Cebu Pacific has finalised their order with Airbus for new A330neo aircraft.
Cebu Pacific Airbus A330-900neo – Rendering, Airbus
The airline will order 16 of the A330-900neo, is part of Memorandum of Understanding that Cebu and Airbus signed earlier this year, covering the wide-body part of an order.
Those however looking for comfort should look away, as Cebu Pacific is ordering higher-capacity version of the A330-900neo, with up to 460 seats in a single-class configuration.
Cebu Pacific plans to operate the aircraft on trunk routes within the Philippines and the rest of Asia, as well as on longer-range services to Australia and the Middle East.
In quotes
Lance Gokongwei, Cebu Pacific President and CEO said:
“The A330neo is integral to our fleet modernisation programme. With this purchase, we aim to reduce our fuel emission and build a more sustainable operation. This will also give us the lowest cost per seat, at the same time enabling CEB to increase seat capacity and maximise valuable airport slots in Manila and other Asian megacities.”
Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer commented:
“Cebu Pacific is a pace-setter and surely one of the most respected and well managed airlines in the low-cost sector. This new order is another important endorsement for the value-based proposition that the A330neo brings to highly competitive markets. The increased capacity version of the aircraft developed for Cebu Pacific will help achieve even greater efficiencies for high density regional and long range routes.”
Built for the market- not for comfort.
For those looking for comfort in the air – this isn’t the plane or the carrier you are looking for. Rather, this is targeted at specific markets to allow people to get from A to B at a lower cost than traditional carriers could.
And that’s where Cebu Pacific sees the A330-900neo be of benefit. In the past, the airline has operated the A330-300 with 436 seats in an all-economy configuration successfully. The new aircraft bumps the seat count up by 24 seats
With plans to use them on their main routes, as well as expansion – Cebu Pacific has something that is tuned to their market and works for its customers.
Even if it’s filled with 460 seats…
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I take Cebu Pacific all the time and they actually do care that people who take their airline are comfortable. I am over 6 feet tall and they always accommodate me to make sure I am comfortable. The flight attendants will come to me and offer to move me to a more comfortable seat n their on their own. 99% of filipinos are not big so this kind of density works fine.
Plus when you get off the plane you are usually close to a nice beach, a cold beer and happy people. Well if in Manila you get cold beer and happy people but no beach.