Cebu Pacific monitoring Boeing’s safety issues

MANILA, Philippines — Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific is close to placing a firm order for its biggest plane order, and it is taking a closer look into the safety concerns against one of its possible suppliers, Boeing.

Cebu Pacific plans to declare the supplier for its firm order of as many as 150 aircraft within the second quarter of the year, according to president and chief commercial officer Alexander Lao.

Further, Lao said Cebu Pacific remains open to purchasing jets from aviation giant Boeing even as the company faces a safety crisis and a federal investigation in the US.

“We are still in the process of selection and we hope to make an announcement within the second quarter of this year. We are monitoring the issues with Boeing, but like others in the industry, we are confident that Boeing will be able to address production and operational issues,” Lao told The STAR.

In March Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced that he would step down as the head of the maker of the 737 and 777 jets. Apart from this, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal also retired in the face of a scandal concerning the safety of Boeing planes.

In January, a Boeing 737 Max flown by Alaska Airlines saw its door panel blow out in the middle of a flight, triggering a federal probe led by the US Department of Justice.

The model in concern, the 737 Max, competes with the Airbus A320neo family, one of the most popular narrow-body jets used by Philippine carriers.

To recall, Cebu Pacific is looking at acquiring up to 150 aircraft from either Airbus or Boeing in a transaction that could possibly hit $18 billion at list prices.

Cebu Pacific operates a fleet made up of Airbus aircraft and ATR turboprops and has no Boeing unit in its hangars. To date, Cebu Pacific manages a fleet of eight A330s, 36 A320s, 20 A321s, as well as 14 turboprops.

Cebu Pacific increased its capital expenditures by nearly a fifth to P50 billion in 2024, from P42 billion in 2023, to fund the delivery of new aircraft. The carrier owned by the Gokongweis raised its capex guidance as it may need to pay the pre-delivery cost of its impending order.

For 2024, Cebu Pacific expects to receive a total of 17 jets that will be deployed to select routes where demand is on the rise.

Cebu Pacific offers the widest network of domestic destinations among local carriers, boasting a presence in 35 Philippine routes and 25 international cities, reaching as far as Asia, Australia and the Middle East.