CEBU Pacific on Friday said it flew around 2.271 million passengers in April this year, marginally lower than the 2.286 million travelers flown in the same month last year as demand softened because of ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
In a statement, the low-cost carrier said the global headwinds in turn affected operating costs, prompting the company to recalibrate pricing.
It said the overall seat load factor (SLF) decreased to 74.4 percent in April 2026 from 83.8 percent in April 2025, while seat capacity grew 11.9 percent.
“In response to fuel price pressures linked to geopolitical tensions, we implemented measured fare adjustments and surcharges across parts of the network,” Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer Xander Lao said.
“While these were initially absorbed by the market, we subsequently saw signs of demand softening, reflected in slower booking momentum and weaker April load factors,” Lao added.
"We have since recalibrated pricing, including rolling out targeted seat sales, with early indications of a booking recovery emerging in our late April and May booking trends. Our approach remains iterative and data driven as we carefully balance demand stimulation and affordability, while maintaining discipline on cost and capital," the airline chief said.
Cebu Pacific said domestic passengers carried reached 1.669 million for April 2026, slightly lower than the 1.670 million passengers flown a year earlier, reflecting 15.8-percent higher seats or a domestic seat load factor of 73.9 percent.
International passenger traffic also dipped to 602,000 passengers in April 2026 versus the 616,000 travelers carried in the same period last year. Seat capacity on international routes rose two percent or an international SLF of 75.6 percent, down by 3.4 percentage points from a year ago.
Year to date, Cebu Pacific said it flew some 9.807 million passengers in the first four months of the year, up from 9.237 million guests carried in the same period in 2025.
Domestic passenger numbers grew 6 percent year-on-year to 7.258 million in the first four months of 2026 from 6.848 million passengers in the same period last year, while international passenger numbers rose 6.7 percent to 2.549 million from 2.389 million travelers flown in January to April 2025.
SLF in the first four months averaged 81.3 percent while overall seat capacity went up by 10.5 percent to 12.1 million.
Shares of Cebu Air Inc., the operator of Cebu Pacific, declined by P0.30 to close at P29.70 each on Friday.
