CEBU PACIFIC on Monday said that it carried 2.404 million passengers in May, slightly lower than the 2.435 million flown a year earlier as a softer economic environment slightly dampened travel demand.
The airline said systemwide seat capacity increased nine percent year on year to 3.072 million while seat load factor (SLF) hit 78.3 percent.
Domestic passenger numbers marginally declined by 0.2 percent to 1.829 million from 1.833 million despite a 14.3 percent increase in seat capacity, with SLF reaching 79.5 percent.
International passenger traffic in May also slowed 4.5 percent to 575,000 passengers from 602,000 in line with seat reductions of 4.1 percent, resulting in an SLF of 74.7 percent.
For the first five months of 2026, however, Cebu Pacific posted improved numbers with 12.210 million passengers carried, up from 11.671 million a year earlier.
Domestic passengers served grew to 9.086 million from 8.681 million while international passengers increased to 3.124 million from 2.990 million.
Seat capacity during the period grew 10.2 percent to 15.1 million while average SLF stood at 80.7 percent as the airline attributed this to measures taken to improve its booking procedures.
"Following our pricing adjustments, we saw stronger booking momentum and improved seat load factors compared to April, demonstrating the market’s responsiveness to calibrated fare levels,” Cebu Pacific President and CEO Xander Lao said.
“As we enter the seasonally softer third quarter, we are taking a disciplined approach to capacity and revenue management to match demand, support healthy load factors, and maintain affordable fares while managing elevated operating costs, particularly fuel," he added.
Shares of Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific, rose P1.45, or 4.94 percent, to close at P30.80 each on Monday. ED PAOLO SALTING