Cebu Pacific buys 152 Airbus planes in historic aviation deal worth Php 1.4 trillion

In a deal worth more than a trillion pesos.

On Tuesday, July 2, Philippine-based low-cost carrier (LCC) Cebu Pacific announced that it has reached an agreement with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for the acquisition of 152 planes.

The said deal, touted as the biggest aircraft acquisition in Philippine aviation history, will see 102 A321neo and 50 A320neo added to CebPac’s fleet at a cost of $24 billion or a whopping Php 1.4 trillion.

According to Cebu Pacific, the additional planes will give the carrier “maximum flexibility,” as travel demand continues to grow in a post-pandemic market.

“The order is designed to provide CEB with maximum flexibility to adapt fleet growth to market conditions, with the ability to switch between the A321neo and A320neo,” Cebu Air chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Szucs said.

The purchase deal between CebPac and Airbus is expected to be closed sometime within the third quarter of 2024, while the order is set to be completed by the year 2035.

Cebu Pacific has also tapped Pratt and Whitney GTF for the engines that will be used in the new planes.

At present, the low-cost carrier has a total of 87 planes under its fleet, 52 of which are leased from other companies. It operates a mixture of Airbus A320neo, A321neo, A330, ATR 72-600, and 72-500 planes.

Meanwhile, the Cebu Pacific route network sees the LCC fly to 35 domestic airports, and 25 international destinations.

---