Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 23) — Cebu Pacific’s financials continued to crash in 2021, but the airline hopes to see better figures this year as more domestic passengers return to the skies.
The low-cost carrier said while it started 2021 on an upbeat note amid the vaccine rollout, the emergence of new COVID-19 variants and the surge of infections resulted in tougher travel rules, subsequently tempering the company’s operations.
In a statement, the company reported a net loss of ₱24.9 billion as the pandemic persisted last year.
Its revenues also suffered, booking ₱15.7 billion — down 30% from 2020.
Cebu Pacific attributed this weaker performance to the 50% decline in passenger revenue to ₱6.3 billion against 2020’s ₱12.6 billion. The airline said it mounted 34,463 flights in 2021, carrying 3.411 million passengers – 32% lower than the year prior.
Its cargo sales, meanwhile, posted a record sales of ₱6.5 billion – 20% higher than the previous year.
“Amidst the losses and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic, CEB stayed resilient and ensured its long-term sustainability,” the company said, noting it raised over $1.6 billion, strengthening its balance sheet.
As the Philippines witnesses a drop in COVID-19 cases, Cebu Pacific is bullish it could bounce back to pre-pandemic domestic capacity levels by the second quarter of the year.
“CEB management is encouraged by strong domestic demand becoming apparent, with bookings steeply increasing over the past few months,” the airline said.
