Cebu Pacific will close 2019 as the largest carrier in terms of capacity at the Clark International Airport, as well as the Busuanga and Puerto Princesa airports in Palawan.
The airline said in a statement the increases in capacity share came following the start of direct commercial service between Clark and Guangzhou, China; Clark and Puerto Princesa; and between Puerto Princesa and Hong Kong.
Cebu Pacific by the end of 2019 will hold a 28-percent capacity share at the Clark International Airport. CEB has been operating flights in and out of the Clark International Airport since 2006, with the latter serving as its hub for North and Central Luzon.
CEB from Clark 190 flights weekly to Bacolod, Bohol, Caticlan (Boracay), Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Narita (Tokyo) and Singapore.
“Cebu Pacific has taken a measured pace of expansion in Clark, but we have always believed in the potential of Clark. Over the past 12 months, our capacity growth in Clark hit over 90 percent. With the growth in passenger traffic in Clark, we are bullish that the new routes we launched over the past few months will continue to perform strongly,” said said CEB chief strategy officer Alexander Lao.
Meanwhile, CEB will cap 2019 with a 46-percent total capacity share in Puerto Princesa, the main gateway to Palawan, and the Busuanga Airport, which caters to Coron and the rest of northern Palawan. CEB operates 190 flights weekly to and from Palawan, equivalent to over 1.1 million seats.
Aside from Hong Kong and Clark, Cebu Pacific has direct flights to Manila, Iloilo and Cebu from Puerto Princesa. From the Busuanga Airport, meanwhile, Cebu Pacific operates direct flights to Manila and Cebu.
“We remain confident that Hong Kong will bounce back, and despite current concerns, there is continued demand for travel between Hong Kong and the Philippines. We are confident in the potential of Palawan to grow tourism sustainably, and we will continue to work with our stakeholders in Palawan to better connect the province to the rest of the Philippines and to key tourist catch points in Asia,” said vice president for commercial Alex Reyes.