CEBU PACIFIC, the Philippines’ largest low-cost carrier, transported the most domestic air cargoes for the first semester of the year, accounting for 49.84% or 50.439 million kilograms of the industry’s total for the period, data from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed.
Total domestic air cargo volume for January-June increased 10.16% to 101.208 million kg from 91.877 million kg in the same period last year. Volume for the second quarter also grew 24.1% to 56.046 million kg from 45.163 million kg in the previous quarter.
Cebu Pacific maintained its top spot in domestic cargo business since 2008, growing 13.47% to beat the 44.452 million kg it carried in the first half of last year. Its cargo volume also increased 19.24% in the second quarter to 27.433 million kg from 23.006 million kg in the first quarter.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines came in second with 27.99% or 28.328 million kg of cargoes, followed by sister carrier PAL Express with a 13.2% share or 13.355 million kg of handled cargoes.
Both airlines improved in cargo volume with PAL increasing 11.22% from last year’s first half of 25.471 million kg and PAL Express rising 11.65% from 11.961 million kg a year earlier.
Fourth in rank was budget carrier Zest Airways, which carried 8.236 million kg of cargoes, or 8.14% of the total. However, that was a 16.8% drop from last year’s figure of 9.9 million kg. For the second quarter, Zest transported 3.846 million kg, a 12.39% decline from the first quarter’s 4.390 million kg.
Southeast Asian Airlines came in fifth with 0.41% or 415,734 kg. It was all rosy for SEAir, which leapfrogged 348.81% from 92,630 kg of domestic cargoes in the same period last year. For the second quarter, it handled 322,216 kg of cargoes, 244.55% higher than the first quarter’s 93,518 kg.
In August 2012, Singapore’s Tiger Airways completed the purchase of 40% of SEAir, forming Tiger Airways. SEAir later divested its international operations to Tigerair and formed SEAir International, which handles the airline’s domestic operations.
Another budget carrier, Philippines AirAsia, which started cargo operations in September last year, accounted for 0.33% of the total first-half volume with 337,809 kg, after adding 182,842 kg in the second quarter, an increase of 17.99% from 154,967 kg in the first quarter.
Magnum Air (SkyJet) Inc., a new player that grew from chartering flights into full operations in December last year, carried 97,848 kg or 0.097% of the total. The carrier flew 63,038 kg in the second quarter, 81.1% higher than the first quarter’s 34,810 kg.
For the whole of 2012, the six carriers, excluding Magnum Air, flew 204.638 million kg of domestic cargoes.
Photo from www.cebupacificaircargo.com
