It’s pretty apparent that Cebu Pacific has begun switching over to a fleet of brand new Airbus NEO (New Engine Option) jets, including the A330-900neo, A321neo, and A320neo. When a brand-new plane enters service, an older plane must be withdrawn from use. Ten further brand-new aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to Cebu Pacific this year. How many of these Airbus planes from a previous generation are still flying for Cebu Pacific right now? Let’s investigate this matter in greater detail.
Cebu Pacific’s fleet is still the youngest in the Philippines’ air travel industry. With an average fleet age of 5.5 years, they are far past their prime. It wasn’t until January 1 of this year that they added an A320-271neo, their newest plane. As of now, 52 of their planes are operational, and another 45 are on order. The airline would put updating its fleet, which means replacing old planes with newer ones, ahead of growing.
There are still a substantial number of Airbus CEO (Current Engine Option) aircraft in service. The CFM56 engine, previously available on the A320 and A321, and the Rolls Royce Trent 700 engine, previously available on the A330-300, are no longer standard equipment. Because they were the original engines, I call them CEO, or Classic Engine Option.
Airbus CEO planes are still in service with Cebu Pacific
Cebu Pacific’s current fleet consists of three A330s, seven A321ceos, and nineteen A320ceos. The oldest A320ceo is now over 10 years old, but that’s still young for an Airbus A320, and it has plenty of life left.
As of this writing, RP-C3265 is Cebu Pacific’s oldest A320 still in service. The plane started flying for Cebu Pacific in October of 2011. Cebu Pacific still has a full complement of A321-200s, with seven in the fleet. Due to issues with the PW1100G-GTF turbofan engines, delivery of the A321neos was delayed, and these planes were supposed to fill in temporarily until the newer planes arrived.
The A321-200s are still in heavy service today.
To date, only three of Cebu Pacific’s A330-300s (or A330ceos) remain in service. A few examples would be RP-C3345, RP-C3346, and RP-C3348. The A330-900neo will eventually replace all three of them, despite the fact that they’re all younger than 10 years old. While Cebu Pacific’s A330-300s used to hold the record for the most densely seated A330-300 in the world, they have now been surpassed by the airline’s own A330-900, which can accommodate 459 passengers.
The bulk of Cebu Pacific’s fleet is under 10 years old, making it one of the youngest in the industry. When compared to other airlines, Airbus’ “old” jets are actually rather young and have many more years of service life left in them. However, keeping a fleet of newer planes is more cost-effective and efficient for Cebu Pacific.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
