Jun

20

Philippines budget airline Cebu Pacific (CEB) is to acquire 37 new aircraft – the largest single aircraft order ever made by a Philippine carrier – that will double its fleet size by 2021.

The low-cost carrier has placed a new order for 30 A321neo (new engine option) aircraft with options for an additional 10 A321neos. The latter will be a first-of-its-type to operate in the Philippines, being a larger and longer-haul version of the familiar A320. Cebu Pacific has made the largest firm order for the Airbus A321neo aircraft in the world.

The orders for seven A320 and 30 A321neo aircraft will be delivered between 2015 and 2021. These are on top of firm orders for 18 A320 aircraft to be delivered from the second half of 2011 until 2014. This increases CEB’s total firm orders of Airbus aircraft to 57. By 2014, CEB will have the largest jet fleet in the Philippines.

This will make Cebu Pacific the largest operator of Airbus aircraft in the Philippines, the first Asian airline to order A321neo, and the largest operator of this type of aircraft

The A321neo is the largest model in the recently launched A320neo series. It incorporates new engines and large wing-tip devices called sharklets, allowing CEB to achieve 15 percent reduced fuel burn (15 percent less fuel cost), and function on a lower operating cost.

The A321neo will reduce their unit cost per seat to a level that cannot be achieved flying A320s. This means that Cebu Pacific will be able to offer even lower fares to travellers and be much more competitive with any other carrier flying less cost efficient aircraft, and with less impact on the environment.

These 220-seater aircraft will be a real ‘game changer’ because the A321neo will have a much longer range. The budget carrier, through this new type of aircraft which can fly for five hours, will be able to serve cities in Australia, India and Northern Japan, places the A320 cannot reach.

With CEB’s current A320 fleet, the budget carrier’s international destinations include Brunei, China (Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hongkong, Macau), Indonesia (Jakarta), Japan (Osaka), Korea (Busan and Incheon), Malaysia (Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur), Singapore, Taiwan (Taipei), Thailand (Bangkok), and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh).


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