Cebu Pacific said it expects no negative effects on either its aircraft delivery or overall travel demand due to US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.
“It’s a developing situation, but it’s very difficult to maybe take a look at what will be the impact on Trump’s tariff [policy]. We actually don’t know what the final outcome will be,” Cebu Pacific president and chief operating officer Xander Lao said.
“Now, having said that, we do have contractual protections in our contracts for those orders. So we’re not worried at this time. Look, you can’t worry about something that you can’t predict. So let’s see what the impact of those tariffs will be,” he said.
Lao expressed confidence the delivery of its aircraft won’t be affected by Trump’s tariff policy as they have necessary contractual protections.
“So far, we’ve not seen any impact to deliveries or operations because of this,” he said.
Cebu Pacific took delivery of 17 A321neo in 2024 and the first of four A330neos expected to join CEB’s fleet this year.
Cebu Pacific also signed a landmark purchase agreement with Airbus and Pratt & Whitney in October 2024 for up to 152 A321neo aircraft, valued at about $24 billion (P1.4 trillion) based on list prices. The airline expects to receive the first batch of these aircraft in 2029.
Lao also anticipates continued strong demand for travel, noting that Cebu Pacific’s first-quarter passenger traffic grew by 26 percent.
“It’s still pretty healthy. So far, so good,” he said.
“We are in a global economy. Clearly, if there’s a slowdown, then that’ll impact us. But for now, everything seems to be doing quite well. We are going into the second quarter peak as well for the Philippines, and so far, travel has been quite strong,” Lao said.
The airline saw an 18.3-percent increase in overall passenger numbers in April 2025, reaching 2.3 million.
Cebu Pacific’s load factor reached 83.8 percent on the back of seat growth of 20.1 percent.
Domestic passengers grew 13.8 percent to 1.67 million in April from 1.46 million in the same period last year, while international passengers went up by 32.2 percent to 616 million.
CEB passengers grew to 9.2 million in the first four months of 2025, marking a 24.2-percent increase from 7.4 million in 2024.
