Cebu Pacific signs lease for 4 Airbus aircraft

MANILA, Philippines - Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) has signed operating lease agreements on four new Airbus A330-300 aircraft with CIT Aerospace, a unit of CIT Group Inc.

CEB’s four Airbus A330-300 aircraft will be delivered from 2013 to 2014, and will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 772B engines.

CEB earlier announced it will commence long-haul flights in the third quarter of 2013. This will allow the airline to serve new markets beyond the range of CEB’s current fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.

CEB general manager for the long-haul division Alex Reyes said these Airbus aircraft will allow them to offer their trademark low fares to an even wider market.

“With the introduction of wide-body aircraft into our fleet, we could offer non-stop services into Australia, India, the Middle East and parts of Europe and the US,” he said.

Since its inception in 1996, CEB has flown over 60 million passengers. It also posted a good track record in stimulating short-haul travel of passengers around Asia, with a 14 percent system-wide passenger growth in 2011.

CEB currently offers 19 international destinations, namely Bangkok, Beijing, Brunei, Busan, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Incheon (Seoul), Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Osaka, Shanghai, Siem Reap, Singapore, Taipei and Xiamen. It also operates the most extensive network in the Philippines with 33 domestic destinations and hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark and Davao.

The Gokongwei-owned budget airline operates 10 Airbus A319, 20 Airbus A320 and eight ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 38 aircraft – with an average age of 3.6 years – is one of the youngest aircraft fleets in Asia.

Between 2012 and 2021, CEB will take delivery of 22 more Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders, and two Airbus A320 aircraft on operating lease agreements.

CIT Aerospace provides financing solutions to a broad spectrum of the global aerospace value chain ranging from operators of commercial and business aircraft to manufacturers and suppliers in the aerospace and defense industries as well as financial institutions. CIT owns or finances a fleet of approximately 300 commercial aircraft.

Meanwhile, the New York-headquartered CIT Group is a bank holding company with more than $60 billion in finance and leasing assets that provides financial products and advisory services to small and middle market businesses. Operating in more than 50 countries across 30 industries, it maintains leadership positions in aerospace, equipment and rail leasing, small business and middle market lending, vendor financing and factoring.