Billionaire Lance Gokongwei’s Cebu Air To Expand, Renew Fleet As Travel Demand Rebounds

Billionaire Lance Gokongwei’s Cebu Air To Expand, Renew Fleet As Travel Demand Rebounds

A Cebu Pacific Airbus A330 Neo on display at the Singapore Airshow held at the Changi Exhibition ... [+] Centre in Singapore, on February 15, 2022. Cebu Air—controlled by billionaire Lance Gokongwei and his family's JG Summit—plans to gradually expand and renew the company's fleet over the next five years amid signs travel and tourism is staging a post-pandemic recovery. "While we remain conservative in our 2022 fleet growth, over the next five years, we will have 48 deliveries and 35 exits, ending 2026 with 87 aircraft," Gokongwei, CEO of Cebu Air—owner the Philippines' largest carrier Cebu Pacific—said Wednesday at the company's annual shareholders meeting. Cebu Air has earmarked 32. 8 billion pesos ($625. 8 million) in capital expenditures to support the renewal of Cebu Pacific's fleet, which stood at 74 aircraft as of end-2021, Gokongwei said. The company has said it aims to replace its older planes with the more fuel-efficient Airbus A330 neo jets. The airline is upgrading its fleet amid a surge in travel demand as governments around the world relax Covid-19 restrictions. Cebu Pacific carried over 2 million passengers in the first quarter, up 272% from the year ago, the company said yesterday when it announced