Cebu Pacific kept its position as the country’s top domestic carrier with a 57-percent market share last year, up 5 percentage points from 52 percent in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Citing data from the Civil Aeronautics Board, Cebu Pacific said it flew close to 13.5 million domestic passengers in 2022, up 312 percent from 2021, indicating a strong recovery in both capacity and passenger traffic.
Combined with its international operations, the airline flew over 14.8 million passengers in 2022, or 335 percent higher year-on-year, for a seat load of 75 percent, which improved 14.7 percentage points from 2021.
“Higher travel demand both domestically and internationally, coupled with the easing of various travel regulations, drove the steep recovery for Cebu Pacific in 2022,” the airline unit of the Gokongwei Group said.
Cebu Pacific flew 4.4 million passengers in the fourth quarter, 6 percent higher quarter-on-quarter, for a seat load of 78 percent, up 3.6 percentage points quarter on quarter, as the holiday peak season encouraged a further uptrend in travel demand for both domestic and international destinations.
“Key destinations such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also eased their travel restrictions during the quarter, enabling the airline to accelerate recovery of its international network. Hong Kong, one of CEB’s largest markets, also lifted its mandatory quarantine requirements in December,” Cebu Pacific said.
Cebu Pacific flew over 587,000 passengers to short-haul international destinations in the fourth quarter, an increase of 97 percent from the third quarter.
Long-haul destinations, including Dubai and Sydney, also contributed to the growth, posting a 14-percent increase in passenger volume quarter-on-quarter.
The airline flew over 108,300 flights and over 19.7 million seats in 2022 which represented 92 percent of pre-pandemic capacity.
Cebu Pacific said that in 2023, it is firmly in place for full recovery and expects to restore 100 percent of its pre-COVID network and capacity in March, aided by unbeatable seat sales, widest domestic network and reinstatement of all international destinations.
The airline strengthened its Clark hub by operating a combined 13 domestic and international destinations from Clark International Airport, making it the largest airline servicing northern and central Luzon.
Cebu Pacific said it would lease five aircraft in 2023 to address capacity and growing passenger demand. These are on top of the 10 new Airbus NEO aircraft that will be delivered in 2023 to expand the airline’s entire fleet.
“Three of the aircraft will be used to re-start the Clark base. The two other aircraft will be used to support overall growth ambitions as CEB recovers fully from the pandemic,” said Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Xander Lao.