Cebu Pacific bags tax incentive,other perks for fleet expansion

May 12, 2008 (The Manila Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- -- 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.

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