Cebu Pacific carried more passengers in the first nine months of 2026, even as its seat occupancy slipped, after the budget carrier expanded capacity faster than passenger traffic grew.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Cebu Air, Inc., the operator of the Cebu Pacific brand, said passenger traffic rose 4.1% to 20.77 million from 19.95 million in the same period last year.

The airline’s seat load factor — the percentage of available seats actually filled by passengers — declined by 2.7 percentage points to 82.1% from 84.8% a year earlier. The drop came as Cebu Pacific lifted its available seat capacity by 7.6% to 25.30 million seats from 23.52 million in the comparable period. Because airlines incur much of their operating cost whether seats are filled or empty, the gap between capacity and traffic growth is a figure industry watchers track closely, since fuller planes spread those expenses across more paying passengers.

Of the January-to-September total, domestic passengers reached 15.7 million, while international passenger traffic stood at 5.06 million — with the home market accounting for roughly three-quarters of the carrier’s volume.

September Performance

For September alone, total passenger traffic climbed 4.4% to 1.91 million from 1.83 million a year earlier. Domestic passenger volume grew 7.4% to 1.48 million, while international passenger numbers fell 5.1% to 424,000 from 446,000.

Despite the decline in international traffic, the carrier’s overall seat load factor for September improved to 83.% from 81.1% a year earlier, reflecting stronger seat occupancy during the month.

“Despite September traditionally being a lean travel month in the Philippines, we saw encouraging demand across our domestic network, particularly on key trunk routes. Internationally, we continued to manage capacity selectively in response to elevated fuel prices,” Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer Alexander G. Lao said.

Mr. Lao said the airline would continue adjusting capacity in response to demand and operating conditions ahead of the holiday season.

“As we approach the holiday season, we will maintain a disciplined approach to matching capacity with demand, while retaining the flexibility to adjust our network in response to fuel prices and evolving market conditions. Our focus remains on providing affordable and reliable travel,” he said.

The comments point to the decisions ahead: the year-end holiday period is traditionally the busiest stretch for Philippine air travel, and how the carrier allocates seats against fuel costs in the final quarter is the immediate metric to watch.

Separately, Cebu Air earlier reported a second-quarter attributable net loss of P5.49 billion, reversing an attributable net income of P8.51 billion in the same period last year, as expenses outpaced revenue growth. Read against that backdrop, the traffic data shows demand expanding while management emphasizes capacity discipline — the combination that shapes whether passenger growth flows through to the airline’s financial results.

At the local bourse on Thursday, shares of Cebu Air declined by 1.7%, or 40 centavos, to close at P23.10 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose