Cebu Pacific sells majority stake in 1Aviation

CEBU AIR, Inc., the listed operator of Cebu Pacific, on Monday said it sold its majority stake in its ground-handling service subsidiary.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the Gokongwei-led company said it has sold 60% of its shares in 1Aviation Groundhandling Services Corp. to the Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions, Inc. (PAGSS), led by Jefferson G. Cheng.

“Lance Y. Gokongwei, Chairman and President of Cebu Air, Inc., welcomed this development as this investment by Mr. Cheng and PAGSS brings decades of experience in ground handling for the benefit of airline passengers,” the company said.

PAGSS is a ground-handling service company based at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). It currently works with several airlines, such as Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines and Etihad.

Cebu Pacific created 1Aviation in March after Manila International Airport Authority did not renew the contract of MIASCOR Ground Handling Corp. due to incidents of luggage theft involving the latter’s employees.

MIAA’s contract with MIASCOR ended on April 21.

Cebu Air reported its first quarter net income increased by 12% to P1.437 billion, driven by higher passenger revenues after it increased fares by an average of 10%.

The budget carrier earlier said it targets to fly 22 million passengers by the end of the year, 12% higher than last year’s 19.7 million.