Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer Xander Lao said on Thursday that the planned rehabilitation of the Davao International Airport is expected to create more opportunities for airline expansion and improve connectivity in the Davao Region.
In an interview with the Davao media, Lao said the airline welcomes improvements in airport infrastructure as it allows carriers to expand operations.
“I think as a general point, we always look forward to the improvement of airport infrastructure. So, whether that’s in Davao, Manila, Cebu, Clark, we always look forward to it because it allows us to grow our operations,” Lao said.
He cited the experience in Cebu, where the modernization and privatization of the airport enabled the airline to expand its hub operations.
“So, to some extent, if we see the same in Davao, it’s an opportunity for the airline to review and see how much more operations we can do from there,” he added.
The Gokongwei Group’s JG Summit Infrastructure, together with Filinvest Infra-Solutions submitted a P16.05-billion unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate, operate, and maintain the Davao airport.
However, Lao clarified that Cebu Pacific is not directly involved in discussions regarding the proposal.
“We wouldn’t know. Actually, we wouldn’t know because that’s handled at the group level and we’re not involved or even part of the discussion. It’s our parent company that’s participating in it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific Marketing Senior Manager for the Philippines Tricia Bucag Tan reaffirmed the airline’s commitment to maintaining strong regional connectivity and affordable travel options for passengers in Davao.
According to Tan, Cebu Pacific remains focused on improving and sustaining connectivity in the region while continuing to offer year-round low fares at reasonable prices.
Cebu Pacific Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer Candice Iyog said the airline remains resilient despite current market uncertainties affecting the travel industry.
“The way we’re approaching this is while this is not like COVID we do have to approach this with a crisis-level discipline across the region,” Iyog said.
She noted that Cebu Pacific has managed past crises and remains in a strong position due to the structure of its operations.
“Fortunately, this is not new to Cebu Pacific. We’ve weathered difficult crises in the past, um, and believe that we are still well-positioned to navigate this environment,” she said.
Iyog added that the airline’s strong domestic network helps cushion the impact of rising fuel prices.
“First of all, 80% of our flights are domestic where the impact of higher fuel prices on these shorter sectors are significantly less than the price rises,” she said.
She also pointed out that most of the airline’s domestic flights serve major trunk routes that remain essential for business travel and visits to families and relatives.
“And then 70% of our domestic flights are for trunk routes. Meaning, these are essential services, ‘no, that serve business travel, VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) and tend to be more resilient than, say, other leisure routes,” Iyog added.
