Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific continues to capture the lion’s share of both passenger and cargo traffic between Sydney and Manila going into the first quarter of 2017, data from Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) showed.
The report said Cebu Pacific handled 1,131 tons of cargo between Sydney and Manila in the first three months of 2017, covering 49% of the total 2,325 tons carried by the three carriers servicing the route. The growth in Cebu Pacific’s cargo service tracked the increase in total volumes, from 1,567 tons carried in the comparable quarter last year.
During the same period, Cebu Pacific carried over 43,512 passengers, representing 42% of the passenger market share on the Sydney-Manila route, the highest among the three carriers covering the route.
The BITRE report noted that from January to March 2017, passenger traffic between Sydney and Manila totalled 104,446, up 7% versus the same period last year. The growth in passenger traffic was dominated by Cebu Pacific, which carried 16% more passengers from the 37,640 reported in the first quarter of 2016. Load factor for the airline for the Sydney-Manila route was at an average 78% for the first three months of 2017.
Cebu Pacific is the only low-cost carrier plying the direct Sydney-Manila route, with fares costing 50% less than competing airlines.
The Philippines’ Department of Tourism noted that a total of 1.6 million tourists visited the country in the first quarter of 2017, up 11.6% year-on-year. Tourists from Australia comprised 66,807 of the total number.
Cebu Pacific offers the most number of seats between Manila and Sydney, covering close to 40% of the route’s total capacity. The airline currently operates up to five weekly nonstop services between Sydney and Manila. It has recently expressed interest to increase frequency between Manila and Sydney, noting strong demand for this route.
Image courtesy of M-Pics at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
