Cebu Pacific, the largest airline in the Philippines, is open to mergers with other airlines including flag-carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), its president said yesterday. Cebu Pacific president Lance Gokongwei said his airline had a "strong balance sheet" compared to rival carriers. He said: "We are not in any current discussions with Philippine Airlines but... if the opportunity arose, I would certainly look at it "Cebu Pacific continues to operate in a profitable manner. We are able to make money and fund our growth plans," he said.
Net profits in 2011 amounted to 3.62 billion pesos ($85 million), a 48% fall compared to 2010, company figures showed. However total revenues in 2012 rose 16.7% to 33.9 billion pesos while total passengers increased 14% to 11.9 million. Gokongwei forecast that total passengers would rise to 14 million this year. PAL had a near-monopoly on the domestic aviation market two decades ago but has since been overtaken on a number of flights by Cebu Pacific.
Although some budget carriers in Asia are reportedly cutting back, Cebu Pacific is still pushing through with its plans to begin long-haul flights by next year using Airbus A320 aircraft, Gokongwei said. He said this service would cater to the estimated 10 million Filipinos working overseas, particularly those travelling to and from the Middle East, Australia, North Asia and Europe.