Cebu Pacific (CEB) is gearing up for a quick domestic recovery as it beefs up its domestic operations amid the continuous COVID-19 vaccination rollout in the country.
“We remain cautiously optimistic as we prepare for the bounce back and will do everything that is within our control to support and aid that. With the arrival of more vaccines and the pace at which vaccines are being rolled out, we are hopeful that in due time our networks will recover to pre-pandemic levels,” said Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and customer experience.
The airline operates the widest network in the Philippines covering 32 destinations, on top of its six international destinations. Starting today, June 21, CEB flights to Boracay will be five times daily, while flights to Bohol will also operate daily.
In its June 18 report, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said carriers operating conditions will continue to depend on its domestic travel market amid changing travel restrictions as nations work to inoculate their populations.
“Over the last months, the recovery of air passenger demand has been mainly driven by domestic markets that have mostly remained unaffected by travel restrictions. In the meantime, international travel was restricted by most countries and governments are only starting to relax those restrictions as they vaccinate their populations and stabilize the epidemiological situation,” the IATA said.
“Our expectation is that in the near future, airlines’ operating conditions will be determined by two factors: the availability of domestic markets that they can rely on and the progress in vaccinations in the main countries in their networks.”
The trade association also noted that carriers in the Asia Pacific and South American countries often have large domestic markets to rely on, but that vaccination rates remained slow.
