Cebu Pacific group director for operations contracts and asset management Rohan Kapoor.
Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific is “pulling all levers” in order to grow capacity as it grapples with Airbus A320neo-family aircraft groundings.
The airline has taken 10 aircraft out of service because of issues with Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G engines and expects to have 20 grounded by the end of the year. It has supplemented its fleet by taking two A320ceos under a damp lease agreement with Bulgaria Air.
Speaking at Routes Asia 2024 in Langkawi, Malaysia, group director for operations contracts and asset management Rohan Kapoor said the LCC was doing “whatever [it] can” to maintain its growth trajectory as demand continues to outstrip supply.
“We are pausing any new markets and instead trying to increase frequencies to existing destinations,” he said. “We are pulling all levers within our control to try and see how we can grow.”
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Kapoor explained Cebu Pacific wants to increase its network in the Middle East but has paused planned expansion for the time being. “The region is a very, very lucrative market but we have [been unable to expand],” Kapoor said. “We were exploring Saudi Arabia in detail, but we’ve had to halt that.”
The focus for the next 12 to 18 months will therefore be to fly routes with strong demand and where margins are higher. However, Kapoor said that “when the dust settles” on the A320neo-family groundings, the airline expects to launch flights to new destinations.
Kapoor added that the Chinese market is still not meeting expectations, attributing this to factors like visa-free arrangements with Thailand and Malaysia, diverting travelers away from the Philippines. OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that Cebu Pacific currently serves four destinations in mainland China from Manila at present—Guangzhou, Shanghai Pudong, Shenzhen and Xiamen—and offers 14X-weekly flights. This compares with seven routes and 34X-weekly flights before the pandemic.
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