Budget carrier Cebu Pacific has officially signed a lease agreement with Bulgaria Air to beef up its fleet amid the anticipated rise in passenger demand next year.
Cebu Pacific will take delivery of the two Airbus A320 CEO jets from Bulgaria Air in January. The aircraft will be used for its Cebu and Davao operations until May 2024.
“We continue to explore various opportunities to supplement the fleet and ensure operational resilience. This includes signing a damp lease agreement with Bulgaria Air for five months in 2024,” said Cebu Pacific President and CEO Xander Lao.
A damp lease is an agreement between two airlines where an aircraft is leased to an airline along with the crew and sometimes additional services, but without the provision of fuel.
The deal between Cebu Pacific and Bulgaria Air includes the aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance, also known as ACMI. “We expect to increase our fleet to 92 come end-2024. With this, we expect our year-on-year seat growth to be within 5 percent to 8 percent in 2024,” Lao said.
The two leased A320ceo will each have a 180-seat capacity.
They are expected to help the carrier meet the increasing demand for air travel, which has been globally becoming challenging due to the engine supply issue with provider Pratt and Whitney.
Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific, reported last month that it swung to profit in January to September on the back of the strong recovery of the travel market.
In its disclosure to the stock exchange, the operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific reported the reversal of its P12.05-billion loss in 2022 to a net profit of P5.03 billion this year.
Revenues reached P66.90 billion, a 78.2-percent surge from P37.53 billion the year prior, as it recorded a significant increase in passenger volume due to the increased demand for travel, especially for international destinations as the group continues to ramp up its international network. International flights went up by 236.2 percent compared to same period last year.
Passenger revenues rose by 105.2 percent to P46.13 billion from P22.48 billion, as it grew passenger volume by 48.8 percent to 15.5 million passengers from 10.4 million passengers.