Cebu Pacific to buy 16 Airbus aircraft for $4.8 billion

Cebu Air Inc. is buying new airplanes from Airbus SAS, the airline said Monday, without disclosing further details other than the valuation of the transaction.

In a regulatory filing submitted by the operator of budget airline Cebu Pacific, the company said it “has signed a purchase agreement with Airbus SAS for the order of sixteen (16) A330-900 aircraft, currently valued at $4.8 billion.”

“Cebu Pacific, a carrier based in the Philippines, has signed a firm order with Airbus for 16 long-range A330neo aircraft. The order firms up the wide-body portion of a previously announced Memorandum of Understanding, which also includes commitments for ten A321XLR and five A320neo single-aisle aircraft,” Airbus said in a separate statement.

“The A330neo is integral to our fleet modernization program. With this purchase, we aim to reduce our fuel emission and build a more sustainable operation. This will also give us the lowest cost per seat, at the same time enabling CEB to increase seat capacity and maximize valuable airport slots in Manila and other Asian megacities,” Lance Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific president and CEO said in the same statement.

The A330neo ordered by Cebu Pacific is a higher-capacity version of the A330-900, with up to 460 seats in a single-class configuration. Cebu Pacific plans to operate the aircraft on trunk routes within the Philippines and the rest of Asia, as well as on longer range services to Australia and the Middle East,
Airbus noted.

“The increased capacity version of the aircraft developed for Cebu Pacific will help achieve even greater efficiencies for high density regional and long range routes,” said Christian Scherer, Airbus chief commercial officer.

“Cebu Pacific is a pace-setter and surely one of the most respected and well managed airlines in the low-cost sector,” Scherer noted.

Incorporating the latest-generation Trent 7000 engines from Rolls-Royce and a new wing, the A330neo offers a 25% reduction in fuel consumption compared with older generation competing products as well as an extended range capability of up to 8,000 nautical miles or 15,000 kilometers. —VDS, GMA News