Cebu Pacific sets $350-M capex

MANILA, Philippines - Budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) has earmarked $350 million for its capital expenditures next year as it gears up for more international destinations including the US and Europe.

Cebu Pacific president and chief operating officer Lance Gokongwei said the amount would be used for its refleeting program. “That would be about $350 million,” Gokongwei said.

He pointed out that the budget for next year’s capital expenditures is equivalent to this year’s allocation.

According to him, Cebu Pacific expects the delivery of eight Airbus aircraft next year including five A320 aircraft and three A330s.

Gokongwei also said the low cost carrier is returning four leased A320 aircraft.

“In all, we’re going get three A330s and one A320.”

Cebu Pacific is in a middle of a $4 billion refleeting program involving the delivery of 49 Airbus aircraft including 15 brand-new Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo, and four Airbus A330 aircraft between this year and 2021.

The airline’s existing fleet of 47 aircraft is composed of 10 Airbus A319, 27 Airbus A320, two Airbus A330 and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft.

Gokongwei earlier said the company is also preparing for flights to Europe and the US. The listed airline would seek the green light from the European Union to fly to the European airspace in November.

“We are planning to go to the EU this November, as you know we were planning to go in May but we decided to delay that. In November, we are going to make a formal presentation to EU authorities and we are likewise working towards a certification to be able to fly to Europe,” Gokongwei stressed.

Gokongwei said the airline expects to fly 15 million passengers this year after passenger volume grew 11.4 percent to 9.83 million passengers from January to August this year compared to 8.83 million in the same period last year.

“We are on track and it will be close to that number,” he said.