Cebu Pacific on Tuesday bared considering a wet lease agreement with aircraft charter company Bulgaria Air as the number of grounded aircraft with engine issues around the globe steadily rises.
The Gokongwei-led airline said it is seriously considering a short-term wet lease from Bul Air to mitigate the impact of aircraft engine issues on its passengers.
In a wet lease, an airline provides aircraft and crew, maintenance and insurance to another airline.
Cebu Pacific expects to receive before the end of this year proposals from suppliers after issuing a request for proposal to both Airbus and Boeing for 100 up to 150 narrow body jets. This represent the largest ever such commitment of any airline in Philippine aviation.
“We’ve taken all these initiatives to uphold our commitment to delivering affordable, safe, and dependable flights,” Michael Szucs, Cebu Pacific chief executive, said.
Cebu Pacific, by January next year, will begin inspections across its fleet of A320/321 NEO aircraft powered by Pratt and Whitney (P&W) engines. The carrier especially pointed out this is not a safety issue as inspection and replacement procedures are set well in advance to ensure the continued operation of P&W powered aircraft.
Consequently, Cebu Pacific expects to have 10 of its aircraft grounded in January, with the number rising to 20 through 2024.
But no matter the engine issues, Cebu Pacific is confident of pushing ahead with its financial and capacity growth programs in 2024, with systemwide network forecast seen exceeding 100 percent of pre-pandemic capacity in the fourth quarter this year.
The airline flew four million domestic passengers in the third quarter, up 5 percent year on year and already above pre pandemic levels.
The airline grew its international operations steeply during the period as it flew over 1.3 million passengers or a 228 percent increase year on year.
“Going into the fourth quarter, we remain optimistic as we saw our domestic market share at 55 percent in October despite challenges on fleet availability. Aside from that, we expect that by the end of the year, our systemwide network will be at 103 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Domestic will continue to exceed pre pandemic levels while international is seen to be at about 93 percent,” Szucs said.
By year end, the budget airline projects flying to 60 destinations over 100 routes and at least 2,700 weekly flights, Szucs said.
Cebu Pacific projects its seat capacity to grow between 5 and 8 percent in 2024 from 2023 levels despite the forecast grounding of a number of aircraft next year due to early inspection of Pratt and Whitney engines that power its A320/321 NEO fleet.
