Cebu Pacific retains slot as 15th largest budget earner

MANILA, Philippines - Cebu Pacific (CEB) retained its ranking in Airline Business Magazine’s list of the world’s top 75 low-cost carriers (LCC) based on 2011 passenger numbers, coming in at 15th place, the same rank in 2010.

In Airline Business Magazine’s May 2012 issue, it cited that CEB flew 11.9 million passengers in 2011, a 13.6-percent passenger growth compared to 2010.

CEB bested other LCCs in Asia such as India’s Spicejet (19), China’s Spring Airlines (23), Thai Air Asia (24), Tiger Airways (29) and Indonesia Air Asia (33). The world’s three largest LCCs are USA’s Southwest, Ireland’s RyanAir and UK’s EasyJet.

In its special report on LCCs worldwide, passenger traffic among the leading 75 LCCs in 2011 jumped nearly 12 percent to 727 million passengers. LCC passengers are highest in Europe with 37.1 percent, while North America (29.5 percent) and Asia-Pacific (21.6 percent) come in at second and third, respectively.

Load factors, which refer to how full planes are, among more than 50 reporting carriers in 2011 were at 81 percent. CEB posted a load factor of 86.3 percent in 2011.

 “CEB is the only Philippine carrier to make the list, which is a testament to our growing route network and number of passengers served. We will continue to expand our services for the benefit of more travelers, especially with our planned long-haul operations in 2013,” CEB VP for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog said

Between 2012 and 2021, CEB-3 will take delivery of 22 more Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders. It will also lease up to eight Airbus A330-300 aircraft to serve new markets beyond the range of CEB’s current fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.

 “With over 720 million LCC passengers worldwide, CEB will continue to differentiate itself with its fun culture and trademark low fares to all the destinations we serve. We look forward to increasing the LCC market in the Philippines and beyond, enabling everyone to fly,” Iyog added.

CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 20 Airbus A320 and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 38 aircraft – with an average age of 3.6 years – is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. It flies to 32 Philippine destinations including Boracay, Coron, Cebu, Palawan and Siargao, and 19 international destinations: Bangkok, Beijing, Brunei, Busan, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Incheon, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Osaka, Shanghai, Siem Reap, Singapore, Taipei and Xiamen.