Cebu Pacific Adds Second ATR Freighter to Fleet

(31 Oct 2021) Cebu Pacific has taken delivery of its second ATR freighter.

The airline signed an agreement with Switzerland-based IPR Conversions in July 2018, to convert two of its ATR 72-500 passenger aircraft into freighter planes.

Cebu Pacific also recently modified one of its Airbus A330-300 into an all-cargo configuration, removing seats so that cargo can be carried in the main deck.

During the first few months of Philippines’ community quarantine to battle COVID19, only cargo flights were allowed to operate. In Q3 2020, cargo accounted for 66 per cent of Cebu Pacific’s revenue compared to just 8 per cent during the same period last year.

To date, the airline has carried over 43,600 tonnes of goods to and from domestic and international cargo destinations since March. Hong Kong, Dubai, Japan, Thailand, Shanghai and Guangzhou are amongst the carrier’s top destinations for cargo operations with top commodities being semiconductors, automotive parts, aquaculture products, medical goods, fruits and flowers.

“Amidst this pandemic, we have been evaluating our business and were able to identify opportunities to innovate and remain agile in the face of uncertainty,” said Alex Reyes, Vice President for Commercial, Cebu Pacific Air. “We expect cargo operations to continue growing as we reprioritize and utilise our existing aircraft fleet to respond to the increased demand. Besides pivoting to focus more on cargo operations, we are also mobilising our aircraft to give back to the community by working closely with government agencies, organisations, and partners to ensure logistics support is fully covered.” 

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