March 15, 2007: Cebu Pacific (CEB) is on a re-fleeting spree. Close on the heels of the airline completing its $ 670-million refleeting program, it has placed orders to buy 20 more Airbus A320 aircraft. The purchase is estimated to cost $ 1.3 billion.

With a fleet of 32 aircraft, CEB can have 16 Airbuses, or half its fleet, serving regional flights, CEB is today Philippines’ Number 1 domestic airline .

This will take CEB’s fleet from 14 to 32 aircraft. The move is aimed at meeting the expected increase of passengers from 5 million this year to over 8 million in 2010,a report said. CEB’s current order is made up of 10 firm orders, with 5 options and an additional 5 options if the first 5 options are taken, it is learnt. The company expects the firm orders to be delivered from 2010 to 2012 and the options from 2011 to 2013. Two of the orders are to replace leases that expire in 2012, the report added.

According to the report, CEB had posted 57 percent growth in traffic in 2006, with 3.466 million passengers, compared to 2.211 million the previous year. The airline expects to sustain an 80 percent load factor, from around 78 percent in 2006, it said.

CEB also plans to take short to medium term leases on Airbus A320 aircraft in a bid to bridge the gap from 2007 until the first delivery in 2010. It may be noted that a couple of Airbus A320 have already been delivered early this year and one or two more will be delivered later in 2007. Beginning 2008, three to four Airbus A320s will be added to CEB’s fleet each year. The airline is financing the fleet expansion via a combination of internally generated funds and a mix of credit facilities, the report said.

The airline firm aims at creating a new market for a new kind of customer and promoting tourism. It international traffic grew over double in 2006 and will double again this , said the report. Significantly, CEB will not be flying long-haul to the US or Europe, not even to Australia or the Middle East anytime soon. However, the airline is looking at connecting international destinations within four hours flying time, such as Japan. CEB currently operates services to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Korea.