Cebu Air Places USD$3.8 Bln Airbus Order
June 16, 2011
Philippine budget carrier Cebu Air will buy 37 planes from Airbus for USD$3.8 billion as it looks to more than double its fleet over the next 10 years and expand its routes, the company's chief executive said on Thursday.
Lance Gokongwei told reporters Cebu Air has put in orders for 30 new A321neos and seven A320s from Airbus with delivery between 2015 and 2021.
The order is in addition to 18 A320s that Cebu Pacific is set to receive from the second half of this year up to 2014.
"This is the largest single aircraft order ever made by a Philippine carrier," Gokongwei said, adding it was also the largest firm order for the A321neo in the world.
"We expect to launch a flight using A321 by 2017," he said. "We will be able to serve cities in Australia, India, and northern Japan, places the A320 cannot reach."
The airline plans to use internally generated cash and may seek loans from export credit agencies and commercial lenders to fund the purchases.
Cebu Air, which operates the country's largest budget airline Cebu Pacific, is a unit of Philippine conglomerate JG Summit Holdings.
The airline expects to at least meet its target of flying 12 million passengers this year, up 14 percent from last year, despite rising fuel prices. It currently has 33 jets, of which 25 are A320s and eight are turbo prop planes from aircraft maker ATR.
"With the A321neo, Cebu Pacific will be able to fly more people further at significantly lower cost per seat than any other competing aircraft, and with less impact on the environment," Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy said in a statement.
Cebu Air has yet to make an engine choice for the A321neo, but the choices open to it are CFM International's LEAP-X and Pratt & Whitney's PurePower PW1100G.
The A321neo, the largest model in the recently launched A320neo series, uses new engines and large wing-tip devices called sharklets that would allow Cebu Pacific to achieve 15 percent reduced fuel burn, a statement from Cebu Air said.
Cebu Air competes with flag carrier Philippine Airlines locally and with Singapore's Tiger Airways and Malaysia's Air Asia in the region.
Lance Gokongwei told reporters Cebu Air has put in orders for 30 new A321neos and seven A320s from Airbus with delivery between 2015 and 2021.
The order is in addition to 18 A320s that Cebu Pacific is set to receive from the second half of this year up to 2014.
"This is the largest single aircraft order ever made by a Philippine carrier," Gokongwei said, adding it was also the largest firm order for the A321neo in the world.
"We expect to launch a flight using A321 by 2017," he said. "We will be able to serve cities in Australia, India, and northern Japan, places the A320 cannot reach."
The airline plans to use internally generated cash and may seek loans from export credit agencies and commercial lenders to fund the purchases.
Cebu Air, which operates the country's largest budget airline Cebu Pacific, is a unit of Philippine conglomerate JG Summit Holdings.
The airline expects to at least meet its target of flying 12 million passengers this year, up 14 percent from last year, despite rising fuel prices. It currently has 33 jets, of which 25 are A320s and eight are turbo prop planes from aircraft maker ATR.
"With the A321neo, Cebu Pacific will be able to fly more people further at significantly lower cost per seat than any other competing aircraft, and with less impact on the environment," Airbus chief operating officer John Leahy said in a statement.
Cebu Air has yet to make an engine choice for the A321neo, but the choices open to it are CFM International's LEAP-X and Pratt & Whitney's PurePower PW1100G.
The A321neo, the largest model in the recently launched A320neo series, uses new engines and large wing-tip devices called sharklets that would allow Cebu Pacific to achieve 15 percent reduced fuel burn, a statement from Cebu Air said.
Cebu Air competes with flag carrier Philippine Airlines locally and with Singapore's Tiger Airways and Malaysia's Air Asia in the region.
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