Cebu Pacific eyes more share in Aussie market
Cebu Pacific wants to boost its market share in Australia via its thricea-week direct service between Manila and Melbourne starting next month, August 14, 2018.
“Bookings for our Manila-Melbourne-Manila service are healthy,” says Candice Iyog, CEB Vice President for Marketing.
CEB fares between the two cities start at 19,539 – about 60% lower than prevailing fares of other airlines.
Melbourne is the second destination of Cebu Pacific in Australia following the launch of its direct Manila-Sydney route in 2014.
Their bookings come from travelers who want to visit Melbourne and Filipino-Australians who want to visit friends and relatives in various parts of the Philippines.
Since the airline serviced the Australian market, tourism between the Philippines and Australia increased by an average 16% yearly — from about 186,000 in 2014 to over 413,000 as of April, 2018.
Australia is also one of the top sources of tourist arrivals in the Philippines, with over 120,000 Australians visiting the country in the first five months of 2018 alone.
On the other hand, Filipinos are among the largest immigrant groups in Australia, numbering about 300,000 as of 2017.
From January to April 2018, total passengers flown between the two destinations reached 149,029, up 3.7% year on year. Of the total from January to April 2018, Cebu Pacific flew a total of 59, 678 passengers, representing a 40% market share.
On the other hand, competitors Philippine Airlines and Qantas garnered a market share of 34% and 26%, respectively.
In terms of air freight services, cargo volume between Manila and Sydney grew by 10% year-on-year to 3,427 tons in the first four months of 2018. Cebu Pacific garnered 48% of the cargo market share between the two destinations.