15.51-M domestic passengers flew in Jan-Sept, up 10.5%

MANILA, Philippines – Aggressive pricing strategies and additional airline seats boosted domestic passenger air traffic by 10.54% to 15.51 million in January-to-September period, data from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed.

Legacy carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and budget carriers — Cebu Pacific, PAL Express, Zest Airways, Seair and Air Asia Inc. — flew a combined total of 15,509,582 out of the 21,365,979 seats for domestic travel during the period.

Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific still dominated the local market based on the number of passengers flown and load factor during the first 9 months of the year:

• Cebu Pacific – 6,980,448 passengers, 76% load factor from 81%
• PAL – 3,270,178 passengers, 72% load factor from 75%
• PAL Express – 3,437,210 passengers, 71% from 75% a year ago 
• Zest Air – 1,591,519 passengers, 66% from 76%
• Seair – 119,797 passengers, 59% from 76%
• Air Asia – 110,430 passengers, 42%

All airlines recorded a total of 146,774,099 kilograms of cargo during the period. – Rappler.com