2nd best booth at the NorthPhil Expo 2012. Photo by Ric Gonzales
CLARK FREEPORT – An official of the Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), which is targeting to serve 100 million people by 2014, said over the weekend that the country’s top passenger carrier will not yet add local and regional routes in their hub at the Clark International Airport (CIA).
But Alexander G. Lao, CEB vice president for commercial planning, stressed the decision to make the total 2,367 hectares CIA and its aviation complex their 4th hub in 2008 “was good and passengers’ volume increased yearly.”
That year, CEB launched flights to Cebu via Clark and thereafter started regular flights to Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and Bangkok.
Lao said the average increase of in passengers’ volume in the country is “11 to 12 percent” compared to the world-wide increase pegged at about seven percent.
“This is amazing,” Lao said, “considering the slump in the aviation industry and other businesses over the past five years in several nations and continents, including Europe and the United States of America.
Within the week, CEB President and CEO Lance Gokongwei is expected to lead the ceremonies to welcome their 70th million passenger.
Lao, who invited Punto Central Luzon and other Pampanga-based journalists over lunch at the Holiday Inn Resort Clark on Nov. 9 at the sidelines of the 3rd North Philippines (NorthPhil) Tourism and Travel Expo at Marquee Mall, said the passengers’ volume since 2008 had increased “significantly.”
He did not provide the exact number of flights they carried and passengers served though.
Asked which of the Southeast Asia routes is the most preferred destination via Clark, Lao said “we don’t know now but business is good (in Clark).”
Last October, Clark International Airport Corp. President and CEO Victor Jose Luciano led the ceremonies for the CIA’s one millionth passenger in year, actually attained in 10 months’ time. As of latest data from the CIA, there are at least 298 flights per week at the airport known for its United States military-made runway.
Lao said the Gokongwei-owned airline, which served some 12 million passengers in 2011, said they are on track to break their record number of passengers last year.
In the first months of the CEB’s operations this year, they reported a total passenger volume increase of 20.1 percent compared to last year’s.
The increase, the CEB said in its Investors’ and Analysts’ briefing in May, was primarily driven by domestic passenger volume growing by at least 22.1 percent compared to the data in 2011.
The CEB, the first Filipino-owned airline to launch regular international flights at Clark four years ago, is on track to launch long-haul flights to the USA and Middle East by the second half of 2013, said Lao.
The CEB, which has over 3,000 workers, is expecting the delivery of at least 55 brand-new airplanes made by the Blagnac, France-based Airbus, the aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V.
Lao said 30 of their new total orders are the “more fuel-efficient” A321neo aircraft. He added that the latest Airbus plane with a 220- seating capacity could largely reduce their consumption on fuel, which he said comprised 50 percent of their total operations costs. .
“The A321neo will enable us to increase capacity on our key routes while benefiting from the lowest operating costs of any aircraft in this size category,” said Gokongwei in an earlier statement.
“With these aircraft we will continue to build upon our reputation for offering high quality low fares service with one of the most modern and youngest fleets in Asia,” he added.
