Cebu Pacific receives first Airbus A320neo as holiday travel ramps up

BUDGET CARRIER Cebu Pacific has received its first Airbus A320neo aircraft, the airline said, strengthening its capacity ahead of the expected holiday travel surge.

“This latest delivery helps ensure we have enough capacity to serve passengers looking to fly home or discover new destinations this holiday season,” Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer Alexander G. Lao said in a media release on Saturday.

The A320neo marks Cebu Pacific’s fourth aircraft delivery this year, following three Airbus A330neo deliveries earlier in 2025, which expanded the airline’s wide-body fleet.

The new narrowbody aircraft will be deployed on regional routes and support both domestic and international operations, the airline said.

Cebu Pacific expects three more aircraft deliveries in the coming months as part of its ongoing fleet modernization program.

Last week, the airline announced the arrival of its 13th Airbus A330neo, a 459-seater aircraft that will begin serving Manila-Puerto Princesa flights on Nov. 2, operating four times weekly.

Passenger traffic for Cebu Air, Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific, rose 2.6% to 1.83 million in the third quarter, supported by strong domestic travel demand.

The company attributed the growth in domestic passengers to higher capacity and sustained demand across its network.

The carrier’s seat load factor, which measures the percentage of occupied seats, stood at 81.1% in the third quarter, slightly lower than the 82.6% recorded a year earlier, following a 4.4% expansion in total seat capacity. — A.E.O. Jose