Summary
- Cebu Pacific Air is trying to add 100-150 aircraft from Airbus or Boeing.
- The airline currently operates an all-Airbus fleet of 62 aircraft, so switching to Boeing would break fleet commonality.
- Despite challenges, Cebu Pacific Air returned to profitability in Q2 2023.
Cebu Pacific Air, a Philippines-based low-cost carrier, is trying to grow its fleet by between 100 and 150 aircraft with jets from Airbus or Boeing, with the order being valued at $12 billion at list prices. Notably, list prices and the actual price an airline will pay for an aircraft differ because of a wide range of aspects, including bulk discounts offered to carriers after they place large orders.
The President of the Philippine carrier, Alexander Lao, confirmed the news to Reuters, verifying a previous report that the airline was in search of the very best deal from either Airbus or Boeing for its future growth.
Switching allegiances
Nonetheless, Cebu Pacific Air selecting Boeing aircraft would mean that it could break its fleet commonality because it operates an all-Airbus fleet of 62 aircraft, in accordance with ch-aviation. The split of the fleet includes 21 Airbus A320ceo (six inactive), 14 A320neo (two inactive), seven A321ceo, and 12 A321neo (one inactive). On the twin-aisle side, the low-cost carrier has three inactive A330-300s and five energetic A330-900s.
As of September 30, 2023, Airbus Orders & Deliveries filings showed that the Philippine airline still has some aircraft in its backlog, including seven A320neo, excluding aircraft delivered via lease, 22 A321neo, and 11 A330-900s. Ch-aviation data showed that Airbus delivered its latest aircraft, an A321neo, registered as RP-C4140, on September 27, 2023.
The location’s fleet history also showed that Cebu Pacific had operated aircraft from other manufacturers, including Boeing. Between 2008 and 2015, the low-cost carrier operated a fleet of nine ATR 72-500s, while between late 2001 and 2006, it operated three Boeing 757-200 aircraft. One 757 was converted to a freighter and is now operated by FedEx, registered as N958FD. As well as, the airline also had a fleet of 18 McDonnell Douglas DC-9s, all of whom were phased out in 2006. In accordance with ch-aviation, it took delivery of its first Airbus aircraft in 2005, introducing a complete of six aircraft made by the European plane maker: two A320 and 4 A319s.
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Difficult environment
Cebu Pacific returned to profitability despite a because the airline ended Q2 2023 with a net income of P2.7 billion ($47.6 million), allowing it to also post a positive H1 2023 results of P726 million ($12.8 million). Commenting on the ends in August 2023, Lao said,
Several weeks prior to announcing its results, the airline issued a release detailing that it increased its planned aircraft deliveries from 15 to 21 in 2023 . Moreover, it said that it could phase out its A320ceo family aircraft, replacing them with A320neo family aircraft by 2028.
Still, the airline has been impacted by the Pratt & Whitney engine issues, specifically problems regarding the PW1100G, which is certainly one of the 2 options for the A320neo aircraft family. In a Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) filing on September 15, 2023, the airline said the engine maker informed the airline of a condition “
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While the airline said this may not have any immediate impact on its operations, it said that its fleet availability in 2024 could be affected. Previously, RTX, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, disclosed that because of a in powder metal within the PW1100G engines, some 600 to 700 engines can have to be inspected between 2023 and 2026. In accordance with the corporate, the height of aircraft on ground (AOG) can be in H1 2024.