For Lance Gokongwei, sky’s the limit

Over lunch recently, Pammy Olivares-Vital, owner of midsized property developer Ovialand, said she is optimistic about the economy.

She’s all smiles and her energy is almost tangible and it’s not because economic managers have given their rosy growth estimates for the year and the coming years; neither is it because of property consultants’ optimistic view on her industry’s future.

Her cue, in fact, has nothing to do with her industry – an order of a hundred-plus airplanes.

Indeed, Pammy’s gauge is one man’s bet on the Philippine growth story – tycoon Lance Gokongwei’s historic P1.4-trillion order of 152 A321neo aircraft for Cebu Pacific, touted as the largest aircraft order in Philippine aviation history.

“If Lance Gokongwei can bet P1.4 trillion, then there’s reason to be optimistic!” Pammy told me.

Thus, Ovialand won’t be slowing down with its expansion as it aims to become a bigger real estate company. But that’s another story I’ll save for another day.

For now, the spotlight indeed is on CEB, which is really betting big on the Philippine economy and its growth prospects.

Who was it who said that life is like a game of poker? “If you don’t put any in the pot, there won’t be any to take out.”

CEB it seems is going all-in after challenging pandemic headwinds slammed the industry. Four years later, the company is optimistic on the Philippines and future prospects, especially for the aviation sector.

Back in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed difficult to see that the skies would ever clear again. Its impact on the airline industry was brutal.

Lance has had to deal with Cebu Air’s losses – a net loss of P24.9 billion in 2021. The pandemic marked one of the worst crises in the Gokongwei Group’s 30-year history.

But Lance stayed the course. Shutting the airline founded by his father John Gokongwei wasn’t an option. “Magagalit si JG,” he told me back then in a phone chat during the early part of the pandemic.

Fast forward to 2024 and here’s post-pandemic CEB not only surviving and thriving but soaring higher with its historic plane order.

At the Farnborough International Air Show this week, CEB, Airbus and Pratt & Whitney held an official ceremony to commemorate a binding memorandum of understanding signed for the airline’s purchase of 102 A321neo, plus 50 A320neo Family purchase rights. CEB has selected Pratt & Whitney GTF engines to power the future aircraft.

“The order is designed to give Cebu Pacific the flexibility to choose between the A321neo and A320neo aircraft as needed, helping us adapt to market changes,” said Michael Szucs, CEO at CEB.

“This deal is a significant milestone in our ongoing mission to make air travel more accessible and affordable for everyone while supporting the Philippine growth story,” he said.

A very happy Airbus said the MOU is a testament to the airline’s confidence in its products and a positive signal for the aviation industry’s recovery.

What does this mean for passengers?

Hopefully, this would mean more connectivity for the Philippines and for passengers, no more flight cancellations or major delays.

While supply issues have hounded the industry last year, resulting in mind-losing flight cancellations – not just CEB but all airlines – there seems to be significant improvements this year largely because of new aircraft arrivals.

This year, CEB received its seventh aircraft delivery. The brand-new aircraft, a fuel-efficient A321neo, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila from Airbus’ facility in Hamburg, Germany on June 30.

“We look forward to carrying more passengers to their chosen destinations as we continue to expand not only our network, but also our fleet,” said Xander Lao, CEB president and chief commercial officer.

Passenger woes

Hopefully, all these ongoing deliveries and the new historic P1.4-trillion order, which will start to come in by 2027, will finally and fully address passenger woes.

It is very, very frustrating for any passenger to go through that horrendous traffic going to NAIA and brave all the hassle outside and inside the airport only to be told that the flight is delayed, moved to another day or cancelled altogether.

Just last week, for instance, some journalists traveling to Iloilo who booked a Philippine Airlines flight ended up stuck in the airport and later on in a hotel because the flight was delayed by more than 20 hours.

One can only sigh and cry in frustration. Hopefully, we will soon see an end to all these passenger woes.

AirSWIFT

Going back to CEB, aside from its historic order, the Gokongweis are also in talks with the Zobels to acquire boutique carrier AirSWIFT from the Ayala Group as I wrote in my exclusive story on Monday.

Lance Gokongwei is surely taking a big bet on the Philippine growth story – sky’s the limit, quite literally.

As Lance rolls the dice, I hope Lady Luck smiles on him because at the end of the day, one tycoon’s gamble could mean a win for Filipinos.

Done right, it would mean more passengers can travel and see more of the beauty of our beloved country, and far beyond.

More importantly, it’s really about enabling the movement of people for both business and pleasure – at a faster pace – in sync with a world that is also moving and turning at a dizzying speed.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.