Cebu Pacific passenger volume drops in February

The Gokongwei-led carrier ferried a total of 1.45 million passengers in the second month of 2017, 6.3% less than the 1.55 million recorded during the same month last year, according to the latest operating statistics uploaded on its Web site.

The latest tally was also down 16% from the 1.72 million passengers it ferried in January, which was up from the 1.64 million noted in January 2016.

The data showed airline capacity dipped 1.5% to 1.74 million from 1.76 million during the comparable period, while the number of flights also decreased 2.8% to 10,237 from 10,535 previously.

Seat load factor in February also went down to 83.6% compared to the 88% recorded in February 2016, even as the number of aircraft increased to 59 from 57.

For the January to February period, Cebu Pacific and Cebgo already carried 3.17 million people, slightly lower than the 3.19 million seen during the comparable period last year. Capacity was up 2.7% to 3.76 million from 3.66 million, while flights during the first two months were 84.4% full on the average.

Based on its latest operating statistics, the number of flights went up to 21,975 from 21,873.

The Gokongwei airline is targeting to ferry 20 million passengers this year, as the company expects the delivery of 48 additional planes up to 2021.

In 2016, it carried 19.1 million passengers, up 4% from the 18.4 million passengers flown in 2015. On average, Cebu Pacific flights were 86% full during the year.