Cebu Pacific to boost holiday flight routes with Bulgaria Air partnership

By Xinghui Kok

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Philippine budget airline Cebu Pacific on Friday unveiled a partnership with Bulgarian national carrier Bulgaria Air that will run through December 2025 and January 2026.

Two Airbus A320ceo aircraft will operate on four domestic routes from Manila to Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro, Cebu Pacific said. Bulgaria Air will provide the aircraft, pilots, maintenance and insurance, while Cebu Pacific will provide the cabin crews.

"By increasing flight frequencies, deploying widebody aircraft and supplementing our fleet through a damp lease with Bulgaria Air, Cebu Pacific is strategically positioned to capture peak travel demand and sustain our growth momentum into the holiday season," Cebu Pacific CEO Mike Szucs said at a briefing.

The airline said it carried nearly 20 million passengers from January to September this year, a 13.9% increase from a year earlier. It said its domestic passenger count grew 12.7% to 14.9 million, while the number of international passengers rose 17.7% to 5.1 million. 

In May, Cebu Pacific said it would lease two Airbus A320 jets to Saudi budget carrier flyadeal to generate revenue from excess capacity during the low season.

(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)