Between pandemic recovery milestones, the building of Bulacan Airport, and increasing airline investments, the Philippines presents an exciting growth opportunity for the industry. Cebu Pacific, the Philippines based low-cost airline is at the centre of this transformation, leveraging technology, expanding its fleet, and refining its strategy to capitalise on the region’s growing potential.
At Aviation Festival Asia, , Chief Executive Officer at Cebu Pacific shared the carrier’s strategy for 2025, discussed future-proofing tech investments, and defended the Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) ancillary model against accusations around fairness.
Last year, Cebu Pacific reached 24.5 million passengers surpassing its 2019 passenger numbers and is estimating a 25 per cent growth for 2025 based on promising January figures. In this brief interview,
also acknowledged the challenges with scaling up, highlighting the supply chain issues which are limiting growth:
“The challenge is making sure we can deliver on that because these supply chain issues, engines, manufacturers, they’re still there.”
Speaking on the debate sparked by the Spanish government’s decision to ban airlines from imposing ancillary fees on passengers back in November,
” I think the ruling [in Spain] is ridiculous. My own view is that it will get overturned. Let’s just go back to the common sense of it all. An ancillary is an optional extra, right? So the idea is you want to make your service as low-cost as possible and you give the people the choice – what do they want to pay for on top? […] I think the logic is entirely rational and I think it will get overturned, and not just from the legal point of view. It’s just not in the consumer’s benefit, particularly here in parts of the world where emerging markets and affordability are so key.”
Watch the full interview below to learn more and join us at AFA 2026.
Questions asked include:
- How will technology support this significant expansion and help Cebu to maximise these opportunities?
- The LCC model relies on low fares and ancillaries, but we have seen questions arising about the fairness of these ‘add-on’ prices. How can LCC’s drive revenue growth without compromising on transparency and customer trust?
- How would you describe your strategy for 2025 – what are your main priorities and challenges?
For more onsite at Aviation Festival Asia 2025 see:
