PHILIPPINE budget airline Cebu Pacific (CEB) was the fifth most profitable leading value airline in the world, according to the July 2011 issue of Air Transport World (ATW).
ATW’s World Airline Report special feature cited CEB fifth in net profit and eighth in operating profit in a list of international low-cost carriers, including the US’s Southwest Airlines and Europe’s Ryanair.
The financial rankings were based on data for the most recent fiscal year.
A monthly magazine, ATW has been covering global airline and commercial air transport manufacturing for nearly 48 years.
“This is quite an achievement since it shows CEB’s financial management and sustainability as a business. Since 1996, CEB has been offering the lowest fares in all its destinations, and it will continue to do so for the benefit of the traveling public,” said CEB vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog.
CEB operates 10 Airbus A319s, 15 Airbus A320s, and 8 ATR-72 500s. By the end of the year, it will be operating a fleet of 37 aircraft – with an average age of less than 3.5 years – one of the most modern aircraft fleet in the world. Between 2012 and 2021, CEB will take delivery of 23 Airbus A320s and 30 Airbus A321neos, and 2 Airbus A320s on operating lease agreements.
In the second quarter of the year, the airline recorded significant growth in passenger volume and load factor.
It flew 3.111 million passengers from April to June, up 15% year on year. Domestic travelers jumped 13% to 2.428 million and international passengers, 21% to 683,000.
Load factor reached 89%, eclipsing the 88% recorded in the second quarter of 2010, and 87% in the first quarter of 2011.
The biggest growth areas during the second quarter were Taiwan, up 66%; South Korea, 42%; China, 38%; and Singapore, 22%.
