CEBU Pacific on Wednesday said that it carried 14.499 million passengers in the first six months of 2026, up 4.3 percent from 13.905 million a year earlier amid sustained strong travel demand.
In a statement, the low-cost airline said seat capacity expanded by 9.7 percent to 17.9 million during the period, with an average seat load factor (SLF) of 81.2 percent.
The airline’s domestic passenger traffic from January to June rose 4.9 percent to 10.865 million from 10.357 million while international passenger traffic grew to 3.364 million from 3.548 million.
“June marked a return to year-on-year passenger growth, driven by the continued strength of our domestic network even as we entered the traditional lean travel season,” Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer Xander Lao said.
“While international volumes remained below last year, this largely reflected previous capacity adjustments.”
Lao expressed optimism for a further recovery in operating performance in the second half.
“With fuel prices having eased significantly and consumer sentiment improving, our market position continues to strengthen, and we expect a further recovery in operating performance through the second half of the year,” he said.
In June alone, Cebu Pacific flew 2.289 million passengers, up 2.5 percent from last year’s 2.233 million, bolstered by strong domestic travel demand.
It said domestic passenger traffic for June increased to 1.779 million from 1.675 million passengers, an increase of 6.2 percent on 17.7 percent more seats, resulting in a domestic seat load factor of 83.1 percent.
International passenger traffic, on the other hand, decreased 8.6 percent to 510,000 from 558,000, resulting in seat capacity declining by 18.5 percent and international SLF rising by 9.3 percentage points to 85.4 percent.
Shares of Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific, dipped P0.05 to settle at P28.95 apiece on Wednesday.
