Lance Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific CEO and president, (second from left) leads the ceremonial turnover of Airbus A321Neo to Cebu Pacific. The event was attended by Nicholas Galley, Ambassador of France to the Philippines and Micronesia.| Photo by Irene R. Sino Cruz
MAKATI CITY, Philippines — Cebu Pacific aims to hit 200 million passengers by the year 2020 with the addition of 12 new aircraft this year.
Cebu Pacific received its first A321neo early this week. It will be receiving five more Airbus A321neo aircraft as well as five A320neo and one ATR 72-600. The acquisition of new planes will support the carrier’s expansion plans this year.
“2019 is the year we will accelerate growth,” Cebu Pacific president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei said during the A321neo welcome event held Thursday, January 31.
“We will be receiving one brand new aircraft per month which we can use to increase capacity in key markets or even launch new routes,” Gokongwei said.
Read more: Cebu Pacific acquiring new, bigger aircraft
The A321neo will enable Cebu Pacific to offer more seats and maximize airport slots, Cebu Pacific said in a press statement. It has 236 seats, 56 seats or 31 percent more than the A320.
Cebu Pacific could also increase capacity in key markets or launch new routes, Gokongwei said. Since the aircraft could travel up to 5,000 kilometers or fly up to seven hours, the airline could also explore new destinations.
The airline will be looking at new destinations like India, Russia, northern Japan and other cities in Australia.
According to Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific aims to reach its targeted passenger by 2020 with expansion of its network and as it upgrades its fleet to bigger and more fuel-efficient aircraft.
Gokongwei also said that Cebu Pacific had one of the youngest fleets in the world.
He said it had an average fleet age of five years.
Its fleet include an Airbus A321neo, 36 Airbus A320, seven Airbus A321CEO, eight Airbus A330, eight ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600 aircraft. Cebu Pacific subsidiary Cebgo uses ATT aircraft for interisland flights where jet operations are not possible.
Cebu Pacific and its subsidiary Cebgo serves 36 domestic and 26 international destinations, with over 107 routes in Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the United States./dbs