Cebu Pacific Air still RP’s largest national flag carrier

Low-fare airline Cebu Pacific (CEB) ranked first among RP carriers in carrying the most number of passengers for its combined domestic and international operations in the first half of the year.

Based on the Philippines Civil Aviation Board’s official report covering the period of January to June 2010, CEB flew 5,096,887 passengers for combined domestic and international traffic, 214,416 passengers more than Philippine Airlines (PAL). PAL carried 4,882,471 passengers; Air Philippines Express flew 667,686; Zest Air, formerly known as Asian Spirit had 623,529 passengers; and Seair flew 132,638.

CEB successfully maintained its position as the country’s largest national flag carrier. It strongly dominated the domestic air travel market in the first-half of the year with a market share of 48.7%, and carried 1.2 million passengers more than its closest competitor Philippine Airlines.

CEB attributed its remarkable 26% international passenger base growth to its robust positions in Asian destinations, such as Osaka, Seoul (Incheon), Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Macau.

Candice Iyog, CEB vice president for marketing and distribution said, “Our continued expansion in Asia and in the Philippines coupled with our trademark low fares has stimulated travel and tourism. It also enabled affordable and accessible business travel opportunities for many small and medium enterprises. This is proof of our commitment to nation-building in making the Philippines a vibrant investment and tourism destination.”

Iyog added, “We expect to further boost our combined domestic and international traffic in the last quarter of the year as we take delivery of three brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft. These aircraft will be used to mount additional flights to Kota Kinabalu, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Seoul (Incheon).

The airline currently offers the most number of flights, routes, and destinations from the Philippines to ASEAN region.

CEB operates the youngest aircraft fleet in the country with 10 Airbus A319, 11 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR 72-500 aircraft and will take delivery of three brand new A320 aircraft in the last quarter of 2010. It operates the most extensive network in the country with 33 domestic and 16 international destinations