Low-cost Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific has joined the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), the trade association for the global airline industry.
Cebu Pacific is now IATA’s largest member among Philippine carriers, comprising 44% of total domestic passenger volume and 46% of total domestic cargo, based on data from the Philippines’ Civil Aeronautics Board.
Cebu Pacific was formally inducted into IATA by Asia-Pacific regional vice president Conrad Clifford, the airline said in a statement.
IATA represents more than 290 member-airlines from 117 countries, comprising 82% of global air traffic.
“We are pleased to join IATA as we can gain access to expertise and learnings on best practices and innovations among global airlines, as well as help formulate policies on critical aviation issues,” Cebu Pacific president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei said in a statement.
“Moreover, we will also be able to share our own operational experience and contribute to further developing the airline industry as a whole,” he said.
Clifford said: “We warmly welcome Cebu Pacific, Asia’s oldest low-cost carrier, to the IATA family. Today about 20% of our members globally are low-cost carriers and we encourage more to join. We look forward to working together with the Cebu Pacific team to help shape industry standards, best practices and policies that ensure the safe, efficient and sustainable growth of aviation in the Philippines and Asia. Together with our 290+ member airlines, we make aviation the business of freedom.”
Cebu Pacific achieved full compliance with IATA’s Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), joining a registry of 437 carriers worldwide that have strictly complied with an internationally recognized and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. Recently, Cebu Pacific was named the “Most Improved Airline” for 2020 by airline safety and product review website airlineratings.com, citing the carrier’s commitment to “expand its global footprint using new generation fuel-efficient aircraft.”
As of end-September 2019, Cebu Pacific ramped up capacity by 23%, totaling 19 million seats. The carrier has flown close to 16 million passengers on 121 routes with more than 2,600 weekly flights.