Foundation and growth (1988–2006) on one of its final flights to
Mactan–Cebu International Airport in 2006 Cebu Pacific was established on August 26, 1988. Republic Act No. 7151, which grants a legislative franchise to Cebu Air, Inc. to operate, was approved on August 30, 1991. The airline began operations on March 8, 1996, with its first flight from
Manila to
Cebu. Domestic services began following market deregulation by the Philippine government. The airline was subsequently acquired by
JG Summit Holdings, owned at the time by
John Gokongwei. The airline temporarily ceased operations in February 1998 after being grounded by the government following the crash of
the crash of Flight 387 that killed 104, but resumed services later the next month following re-certification of its aircraft. It initially started with 24 domestic flights daily among
Metro Manila,
Metro Cebu, and
Metro Davao. By the end of 2001, its operations had grown to about 80 daily flights to 18 domestic destinations. In the 2000s, Cebu Pacific was granted rights to operate international flights to the region, including
Malaysia,
Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Guam. International flights were launched on November 22, 2001, with a twice-daily service to Hong Kong. Thrice-weekly flights to
Seoul commenced on March 1, 2002, followed by Singapore on October 1. Other regional flights were introduced and suspended later; however, including flights to Singapore (from November 6, 2002, to January 2003) and from Manila via
Subic to Seoul (from December 2002) due in part to the effects of the
SARS epidemic. On November 10, 2005, Cebu Pacific launched "Go", a fare discount program that permanently reduced its fares by half. The move was done to increase the airline's revenue by twenty percent. Following this, Cebu Pacific experienced significant passenger growth, hiking up its sales volume by ninety percent. Its president and CEO,
Lance Gokongwei, anticipated that with the low fares, air travel would be cheaper than sea travel. He further added that: and launched a direct flight from Cebu to Singapore on October 23. It was the first low-cost airline to serve the Cebu-Singapore-Cebu sector, and competing directly with
Singapore Airlines subsidiary
SilkAir, the only Philippine carrier serving the route for years until
Philippine Airlines resumed direct service in 2017. Cebu Pacific's direct Cebu–Hong Kong flights began on October 2, 2006, making it the Philippine carrier to serve the Cebu-Hong Kong-Cebu route after PAL terminated its direct service and began code-sharing with
Cathay Pacific on the route. Manila–
Bangkok flights were also launched in the same year. On May 8, 2008, Cebu Pacific opened
Francisco Bangoy International Airport in
Davao City as its third hub and launched direct flights from Davao to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Iloilo. In late 2007, Cebu Pacific announced plans to launch non-stop flights to the
United States West Coast,
Houston, and
Chicago by mid 2009. Cebu Pacific's plans to begin international flights from
Clark in 2007 were initially unsuccessful when its request was denied. The nations involved came to an agreement that Cebu Pacific would be only allowed to operate charter flights from Clark to the respective countries' airport(s). Only
Singapore initially agreed to allow Cebu Pacific to fly scheduled flights from Clark. After launching flights between Clark and Cebu in 2006, on November 8, 2008, the airline commenced international flights from Clark to Hong Kong, Macau, Bangkok and Singapore, making Clark its fourth hub. On May 28, 2008, Cebu Pacific was named as the world's number one airline in terms of growth. The airline was also ranked fifth in Asia for Budget Airline passengers transported and 23rd in the world. On November 20, 2008, it started operating direct flights to Japan, starting with
Osaka. In August 2009, Cebu Pacific became the first airline in the Philippines to use
social media; the airline created a fan page on
Facebook and
Twitter. In October 2010, the airline completed an
initial public offering of 30.4% of outstanding shares, raising prior to an exercise of an overallotment option. By January 2011, the airline flew its 50 millionth passenger from Manila to
Beijing.
Further growth and re-branding (2012–2020) in 2013 coincided with the launching of Cebu Pacific's low-cost, long-haul international flights. Cebu Pacific continued its network expansion in the 2010s. Continuing its regional expansion, it launched flights to
Siem Reap and
Xiamen in 2012. Domestically, it opened two local bases in
Kalibo and
Iloilo. It also expanded its Japanese operations, launching flights to
Tokyo and
Nagoya in March 2014, followed by
Fukuoka in December 2015. After taking delivery of its first two
Airbus A330-300s, Cebu Pacific commenced international long-haul flights on October 7, 2013, to
Dubai. Between 2014 and 2015, it launched flights to more destinations in the
Middle East, including
Kuwait City,
Doha,
Dammam, and
Riyadh. It also launched flights to
Sydney—its first destination in Australia—followed by
Melbourne in 2018. All Middle Eastern destinations, except Dubai, were terminated in 2017. On December 29, 2014, Cebu Pacific was fined following the numerous flight cancellations and delays during the December 2014
Christmas peak season. On January 8, 2015, the airline flew its 100 millionth passenger. On June 1, Cebu Pacific revealed its new logo that represents the colors of the Philippines and also symbolizes as an evolution of a low-cost pioneer. The airline received its first Airbus A320 painted in the new livery on January 22, 2016. In March 2016, Cebu Pacific launched flights to
Guam, making it the first and only destination in the United States. This route was suspended in December 2019, along with Siem Reap. On October 20, 2017, Cebu Pacific opened
Laguindingan Airport as its seventh base. On the same day, it flew its 150 millionth passenger to
Cagayan de Oro. In 2018,
Cebgo, Cebu Pacific's regional subsidiary, launched flights to
Basco, Batanes.
COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022) The
COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the operations of Cebu Pacific in 2020, causing a three-month suspension of operations during the
enhanced community quarantine in Luzon and a reduction of its workforce. Due to low passenger demand, the airline laid off 1,300 employees that year, and sent fourteen aircraft to indefinite storage in
Alice Springs. By the end of the year, it reported a net loss of , its first annual loss since 2008. of Cebu Pacific on final approach at
Ninoy Aquino International Airport. This particular aircraft has a '25' decal on the left side of the cockpit to commemorate the airline's
25th anniversary in 2021. On March 8, 2021, Cebu Pacific celebrated its
twenty-fifth anniversary. In May, it closed three fundraising transactions totaling (
US$) to help the airline recover from the pandemic, which consisted of a loan from government-owned financial institutions and private banks, from
preferred stock, and from
convertible bonds. As several
COVID-19 variants emerged that year, which led to another spike in cases, it widened its losses to . As travel demand recovers, it started rehiring retrenched employees in November 2021. By December 2022, the airline operated at 92% of pre-pandemic levels. On December 5, 2022,
Lance Gokongwei resigned as the airline's president and
chief executive officer (CEO)−a position he held since the airline's inception in 1996. His resignation took effect on January 1, 2023, and was subsequently elevated to
chairman. Alexander Lao was then appointed president, while Michael B. Szucs assumed his role as CEO.
Post-pandemic recovery and third expansion (2023–present) On January 25, 2023, Cebu Pacific launched its new campaign, "Let's Fly Every Juan", at a
press conference at the
Ayala Museum. It then resumed its remaining international flights that were suspended during the pandemic, On April 21, 2023, Cebu Pacific reopened its
Pampanga hub at
Clark International Airport. By the end of 2023, after three consecutive financial years of losses, Cebu Pacific reported its first full-year post-pandemic profit. On February 28, 2024, Cebu Pacific was awarded the Best Airline award at the Routes Asia Awards 2024 for its "exceptional contributions to airport and destination marketing in the Asia Pacific region". It was also awarded Best Low-Cost Airline Brand and Most Sustainable Low-Cost Airline in the Philippines for 2023 by the World Economic Magazine. In July 2024, Cebu Pacific shelved its plans to expand its long-haul operations. It then reduced its flights to China due to weak demand amid
geopolitical tensions, and likewise terminated flights to Beijing. The airline focused instead on expanding regionally within a five-hour radius, launching flights to secondary cities in
Southeast Asia. As part of its regional expansion, it started flying thrice weekly to
Da Nang on December 7, 2023, and
Chiang Mai on October 29, 2024. It also returned to
Kaohsiung after a fifteen-year hiatus in August. Continuing its domestic expansion, Cebu Pacific expanded its regional network in
Visayas and
Mindanao, launching eighteen new inter-island routes from its hubs in
Cebu,
Davao City, and
Iloilo, as well as select flights from
Clark. Likewise, new international services from these hubs were either launched or revived: new direct flights from Cebu to Bangkok (Don Mueang) and
Osaka began in mid-October, while Davao–
Hong Kong services were relaunched in the same month including a new Davao–Bangkok service. It also resumed international flights from
Iloilo International Airport after a four-year hiatus. On December 11, 2024, Cebu Pacific flew its 250 millionth passenger from Singapore to Manila. On January 16, 2025, it launched direct flights to
Sapporo. On April 7, direct flights were launched between Cebu and
Ho Chi Minh City, in response to PAL launching its own service a month later. In May 2025, Cebu Pacific struck a
"wet lease" deal, leasing two
Airbus A320 jets (including crew and maintenance) to Saudi carrier
flyadeal during the Philippines' lean tourist months of July and August—marking Cebu Pacific's first venture into aircraft leasing. == Corporate affairs ==