Budget carrier Cebu Pacific on Monday announced a slight decline in its passengers for August as domestic travel fell amid the lean travel season, along with unscheduled engine removals during the month.
Cebu Pacific said it flew 2.103 million passengers in August, 0.4% lower than the 2.111 million passengers the same month last year. The overall seat load factor (SLF), or the percentage of available seats on an aircraft filled by paying passengers, increased to 83.7% from 81.3%.
Domestic passengers stood at 1.562 million, or 4.4% lower than the 1.634 million last year, with the domestic SLF up to 87.6% from 81.9% previously.
“The softer year-on-year traffic in August reflects the usual lean travel season in the Philippines, particularly for domestic routes, while international passenger growth remained strong. We see this as an expected and temporary dip, with traffic rebounding in the fourth quarter as peak travel season begins and aircraft availability improves,” Cebu Pacific chief executive officer Mike Szucs said.
“We moderated our domestic capacity growth in August due to some unscheduled engine removals, the flyadeal wet-lease, and scheduled maintenance events in preparation for the busy holiday months. These actions enable our capacity to be optimized so that we can deliver higher growth in the fourth quarter to coincide with the anticipated strong demand,” he added.
Year-to-date passengers were recorded at 18.125 million, reflecting a 15.2% increase from 15.729 million in the first eight months of 2025, while the SLF was unchanged year-on-year at 85.2%.
Cebu Pacific in July became the first local carrier to operate a 100-strong fleet, after the delivery of its latest A33neo, having 459 seats, which is said to be the latest-generation aircraft that can burn up to 25% less fuel per flight and produce less noise.
