Cebu Pacific aims to fulfill at least 10% of flight schedules this month

BUDGET carrier Cebu Pacific expects to fulfill at least 10% of its flight schedules, traveling to and from 20 domestic destinations by the end of June.

The government has allowed the resumption of local flights in areas under general community quarantine with the approval of local government units.

Listed conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, Inc., parent of the airline company, said there might be some demand for air travel within the country as it saw flights in neighboring nations to have nearly resumed.

“Travel demand will return, maybe not back to previous levels that will take a couple of years, especially on the international side, but I think there is latent demand out there,” JG Summit President and Chief Executive Officer Lance Y. Gokongwei said in an ANC interview on Monday.

“It’s just a manner of assuring our partners in government and LGUs that the country and the airlines are prepared to support safe and convenient travel,” he added.

Currently, Cebu Pacific is flying about 10% of its schedules with 2% capacity. It introduced contactless booking and installed HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters in part of its safety protocols.

“By the end of the month, we intend to be flying to about 20 domestic cities…We’ll start with that first; we’ll see how the demand goes,” Mr. Gokongwei said. The company aims to fulfill up to 15% of their flight schedules by end-June.

JG Summit, which earnings plunged by 71% to P1.9 billion in the first quarter, is expecting to see “more challenged” figures in the next quarter as physical distancing measures affect the operations of its businesses.

To bounce back, the conglomerate said its businesses “have to demonstrate the capability to move with agility and force” to address the changing consumer and channel behaviors caused by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the country’s economy may not revert to the growth level seen at the start of the year until 2022, according to Mr. Gokongwei.

“I do expect that we should begin seeing recovery beginning third and fourth quarter. I don’t expect though [that] we would be back to January 2020 numbers until maybe… 2022,” he said.

JG Summit is optimistic about its own recovery in the coming years, saying it is “well-positioned to benefit from the so-called new normal and the return of the economic growth in this country” as it remains consumer-centric. — Adam J. Ang