Cebu Pacific welcomes another aircraft powered by sustainable aviation fuel

Photo: Captain Louie Cruz, Cebu Pacific

Cebu Pacific, the Philippines’ leading airline, received its fourth aircraft delivery for the year July 17—a brand-new Airbus A320neo that used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on its delivery flight from Hamburg, Germany, to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

Cebu Pacific says it became the first low-cost carrier in Southeast Asia to incorporate the use of SAF into its operations when it took delivery of its third A330neo in May this year.

“We are happy to welcome another aircraft that used sustainable aviation fuel on its delivery flight from Hamburg,” said Alex Reyes, chief strategy officer at Cebu Pacific. “This is a testament to how committed we are to our sustainable journey, which involves moving forward with our fleet-modernization plans.”

Photo: Captain Reynaldo Capili Jr., Cebu Pacific

Cebu Pacific intends to use SAF for the delivery of three more aircraft later this year.

SAF is a drop-in fuel, which means it is a completely interchangeable replacement for fossil fuels. The use of SAF results in carbon-emissions reductions of up to 80 percent across the SAF lifecycle. SAF does not require any adaptations to the aircraft or engines and does not have any negative impact on performance or maintenance.

Cebu Pacific’s sustainability goal is in line with global aviation’s commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The airline has made various investments that enable it to become fuel-efficient in its operations to keep fares affordable for the passengers.

The airline’s three major pillars on its sustainable journey are fleet modernization, which, among others, targets having an all-neo fleet by 2027; resource optimization, which includes pushing for fuel-efficiency best practices; and utilizing SAF by launching green routes by 2025 and using SAF for its entire network by 2030.