PHILIPPINES MARKET ROLLS THE DICE ON BOOM IN PASSENGERS MAKING OVERCAPACITY A REAL POSSIBILITY IN THE SHORT TERM

Domestic air traffic in the Philippines is expected to more than double to over 40 million passengers in less than 10 years, one of the country’s major airlines said today. The rise of low-cost carriers such as Cebu Pacific Air has already seen domestic air traffic jump sharply to more than 17 million passengers in 2010. Philippine fleets will increase to 67 single aisle aircraft this year compared with 47 in 2008. Rival budget carrier AirAsia, a Malaysian-based airline, has also announced plans to set up Philippine operations this year. Southeast Asian Airlines earlier this week announced that it was