MANILA, Philippines — Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific increased its market share in Philippine air traffic in 2024, carrying 38 percent of passengers to stamp its mark as the leading airline in the country.
Based on data from the Civil Aeronautics Board, the Philippines raised its air passenger volume by 11 percent to 59.91 million in 2024, from 53.78 million in 2023.
This means the air traffic footprint is closer to breaking the pre-pandemic high of 60.07 million in 2019, as carriers offered more flights and new routes to stimulate travel demand.
Among all airlines, Cebu Pacific dominated the industry with a market share of 38 percent, well ahead of its closest rival Philippine Airlines (PAL) with 26 percent. Cebu Pacific ended last year with a fleet of 91 aircraft, taking on fresh assets to support new flights, such as to Chiang Mai.
Domestic passenger volume went up by 11 percent to 32.13 million, with Cebu Pacific flying more than half of the total at 17.27 million. PAL landed in second with 9.25 million, while AirAsia Philippines ranked third with five million.
The rest of the domestic passengers were flown by boutique operators AirSWIFT Transport Inc. (430,996); Sunlight Air (134,627); Royal Air Philippines (38,845) and Island Aviation Corp. (12,057).
Further, international passenger traffic soared by 12 percent to 27.78 million, of which over half at 14.6 million was served by foreign airlines.
PAL kept its position as the local airline to beat for international flights, flying 6.08 million, but Cebu Pacific is close behind with 5.67 million.
Philippine air travel is poised to further grow as a fruit of efforts to improve major and provincial airports. A consortium led by San Miguel Corp. is delivering the P170.6-billion rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to raise its passenger capacity to 62 million per year.
Recently, the Aboitiz Group also bagged the concession to operate and maintain the airports in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental and Panglao, Bohol. More public-private partnerships are in line for the aviation industry as promised by Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon.
On its own, the government, through the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, is spending P12.4 billion this year for the upgrade of regional gateways to support inter-island travel.
Airlines, for their part, are mounting new flights locally and abroad to keep up with the demand.