Cebu Pacific (CEB) is prepared to meet higher travel demand in 2022 with the addition of six new aircraft to its fleet.
This year, the leading airline is confident that the aviation and tourism industries are on their way to further recovery after the pandemic lockdowns grounded various business sectors.
CEB is receiving a total of six aircraft in 2021: two A321neo (new engine option), one A320neo, two A330neo, and one ATR 72-600.
The airline received on Nov. 28 its first A330neo, which paves the way for it to become the greenest airline in Asia.
The airline’s newest aircraft features 459 lightweight Recaro seats that allow more travelers to be carried in a single flight, resulting in lowest carbon footprint per passenger, making CEB the greenest airline in Asia.
With the A330neo’s latest technologies, this eco-plane consumes 25 percent less fuel than previous generation aircraft and is eco-efficient — able to consume as little as 1.4 liters per seat per 100 kilometers.
“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. 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,” said Alex Reyes, Cebu Pacific’s Head of Strategy.
CEB, which is now operating above 60 percent of its pre-COVID domestic network and capacity, has been ramping up its domestic and international networks. It has added more flights to key domestic destinations, namely, Boracay, Bohol, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General Santos, following the easing of travel restrictions.
This month, CEB has raised its daily flights from Manila to Boracay to eleven times daily from nine times daily. Operations between Cebu and Manila will increase to eleven times daily from nine 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 in December.
For international destinations, Cebu Pacific resumed its operations to Fukuoka every Tuesday starting today, Dec. 7; and to Bangkok every Thursday and Saturday, on Dec 11. It will resume its Taiwan operations every Wednesday, starting Dec. 15.
“We continue to rebuild our domestic and international network to support tourism growth in 2022 while continuing to promote safe and responsible travel. This is the only way to regain trust and confidence in travel, paving the way towards economic recovery,” said Candice Iyog, Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience at Cebu Pacific.
CEB operates the widest domestic network in the Philippines covering 33 destinations on top of its 12 international destinations and has one of the youngest fleets in the world, with 74 aircraft and an average fleet age of 5.94 years as of Dec. 1, 2021.