Cebu Air Inc., operator of low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific, said Thursday it plans to purchase narrow-body aircraft from US plane manufacturer Boeing to “diversify risk” amid the aircraft engine issues with Pratt and Whitney (P&W).
Cebu Pacific chief executive Mike Szucs told reporters the airline was in talks with Airbus and Boeing for possible large order of aircraft to be made in history.
“This is an extremely large order for somebody like Cebu Pacific certainly, but even in the Philippines by far and the largest order I think that will ever be placed in the Philippines,” Szucs said at the sidelines of the 2023 Aviation Summit.
“In the coming week or two, we will formally launch the request for proposal and may the best man win. It will be one or the other, we’re not gonna split it between the two. It could be that we order a whole load of new Airbus again, or it could be we order a whole load of Boeing. We would think three to six months would be the whole process, hopefully,” he said.
Szucs said Cebu Pacific was looking at Boeing aircraft to diversify risk “because we’re facing issues at the moment” with engine aircraft issues with Airbus.
“So that we haven’t got all our eggs in one basket, and that is an argument. Frankly, we will look at the right outcome financially and operationally, but both products are really good. The Boeing 737 Max is an excellent product and we know because we fly around at the moment,” Szucs siad.
Cebu Pacific operated a fleet of Boeing 757 narrow body for international flights from 2001 to 2006.