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Tag: CEB

  • Cebu Pacific says more domestic destinations ease travel requirements

    Cebu Pacific says more domestic destinations ease travel requirements

    Airline Cebu Pacific said a number of local destinations were open to leisure travelers and no longer required COVID tests for fully vaccinated individuals.

    In a statement, Cebu Pacific said the 19 destinations were: Bohol, Boracay, Butuan, Camiguin, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu (Cebu City and Mandaue City), Clark, Maguindanao Province, Davao, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iloilo, Legazpi, Manila, Naga, Ozamiz, San Jose, Tacloban, and Tuguegarao.

    “This is a welcome development, and we appreciate the various local government unit’s efforts to further ease travel for everyJuan, especially for fully vaccinated individuals,” said Xander Lao, chief commercial officer at Cebu Pacific.

    “This will jumpstart the return of tourists and pave the way for the recovery of the local tourism industry, which we are also ready to support with a ramp-up in flight frequencies as needed,” he added.

    According to Cebu Pacific, LGU requirements may include vaccination certificates, vaccination cards, government-issued IDs, travel permits from S-Pass, confirmed accommodations, and registration to specific contact tracing applications.

    It noted that Butuan and Cagayan de Oro require fully vaccinated travelers to simply upload their vaccination status via S-Pass.

    For Legazpi, fully vaccinated travelers must report to their LGUs for symptoms screening and profiling. Traze app must also be downloaded.

    Clark requires travelers to present a valid ID and any travel document required by the LGU while Cebu province, Lapu-Lapu City and Davao do not require arriving fully vaccinated guests to present any travel documents for entry.

    A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose in a two-dose series, or after receiving a single-dose vaccine, Cebu Pacific said.

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  • Cebu Pacific provides added protection through CEB Travelsure

    Cebu Pacific provides added protection through CEB Travelsure

    The Philippines’ leading airline, Cebu Pacifi upgrades its CEB Travelsure “Basic Protect” insurance product to now include “COVID Protect”, to inspire travel confidence amidst the current situation. CEB is the first local carrier to offer this type of enhanced coverage in one product.

    Starting January 13, 2022, CEB Travelsure “Basic Protect” becomes even more comprehensive as it now covers COVID-related hospitalization and treatments, on top of up to PHP 2,500,000 medical expenses benefit, in case of an injury or other illnesses, and up to PHP 2,500,000 personal accident coverage during the trip.

    CEB Travelsure “Basic Protect” may be availed by passengers with domestic and international itineraries, as long as their trip starts in the Philippines, for as low as PHP 492 round-trip.

    CEB Travelsure is underwritten by Insurance Company of North America (a Chubb Company). Chubb is the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company.

    Passengers can conveniently avail themselves of CEB Travelsure when booking flights on the CEB website or select as an add-on up to two hours prior to their flight via the ‘Manage Booking’ portal on the Cebu Pacific website. Insured passengers will receive their group policy Confirmation of Cover with the details of the travel insurance benefits via email. Customers should contact Chubb directly if they have specific questions about their insurance coverage.

    Chubb also offers a 24/7 Emergency Medical and Travel Assistance Hotline.

    CEB TravelSure is the airline’s comprehensive travel insurance plan which provides extensive trip protection with coverage for costs related to having injuries, illnesses, loss of personal belongings, trip cancellations, emergency assistance, and other unforeseen travel circumstances (subject to the full terms & conditions of the Group Policy). For more information, passengers may visit: https://www.cebupacificair.com/pages/plan-trip/add-ons/travelsure

    CEB has attained 100% vaccination rate for its active flying crew through its very own employee vaccination program, JG Summit COVID Protect, and various partnerships with local government units in the country.

    The airline has been rated 7/7 stars by airlineratings.com for its COVID-19 compliance as it continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety, in accordance with global aviation standards. These include daily extensive cleaning and disinfection protocols for all aircraft and facilities, on top of its contactless flight procedures. Its jet fleet are equipped with hospital-grade HEPA filters, known to eradicate viruses with 99.9% efficiency.

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  • Cebu Pacific cancels 24 flights due to workforce shortage

    Cebu Pacific cancels 24 flights due to workforce shortage

    Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific canceled 24 domestic and international flights on Wednesday, citing workforce shortage.

    “Cebu Pacific continues to manage the impact of Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) on its workforce with employees who are either sick or under home quarantine,” it said in an advisory Tuesday night.

    The following flights have been canceled:

    5J893/894 Manila – Boracay (Caticlan) – Manila
    5J905/906 Manila – Boracay (Caticlan) – Manila
    5J787/788 Manila – Butuan – Manila
    5J567/568 Manila – Cebu – Manila
    5J581/582 Manila – Cebu – Manila
    5J975/976 Manila – Davao – Manila
    5J447/448 Manila – Iloilo – Manila
    5J373/374 Manila – Roxas – Manila
    5J653/654 Manila – Tacloban – Manila
    5J506/507 Manila – Tuguegarao – Manila
    5J5054/5055 Manila – Narita (Tokyo) – Manila
    5J310/311 Manila – Taipei – Manila

    Affected passengers may rebook or refund their tickets, or store the value in a travel fund, until 30 days from the original flight schedule.

    The airline said because the situation is still fluid, those with flights until January 23 may also opt to refund their ticket or rebook their flight for travel within 60 days.

    They can also store the amount to a travel fund valid for two years.

  • Cebu Pacific announces P1 seat sale for 11.11

    Cebu Pacific announces P1 seat sale for 11.11

    Cebu Pacific on Wednesday announced an 11.11 seat sale for as low as P1.

    In an advisory, the airline said the promo offer would begin at 12 midnight on November 11, 2021 and end on November 14, 2021, covering the travel period from July 1 to September 30, 2022.

    “Passengers can enjoy Cebu Pacific’s lowest base fare for as low as P1 to over 56 domestic routes and 20 international routes,” the airline said.

    Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and customer experience Candice Iyog said that the airline welcomes the safe reopening of domestic destinations.

    “We remain cautiously optimistic while we continue to do what we can to support the recovery of the travel and tourism industry,” she said.

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  • Cebu Pacific Enhances Payment Method Features with CellPoint Digital’s Payment Orchestration Platform

    Cebu Pacific Enhances Payment Method Features with CellPoint Digital’s Payment Orchestration Platform

    CellPoint Digital, a fintech leader in payment orchestration, today announces the next leg of its partnership with Cebu Pacific, the largest airline in the Philippines.

    Cebu Pacific is one of the most successful low-cost airlines in the world, having flown over 22 million passengers to over 60 destinations in 2019, with 70% of these bookings being made directly via the carrier’s digital channels.

    Following the successful implementation of CellPoint Digital’s cutting-edge Payment Orchestration Platform, Velocity, across all of Cebu Pacific’s digital channels last year, the airline has now implemented new alternative payment methods to provide more flexible options to their customer’s payment experience. Thanks to the PSP/acquirer agnostic Velocity platform, Cebu Pacific customers will now have access to the following popular payment methods: GCash, GrabPay and PayMaya.

    The new alternative payment methods boast wide-ranging end-user benefits, including enabling split payments between travel fund vouchers and cash, and converting local currencies in real-time. For the airline itself, providing more payment methods should increase revenues, and by optimizing card payment processing across multiple acquirers, they will be able to do real-time transaction monitoring – by market, and by payment method – all delivered conveniently in one place.

    The intelligent routing module already dynamically optimizes the routing of each transaction made via a bespoke network of acquiring banks, thereby maximizing acceptance rates and lowering transaction costs.

    Candice Iyog, Vice-president for Marketing and Customer Experience at Cebu Pacific added: “Our partnership with CellPoint Digital continues to go from strength to strength. As the world begins to open back up and consumers are more used to using flexible digital payment methods than ever before, we’re proud to be able to offer our customers a frictionless customer experience at the checkout by giving them the payment methods they most want to use.”

    Commenting on the announcement Kristian Gjerding, CEO of CellPoint Digital commented: “We’re delighted to announce this evolution in our partnership with Cebu Pacific. Airlines have, by necessity, some of the most complex payment ecosystems of modern merchants, and an equally diverse customer base to match. By utilising our comprehensive payment orchestration platform and having access to a large payments ecosystem, we have simplified the payment process for Cebu while bolstering its offering with popular alternative payment methods for its customers.”

    The news comes as the APAC airline sector gears up to take off again following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 77% of APAC airline customers ready to travel as soon as restrictions fully ease. Via its access to CellPoint Digital’s growing ecosystem, Cebu Pacific is ready to maximise the payments journey for APAC travellers with payment methods covering over 40 local and global cards, and over 350 alternative payment methods.

    The future is promising for the partnership as the two companies work towards introducing more new features such as stored cards and other popular APMs, while also empowering Cebu’s B2B offering with more payment capabilities.

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  • Cebu Pacific announces one-week sale of Super Pass

    Cebu Pacific announces one-week sale of Super Pass

    Budget carrier Cebu Pacific on Thursday announced the one-week sale of its Super Pass, which allows passengers to book local flights at one-way base fares of P99 without a fixed date and destination.

    In an advisory, Cebu Pacific said the sale of the Super Pass started 10 a.m. Thursday, September 9, and will last until next Thursday, September 16.

    The vouchers can be redeemed from September 9, 2021 to September 23, 2022, with a travel period of September 16, 2021 to September 30, 2022.

    The Super Pass will serve as a travel voucher that passengers can use to book 30 days before the flight’s departure until seven days before the intended flight, depending on seat availability.

    Guests can avail of 10 vouchers per transaction, but there is no limit on the number of total vouchers passengers can avail until September 16.

  • Cebu Pacific flight cancellations from August 6 to 20

    Cebu Pacific flight cancellations from August 6 to 20

    Budget carrier Cebu Pacific on Saturday released the schedule of its flight cancellations from August 6 to 20, amid the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila.

    Flight cancellations have been made after the government allowed only essential travel during the two-week strict lockdown period in the National Capital Region.

    Cebu Pacific earlier released the schedule of its canceled flights from July 31 to August 5, during the general community quarantine “with heightened restrictions” in NCR.

    The following Cebu Pacific and Cebgo flights are cancelled:

    “Affected passengers have been informed via contact details provided in the booking. They may select their preferred option through the Manage Booking portal on the Cebu Pacific website until 30 days from date of departure,” Cebu Pacific said.

    Likewise, the airline said affected passengers may opt to do the following:

    • Rebook for travel within 60 days no additional cost, following CEB’s permanent removal of change fees. Fare difference waived.
    • Store the amount in a virtual CEB wallet valid for two years and use this to either book a new flight or pay for add-ons (e.g. baggage allowance, seat selection, etc.)
    • Refund: the process may take up to two months from the date of request.

    “CEB will continue to operate other domestic and international flights as scheduled,” it said.

    “This is a developing situation. Some flight changes may take place in the coming days,” it said.

    “Before going to the airport, passengers are advised to check?the travel requirements, safety protocols,?and frequently asked questions (FAQs)?on the CEB website,” it added.

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  • Cebu Pacific to operate special flight from Dubai to Manila on July 30

    Cebu Pacific to operate special flight from Dubai to Manila on July 30

    Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) will have a special commercial flight on Friday, July 30, “in response to the government’s call for assistance to repatriate Filipino workers in Dubai”, the airline confirmed to Gulf News on Monday.

    CEB earlier announced that it had cancelled all its commercial flights to and from Dubai until August 1, following the decision by the Philippine government to “extend the ban on travellers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman and the UAE” until July 30. New passengers and those affected by previous flight cancellations who would like to take the 5J27 Dubai-Manila special flight on July 30, dubbed as Bayanihan flight, may book their tickets on Cebu Pacific website, though seats are subject to availability.

    CEB noted: “Pursuant to current Philippine health protocols, a passenger who would like to take the Bayanihan flight must present a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR result, taken within 48 hours before departure.” Face masks and face shields should always be worn (except during meals) while onboard the aircraft, as an added precaution against the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

    “Pursuant to government’s health protocols, all passengers will be subjected to a 14-day, facility-based quarantine upon arrival in the Philippines. For this purpose, passengers are advised to have pre-booked quarantine hotels for 15 days/14 nights,” CEB added.

    The cost of quarantine hotels for OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) will be paid for by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA); while tourist and returning overseas Filipinos will have to shoulder the cost of hotel quarantine. All the passengers of Bayanihan flights will undergo COVID-19 RT-PCR test after seven days of quarantine. The cost of the test for land-based OFWs will be shouldered by OWWA; while the Philippine Port Authority will cover the cost for sea-based OFWs. Non-OFWs will have to pay for their own RT-PCR test.

    The Philippine government had first imposed restrictions on inbound travel from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman and the UAE from May 15 until May 31, in view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant that first emerged in India. The travel ban was first extended until June 15, then stretched until June 30 before prolonging it further until July 30.

    Thousands of stranded Filipinos in the UAE have signed an online petition seeking to immediately lift the travel restrictions imposed by the Philippine government. The online petition titled ‘Lift the UAE ban! It’s our right to go home’, has garnered over 4,000 virtual signatures.

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  • Cebu Pacific cautiously optimistic on 2022 recovery

    Cebu Pacific cautiously optimistic on 2022 recovery

    Budget carrier Cebu Pacific, operated by Cebu Air, Inc., is sticking to its forecast of returning to pre-pandemic levels next year, saying it is “cautiously optimistic” given the current pace of vaccine rollout in the country.

    “To be honest, initially, when it started rolling out and we were monitoring the inoculation rate, we were pleasantly surprised with the 130,000 a day. Now, with the A4 (priority) and private vaccinations, we’re cautiously optimistic,” Candice A. Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice-president for marketing and customer service, said at an online briefing on Thursday.

    “We’d like to stick to what we’ve said before, 2022, but again so many things can still happen,” she added.

    Cebu Pacific currently operates flights to 32 domestic destinations.

    To recall, the number of flights Cebu Pacific had in 2020 was 71% lower at 41,804. The number of passengers it carried last year also dropped 78% to five million.

    Ms. Iyog said flights from Manila to Boracay will be five times daily starting June 21, while flights to Bohol will also operate daily.

    As of June, it operates flights to Dubai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Singapore.

    “When demand comes back, there will be higher expectation from us to be more digital and to provide more contactless options for our passengers because we understand that ‘contactless’ is somehow part of safety,” Ms. Iyog noted.

    “Yesterday (June 16), we successfully launched our new website and our iOS and Android booking channels,” she added.

    The airline has partnered with GCash, GrabPay, and PayMaya for cashless payment options for new bookings.

    The budget carrier will be implementing starting July this year a new policy for passengers who want to make voluntary changes to their flights.

    “Starting July 1, the travel fund option for voluntary flight changes will only be available for passengers who pre-purchased the CEB Flexi add-on during initial booking as this new and improved product allows passengers to cancel their flights for free, up to two hours before departure, and store the value of the booking in a Travel Fund for as low as P499,” Cebu Pacific said in a statement on Wednesday.

    “The amount in this virtual wallet is valid for two years and may be used to book new flights or purchase other add-ons such as seat selection, additional baggage allowance, or travel insurance,” it added.

    As for passengers who want to change their bookings voluntarily without purchasing CEB Flexi, the budget carrier said: “They can make use of the Unlimited Rebooking option of CEB and rebook as many times as they want up to two hours before their scheduled time of departure.”

    The low-cost carrier said it permanently removed change fees since March.

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  • Cebu Pacific increases flights to Boracay, Bohol ‘to support recovery’

    Cebu Pacific increases flights to Boracay, Bohol ‘to support recovery’

    Budget carrier Cebu Pacific said Monday its flights between Manila and Boracay will now be five times daily, while flights to Bohol will also operate daily.

    The additional flights to Boracay and Bohol, which started on Monday, should “support recovery efforts,” the budget carrier said in an e-mailed statement.

    In a statement on Tuesday, the airline said: “We gradually increased our flights to Boracay weekly — from only two times daily on June 4, three times daily on June 7, four times daily on June 11, and now five times daily beginning yesterday, June 21.”

    “Bohol was at four times weekly in the second week of June and now it’s already one time daily,” it added.

    Cebu Pacific said it currently operates the “widest network” in the country covering 32 destinations, on top of its six international destinations.

    Candice A. Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice-president for marketing and customer service, said: “With the arrival of more vaccines and the pace at which vaccines are being rolled out, we are hopeful that in due time, our networks will recover to pre-pandemic levels.”

    “We remain cautiously optimistic as we prepare for the bounce back and will do everything that is within our control to support and aid that,” she added.

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said recently that “over the last months, the recovery of air passenger demand has been mainly driven by domestic markets that have mostly remained unaffected by travel restrictions.”

    “In the meantime, international travel was restricted by most countries and governments are only starting to relax those restrictions as they vaccinate their populations and stabilize the epidemiological situation,” it added.

    Cebu Pacific, operated by Cebu Air, Inc., said it had flown six million coronavirus vaccine doses from China as of June 17, “on top of more than 1.4 million doses carried to 15 Philippine provinces.”

    The number of flights Cebu Pacific had in 2020 was 71% lower at 41,804. The number of passengers it carried last year also dropped 78% to five million.

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  • Cebu Pacific’s US$250 Million convertible Bonds Private Placement

    Cebu Pacific’s US$250 Million convertible Bonds Private Placement

    Clifford Chance has advised the investors involved in the placement. International Finance Corporation, IFC Emerging Asia Fund, LP and Indigo Philippines LLC, an affiliate of private equity firm Indigo Partners LLC, were the investors inolved in the private placement of US$250 million convertible bonds due 2027 by low-cost carrier Cebu Air, Inc. (Cebu Pacific) listed on the Philippines Stock Exchange. The bonds are convertible into common shares of Cebu Pacific. The shares issued as a result of the conversion of the convertible bonds will be listed on the Philippines Stock Exchange.

    The private placement was part of a broader business transformation exercise that was launched by Cebu Pacific in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The proceeds will be used to fund working capital requirements, repayment of debt and lease obligations, and critical capital expenditures of Cebu Pacific and its subsidiaries.

    The project involved a cross-border team of Clifford Chance experts in international corporate, debt, and capital markets transactions, led by partners Johannes Juette (Picture – Singapore), Virginia Lee (Hong Kong) and Gareth Deiner (Singapore), senior associates Claire Neo (Singapore) and Ryan Wong (Hong Kong) and associate Anson Wong (Hong Kong), with specialist advice provided by partner Fergus Evans (Singapore) and senior associate Nattawat Vilasdechanon (Singapore) for their expertise in aircraft financing.

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  • Cebu Pacific airlifts more COVID vaccines

    Cebu Pacific airlifts more COVID vaccines

    The Philippines’ leading carrier Cebu Pacific safely delivered some 1.5 million doses of vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH).

    The China-made doses recently arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) via 5J 671.

    CEB is in full support of the nation’s vaccination program as it helps ensure these life-saving COVID-19 vaccines are flown safely to the Philippines, and distributed across the rest of the archipelago.

    “This large shipment of COVID vaccines with Cebu Pacific brings us closer to our goal of protecting every Filipino as fast as possible,” said Sec. Carlito Galvez, Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force against COVID-19. “We are grateful to Cebu Pacific for joining forces with the government to support us in ensuring the success of this vaccine roll-out.”

    “We are thankful for the continued trust of the Philippine government and the DOH, and restate our intention to support our country’s fight against COVID-19 in any way we can. We look forward to picking up more vaccines from across the globe and aid in distributing across our widest domestic network,” Alexander Lao, Cebu Pacific Chief Strategy Officer.

    Upon unloading from CEB’s A330 aircraft, all vaccines were thoroughly inspected by the authorities prior to uplifting to refrigerated trucks via electric forklifts.

    On May 4, Cebu Pacific transported 6,200 COVID-19 vaccines from Manila to Puerto Princesa. Apart from Palawan, the carrier has delivered more than half a million doses of vaccines to six other cities in the country namely Bacolod, Cotabato, Legazpi, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, and Zamboanga.

    Following last week’s shipment of 500,000 Sinovac vaccines from Beijing to Manila, CEB has already transported more than 2.5 million COVID-19 doses since March 2021.

    CEB operates the widest domestic network in the Philippines covering 32 destinations, on top of its six international destinations. Its 74-strong fleet, one of the youngest in the world, includes two dedicated ATR freighters and one A330 freighter.

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  • Cebu Pacific Raises $250 Million As Gokongwei’s Airline Prepares For Travel Recovery

    Cebu Pacific Raises $250 Million As Gokongwei’s Airline Prepares For Travel Recovery

    Cebu Pacific Air, the low-cost airline controlled by Philippine tycoon Lance Gokongwei and his siblings as part of JG Summit Holdings, said it has raised $250 million through the sale of convertible bonds to the International Finance Corp. and U.S. private equity firm Indigo Partners.

    The bonds can be converted into 318.75 million common Cebu Pacific shares at 68 pesos a piece, according to a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange. The company didn’t disclose the specific investments made by IFC through its IFC Emerging Markets Fund and by Indigo partners through its Philippine subsidiary.

    The funds will provide the carrier some much-needed capital. Cebu Pacific, just like most travel-related businesses, suffered a net loss of 22.2 billion pesos ($459.4 million) last year as passenger traffic dropped 78% to 5 million. Both international and domestic travel came to an abrupt halt as the Philippines grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic. The country is among the hardest hit by the deadly virus in Southeast Asia.

    “At Cebu Pacific Air, our focus has been on bringing the vaccine into the country and getting back to regular travel,” Gokongwei told attendees to the 2021 Forbes Asia CEO Webinar late last month.

    The funds raised from the convertible bond issue form part of the the $500 million the airline aims to raise as it restructures operations in preparation for a vaccine-led recovery in the travel industry.

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  • Cebu Pacific operator lists convertible preferred shares at stock exchange

    Cebu Pacific operator lists convertible preferred shares at stock exchange

    Cebu Air the listed operator of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, announced on Monday that 328.95 million of its convertible preferred shares with a par value of P1 per share are now ready to be traded on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

    “Despite the numerous challenges that airlines are currently facing, Cebu Pacific was able to raise approximately P12.49 billion ($256 million) from existing shareholders,” Cebu Air said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday.

    The listed company added that the success of its fund-raising activity is “reflective of the belief that shareholders have, not only in the long-term prospects of Cebu Pacific, but also its vital role in the economic recovery of the Philippines.”

    The company has said the amount raised would help it address financial liabilities, including repayment of an advance by JG Summit Philippines Ltd., aircraft operating lease payments, principal debt repayments, and passenger refunds, among others.

    Cebu Air recently announced that its board approved a P16-billion, 10-year loan from local banks.

    The loan would be used to fund its capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes.

    The loan should also provide a cushion against “unexpected working capital requirements that may stem from fuel price and foreign exchange rate volatility,” Cebu Air said in an announcement.

  • Everything is put in place for Cebu Pacific operator’s crucial stock offer to rescue airline

    Everything is put in place for Cebu Pacific operator’s crucial stock offer to rescue airline

    It’s all systems go for the upcoming P12.5-billion stock rights offer of Cebu Air Inc. next month.

    In a disclosure to the local bourse on Wednesday, the operator of loss-making budget carrier Cebu Pacific released the final terms for the fundraising activity meant to keep the airline afloat while lingering coronavirus fears prevent a full take-off to recovery.

    The mega stock rights offer is part of a larger recovery plan worth $500 million that the airline announced last October, which also included a private investor placement of an equal amount. It was unclear whether the balance had been raised already.

    Under the offer, existing common shareholders may buy convertible preferred shares at a conversion price of P38 apiece. Preferred shareholders are entitled to receive fixed dividends with a yield of 6% per year, but they will not have voting rights that common stockholders enjoy.

    Shares will be sold from March 3 to 9, while a tentative listing date was set on March 29. Cebu Air will sell a total of 328.9 million convertible preferred shares to investors for this crucial fundraising activity.

    A chunk of the proceeds worth P4.8 billion will serve as repayment to advances by JG Summit Philippines Ltd., its parent firm. A smaller P3.9 billion would go to aircraft operating lease payments due this year, while P3.3 billion would settle old debts.

    The balance of P384 million would be spent on “general corporate purposes,” primarily for passenger refunds in case cash generated from lackluster operations are insufficient for settlement.

    Unlike regional counterparts that handed bailouts to their cash-strapped carriers like Malaysia and Thailand, the Philippines has been reluctant in spending taxpayers’ money to rescue local airlines on the brink of financial collapse.

    Although Cebu Air is yet to release its full-year financial results, the airline has expected losses to amount to “almost P25 billion” in 2020 that, if realized, will be a reversal of the P9.12 billion in profits in 2019.

    Apart from raising new funds, Cebu Air was also forced to downsize its workforce by 75% last year due to tepid flight operations.

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