Cebu Pacific carries 9 millionth passenger

Cebu Pacific Air moved its nine millionth passenger last Feb. 14, 2003, Valentine’s Day and one month before the airline’s seventh anniversary.

Young Cebuana Sheree Gae Gayas was on her way to Manila to celebrate Valentine’s Day when she came out on Cebu Pacific’s list a its nine millionth flyer.

As Cebu Pacific’s new milestone passenger, Gayas was given a choice between two round-trip tickets to Hong Kong or a three-month trip pass which can take her on an unlimited number of trips to any of the airline’s domestic destinations. Gayas chose the domestic travel.

Initially averaging a million a year in its first three years of operation, Cebu Pacific’s load rose sharply in its fourth year, hitting the four-millionth mark three months shy of its fourth year.

The airline’s six-millionth mark was hit just two months after it turned five. Last year, the airline flew its eight millionth revenue passenger barely four months after its sixth anniversary.

Cebu Pacific, the country’s number two carrier, also now flies regionally and began its twice-daily Hong Kong service in November 2001, and its four-time-weekly Seoul service in March 2002. In December 2002, the airline began to flying between Subic and Seoul, as well as Cebu and Seoul.

Locally, the airlines flies to 11 major destinations with almost 70 flights daily. The introduction of more domestic destinations is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.