Cebu to host summit for low cost carriers

CEBU, Philippines — Aviation think tank CAPA Centre for Aviation has announced that Cebu will host the annual CAPA LCCs (low cost carriers) in North Asia Summit next year.The summit is happening on June 24-25, 2019. This year's host was Seoul, South Korea.

This yearly summit attracts C-level airline delegates and speakers from across Asia.

In an announcement, CAPA said the Cebu Summit will discuss the key challenges and strategic issues facing LCC operators in North Asia as they seek further opportunities for growth.

"Despite lacking the seat penetration rate of peers in other markets, with about 11 percent of seats within North Asia operated by LCCs compared with 56% in Southeast Asia and 40 percent in Western Europe, LCCs are beginning to flourish in this region. The LCC model may now be well understood here, but the operating environment is increasingly complex, competitive and interconnected. Long haul low cost, full service airlines adding LCC subsidiaries, and many other developments are high on the agenda," the aviation think tank said.

CAPA noted the summit will have North Asia’s LCC CEOs as well as other senior executives from across the entire aviation value chain.

CAPA convenes aviation and travel summits in key markets around the world, bringing together the leaders and decision-makers in global commercial aviation. These are regarded as the benchmark events in the industry for their thought leadership content and networking opportunities.

CAPA provides unbiased market analysis that supports strategic decision-making at hundreds of the leading companies in global aviation.

According to CAPA's latest report, Cebu has successfully positioned itself as the second major gateway to the Philippines, adding two million annual international passengers over the past four years.

"Manila is still much larger and has seven times the international passenger traffic. However, Mactan-Cebu will gradually close the gap with Manila because it has invested in the capacity to support growth, whereas Manila remains constrained," it said.

Cebu airport's Terminal 2 has ample capacity to support further international growth for the next several years. Even if Mactan-Cebu’s international passenger traffic doubles again, the new terminal will still be operating slightly below capacity.

"However, GMR-Megawide will need to continue investing in expansion to remain ahead of the growth curve. The original (now exclusively domestic) terminal is still operating above its design capacity, despite all international flights moving to Terminal 2.

"The airport will need to expand its domestic terminal capacity and soon will also have to start planning a further international expansion if international traffic continues to grow rapidly," CAPA said.