Cebu Pacific A330neo Bohol Panglao Flights Seem Promising

It has now been confirmed that the Cebu Pacific A330neo will be utilized for flights from Manila to Bohol Panglao. Additionally, Cebu Pacific will also deploy their 459-seater aircraft to Iloilo and Puerto Princesa. While we are accustomed to seeing narrowbody aircraft for flights to Panglao (Tagbilaran), this marks the first time that a widebody aircraft will be in operation at the airport—please correct me if I am wrong. However, it seems that this will be the first Cebu Pacific A330neo flight to Bohol.

These updates from Cebu Pacific are indeed exciting, and I was surprised to see Bohol included. First reported by Aeroroutes, I decided to check a mock booking on June 1, and it confirmed that Cebu Pacific’s flights 5J617 and 5J618 from Manila to Panglao and back will be operated by A330neos. Starting August 1, Cebu Pacific A330neo services will become a regular fixture in Panglao. This is great news for Bohol, as it means additional seats and capacity, which translates to increased tourism and more visitors to the island. I have also learned that Cebu Pacific’s A321neo flights between Manila and Bohol Panglao have recently been fully booked. Therefore, it seems like a wise decision to operate the A330neo to Bohol.

You may be wondering if Bohol Panglao International Airport can accommodate widebody aircraft. The answer is yes. The airport is designed to handle widebody planes, such as the Boeing 777. It has parking bays and jet bridges suited for widebody aircraft. Additionally, the runway length is 2,500 meters, which is standard for widebody operations. Aircraft weight is also a factor that needs to be considered, but I am confident that all these elements were thoroughly calculated before the decision to operate widebodies to Bohol Panglao was made.

Cebu Pacific A330neo Flight Seems Promising

Why is this promising? This shift allows Cebu Pacific to increase its capacity to Bohol Panglao International Airport without needing additional slots. One Cebu Pacific A330neo, with its 459 seats, provides just a few fewer seats than two A321neos, each seating 236 passengers. Essentially, Cebu Pacific can nearly double its capacity to Bohol without requiring another slot or frequency. With the growing number of tourists visiting Bohol, deploying the A330neo is an optimal solution to meet the increasing demand for travel between Manila and Bohol Panglao.

This situation may also prompt other airports across the country to consider expansions to accommodate larger jets. For instance, Siargao’s Sayak Airport has been attracting many tourists but is limited to servicing turboprop planes, which have a capacity of fewer than 90 passengers. To expand capacity at this airport, airlines would need to add extra turboprop flights. One Airbus flight can carry approximately double the number of an ATR 72.

However, another question arises: Can Cebu Pacific maintain a high load factor on the A330neos? Given that the distance between Manila and Bohol Panglao is only 618 kilometers, a fully loaded A330neo with 459 passengers can generate 283,662 revenue passenger kilometers (RPK). However, if the load factor drops—for example, to 65%, which equals about 300 passengers—the RPK decreases significantly to 185,400, which can raise the cost per passenger and affect the airline’s operational economics.

That said, I trust that Cebu Pacific has carefully analyzed all the numbers and developed strategies to sustain these MNL-TAG A330neo flights. This development is promising as it could push the government to improve other airports, allowing for larger planes and thus increasing capacity. It is also an encouraging sign for Bohol, as a doubling of capacity could lead to more tourism for the region.