Cebu Pacific Air received its first A320neo aircraft assembled at Airbus' final assembly line in Tianjin, China. The new aircraft was acquired via a 12-year leasing agreement with lessor Clover Aircraft Leasing.
The airline plans to accept deliveries of three more aircraft from Airbus Tianjin factory and is confident about the air travel market's growth prospects in China.
Cebu Pacific said it is considering placing orders for more aircraft in the future.
The A320neo aircraft has 188 seats in a single-class configuration and is powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. The delivery flight will be fueled by a 41% blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) the highest proportion ever to be used among all Cebu Pacific's such flights.
"Next, Cebu Pacific will operate the aircraft across our extensive domestic and regional networks, and most of such flights are expected to be short-haul lasting about one hour to an hour-and-a-half," said Michael Szucs, Chief Executive, Cebu Pacific. “It makes sense from an economic perspective for us to accept the delivery of aircraft from a place that is close to our home. The flying distance between Manila and Tianjin is shorter compared with the distance between Manila and Toulouse, France.”
Cebu Pacific said it incurred a loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first quarter, however, the airline made a profit, but the profitability was still lower than pre-COVID levels.