Cebu Pacific on Tuesday said it has signed a damp lease agreement with Bulgaria Air to meet the expected rise in passenger demand as the post-pandemic air travel recovery pushes forward.
Under the agreement, the Gokongwei-led airline will lease two Airbus 320 CEO aircraft from Bulgaria Air that will service two domestic routes — Cebu and Davao — from January to May 2024.
Bulgaria Air, the national carrier of the Republic of Bulgaria, has had many years of experience in the damp leasing of aircraft having partnered with various airlines all over the world.
Also known as ACMI, damp leasing is an agreement between airlines where the lessor provides the aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) requirements of the lessee.
The leased Airbus A320ceo in this case will each have 180-seat capacity and will fly passengers from Manila to Cebu and Davao.
“We continue to explore various opportunities to supplement the fleet and ensure operational resilience. This includes signing a damp lease agreement with Bulgaria Air for five months in 2024,” Xander Lao, Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer, said.
“We expect to increase our fleet to 92 come end-2024. With this, we expect our year-on-year seat growth to be within 5 percent to 8 percent in 2024,” he added.
Cebu Pacific earlier posted net income of P1.3 billion in the third quarter, a turnaround from last year’s net loss of P2.5 billion.
The airline generated P23.3 billion in revenue in the third quarter, up 39 percent year-on-year and 23 percent above the same period in 2019.
This was on the back of over 5.3 million passengers flown onboard 35,000 flights, which were 27 percent and 18 percent higher year-on-year, respectively.
