Cebu Pacific rules out return to Beijing in route expansion

February 4, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific is keen on expanding its overseas reach this year once it takes in new widebody jets from Airbus, but the airline is doubtful about making a return to Beijing.

Cebu Pacific president and chief commercial officer Alexander Lao told reporters the airline has no plans yet of restoring flights to Beijing.

He said Cebu Pacific has its hands full right now as its fleet is busy servicing new routes like Chiang Mai (Thailand), Da Nang (Vietnam) and Sapporo (Japan).

“For now, no (plans of flying back to Beijing), as we have redeployed the aircraft to other places, to other stations that are doing quite well. Da Nang is quite strong, Chiang Mai is doing well, so for us we have already done the asset deployment elsewhere, so not for now,” Lao said.

What Cebu Pacific may consider is widening its international reach elsewhere like in the Middle East, home to millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Currently, Cebu Pacific lands in the region via Dubai, but it has long set its sight on Saudi Arabia.

For 2025, the airline owned by the Gokongweis is set to receive seven aircraft from Airbus, some of which are widebody units in the make of A330s.

There are 2.16 million OFWs across the globe as of 2023, and one in five of them are assigned in Saudi Arabia, making it the largest OFW market.

“We always study it (Saudi Arabia), as it is in our radar. We still have a number of A330s that are going to come in. It is something we have to consider,” Lao said.

Domestically, Cebu Pacific is realigning its network to consider the impact of the turboprop ban at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). The slot regulator at NAIA has asked airlines to remove turboprops from the gateway to maximize the runway for larger aircraft.

In compliance with this, starting March 30, Cebu Pacific is relocating to Clark its Manila flights to Masbate and Siargao, with the airline discontinuing Manila trips to Surigao. The carrier is also building up its Clark network by adding flights to Busuanga and El Nido.

For 2025, Cebu Pacific aims to increase its passenger traffic by at least 20 percent to reach the 30 million mark, from 24.5 million in 2024.

Cebu Pacific is the largest Philippine carrier by passenger and fleet size, boasting a network that covers 37 domestic destinations and 26 international cities.