Cebu Pacific to sell 6 Airbus to Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air

MANILA, Philippines – As part of upgrading its fleet, Cebu Air Incorporated (Cebu Pacific) is selling 6 aircraft to Las Vegas-based, low cost carrier Allegiant Air.

In July 2012, Cebu Pacific announced that it entered into a deal with the Allegiant Travel Company for the sale of its entire fleet of 10 Airbus A319. The 10 aircraft were supposed to be delivered over a 15-month period starting March 2013.

However, in January 2013, Cebu Pacific announced that the deal was off after both parties failed to reach an agreement on certain terms of the transaction.

Now, the deal is pushing through.

The budget carrier signed a forward sale agreement with NASDAQ-listed Allegiant Travel Company for the sale of its 6 Airbus A319, Cebu Pacific president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei said.

“This agreement is in line with Cebu Pacific’s efforts to continuously improve operational efficiency by replacing and upgrading our fleet with the larger, more fuel efficient, and longer range A321neo aircraft,” Gokongwei said.

The 6 A319 will be delivered to Allegiant starting this year up to 2016.

Details of the transaction, including the amount of sale, were not disclosed.

An A319 has an average list price of $85.8 million, while an A321 has an average list price of $110.1 million, data from the Airbus company showed.

New aircraft, more routes

The A321neo is the largest model in the A320neo series, with new engines and large wing tip devices called Sharklets.

The advances will deliver fuel savings of 20% and additional payload or range capability.

The fuel savings translate into some 5,000 tons less CO2 per aircraft per year. In addition, the aircraft will provide a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise.

The acquisition of brand new A321neo would would allow Cebu Pacific access new markets in the Indian subcontinent and Australia’s Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide.

The new aircraft would be equipped with the Pratt and Whitney PurePower Geared Turbofan™ engine with a flying radius of over 6 hours. It could also be configured to have up to 240 seats.

Cebu Pacific is in the middle of a $4 billion fleet renewal program, to acquire close to 50 brand new aircraft.

It is scheduled to take delivery of 7 more A320, one Airbus A330, and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft from the period of this year to 2021.

To date, Cebu Pacific operates a fleet of 54 aircraft: 10 A319; 31 A320; 5 Airbus A330; and 8 ATR 72-500.

Low cost carriers (like Cebu Pacific), have increased capacity in Southeast Asia to 8-fold over the last 10 years – from about 25 million seats in 2004, to nearly 200 million in 2014, the Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation said in its 2015 outlook. .– Rappler.com