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By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Reporter
CEBU Air Inc. has bagged tax incentives and
other perks from the Board of Investments (BOI) for the company’s
plan to acquire brand new aircraft in the next two years.
In its application for fiscal incentives, the
operator of Cebu Pacific said it will invest P5.52 billion for the
acquisition of eight new ATR-72-500s and five new Airbus A320s.
Come September, the Gokongwei-owned airline will
purchase the five Airbus A320s, and by December next year buy the
ATR-72-500s.
Once the acquisition is completed, the 13 brand
new aircraft will boost Cebu Pacific’s international and domestic
passenger traffic.
At present, Cebu Pacific has 14 A319s, all of
which were bought using BOI-registered tax perks, as part of the
airline’s re-fleeting program. The carrier plans to position
itself as the country’s top domestic airline come 2011. Last year,
it overtook rival Philippine Airlines as the country’s leading
domestic airline, having flown more people than the flag-carrier.
Cebu Pacific said its investment is a continued
manifestation of its commitment to the country’s tourism agenda by
connecting all the people in the islands and abroad on time and with
great service but low fares.
Under its 2007 Investments Priorities Plan, the
government may grant tax perks to projects endorsed by the
Department of Tourism.
For this year, Cebu Pacific expects both
domestic and international passenger traffic to reach more than 7
million from last year’s 5.47 million.
In terms of revenue, the airline projects a
30-percent growth to P20 billion from P15 billion last year.
The carrier was supposed to raise funds this
year by selling shares for the first time to the public, but pushed
back this plan due to the lingering volatility in financial markets.
Despite the suspension of its fund-raising exercise, Cebu Pacific
said its re-fleeting would push ahead as planned.
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