. It received the first A330neo on Nov. 28, which paves the way for it to become the greenest airline in Asia.

“We’ve already taken deliveries of the two A321neos, the A330 and the A320. Another A330neo, along with the ATR 72-600, are expected to arrive,” said Alex Reyes, Cebu Pacific’s head of strategy.

“We are among the few airlines in the world and the only one in the Philippines to take deliveries during a pandemic, which is a testament to CEB’s resilience, liquidity and expected recovery as we enter 2022,” he said.

Cebu Pacific, which is now operating above 60 percent of its pre-COVID domestic network and capacity, was ramping up its domestic and international networks.

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It added more flights to key domestic destinations such as Boracay, Bohol, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and General Santos following the easing of travel restrictions.

The airline raised its daily flights from Manila to Boracay to 11 times daily this month from 9 times daily in the previous months.

Operations between Cebu and Manila will increase to 11 times daily from 9 times daily. Flights to Cagayan de Oro will ramp up to seven times daily from five times daily. Manila to Davao flights will go up to five times daily from three times daily.

Cebu Pacific said that for international destinations, it would resume operations to Fukuoka, Bangkok and Taiwan this month.

“We continue to rebuild our domestic and international network to support tourism growth in 2022 while continuing to promote safe and responsible travel,” said Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing and customer experience at Cebu Pacific.

“This is the only way to regain trust and confidence in travel, paving the way towards economic recovery,” she said.

The Philippines – famous for its diving destinations, beaches and thousands of tropical islands – saw an 84-percent drop in international visitor arrivals in 2020, receiving 1.32 million visitors, compared to 8.26 million in 2019. Japan, South Korea, and China are its biggest tourism markets.

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