Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific and Cebgo, targets to fly 22 million passengers this year, down from an earlier forecast of 24 million passengers.
Mike Szucs, chief executive of Cebu Pacific, said the airline blamed the reduced capacity by two million as due to engine issues with Pratt and Whitney (P&W).
Data from Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed that Cebu Pacific’s carried 8.5 million domestic and international passengers in the first half of 2023.
“We have a number of aircraft that’s on the ground at the moment because we don’t have sufficient engine,” he added.
Regulations require aircraft engines to be serviced after so much flying hours or calendar days to keep them at optimum performance and prevent air accidents.
But with the resumption of flights following idle years of the pandemic, aircraft engines such as those of Cebu Pacific aircraft have to be serviced all at once along with many other carriers worldwide. The problem is there are only so much accredited Pratt & Whitney aircraft engine service companies in the world.
Nevertheless, Szucs said the budget carrier projects returning to profitability this year despite the anticipated reduction in passenger growth.
“We’ve said that we anticipate profitability this year,” he reiterated.
The airline posted a net income of P3.74 billion in the first half of the year, a reversal from a P9.5 billion net loss in the same period last year.
Cebu Pacific revenue amounted to P43.55 billion, 110.6 percent higher than only P20.68 billion last year.
In 2022, Cebu Pacific booked a net loss of P14 billion, down from P24.9 billion in 2021.
Szucs also previously said Cebu Pacific was in talks with Airbus and Boeing for a large order of new aircraft, likely the largest in local aviation.
“In the coming week or two, we will formally launch the request and may the best aircraft win. It will be one or the other, we’re not going to split it between the two. It could be that we order a whole load of new Airbus again, or it could be that we order a whole load of Boeing. We 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 aircraft engine issues with Airbus.
Cebu Pacific said it expected the fleet to end 2023 with 76 aircraft and grow to 91 aircraft by 2024. It is the youngest fleet in the Philippines and includes 25 P&W-powered Airbus aircraft.
