This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Philippines 50 Report 2026.
Named ASEAN's strongest airline brand in 2025 and the only airline among the Philippines' top 10 strongest brands, Cebu Pacific continues to demonstrate how a clear brand purpose can drive both commercial success and social impact. In a recent interview with Brand Finance, Candice Iyog, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at Cebu Pacific, discusses how the airline has built lasting connections with Filipino travellers while achieving record growth. She also shares how the brand is shaping the future of travel through greater connectivity, operational excellence, and a commitment to making flying accessible to more people.
Interview with Candice Iyog
Cebu Pacific was named ASEAN’s strongest airline brand in 2025 and remains the only airline among the Philippines’ top 10 strongest brands, alongside record passenger volumes. How has the brand continued to build strong connections with Filipino travelers across the country?
Chief Marketing
and Customer
Experience Officer,
Cebu Pacific
The Cebu Pacific (CEB) brand essence has been rooted in a simple idea: making travel accessible to more Filipinos.
Before CEB, flying was largely seen as expensive and occasional, something reserved for special trips or emergencies. CEB helped change that by making air travel more affordable and accessible to everyday Filipinos.
Today, more people can travel for work, education, opportunities, holidays, or simply to return home to their families. Over time, Cebu Pacific has become part of life moments such as first flights, family holidays, and long-awaited reunions. For me, what makes the brand meaningful is not just moving people from one destination to another, but opening access to experiences and opportunities that once felt out of reach.
As connectivity improves, destinations become more accessible and local economies tend to grow alongside them. Siargao is a strong example. When CEB first started flying there, there were questions about demand. Today, the island’s transformation speaks for itself, with tourism creating opportunities for local entrepreneurs, workers, and small businesses.
At the same time, Cebu Pacific has remained culturally close to Filipinos. The brand has always embraced local culture, creativity, and identity in ways that feel genuine rather than performative. The “Weaves” campaign worked with local weaving communities to turn traditional Filipino textiles into QR Flight Codes. More recently, the “Dreamer Plane”, designed by Cebu-based duo Happy Garaje, celebrated Filipino artistry through a special livery for CEB’s 30th anniversary.
These initiatives resonate because they reflect the Filipino spirit: creativity, resilience, optimism, and pride in where we come from.
At its core, CEB’s strength comes from three things: making travel more accessible, supporting community growth through connectivity, and staying closely connected to Filipino culture. That is why the brand continues to resonate across generations of Filipino travellers.
In 2025, Cebu Pacific had around 26.9 million passengers, representing approximately 10% growth year-on-year and recording the highest annual traffic in its history, this despite global aviation challenges. What operational or strategic decisions contributed most to this financial performance?
CEB’s strong performance in 2025 came from staying disciplined and focused on what we do best.
Even as the aviation industry faced supply chain disruptions, rising fuel costs, and broader operational pressures, we stayed focused on the fundamentals of the low-cost carrier model, prioritising efficiency, maximising seat capacity, growing ancillary revenues, and strengthening cargo operations.
Growth came from multiple parts of the business, not just passenger traffic. In 2025, ancillary revenue grew 14% to approximately USD560 million, driven by services such as baggage, seat selection, and meals. Cargo revenue also rose 27% to approximately USD126 million, reflecting stronger demand across logistics and trade.
We stayed consistent in how we built the brand. Through seat sales, campaigns, and digital engagement, CEB remained closely associated with affordable and accessible travel as consumers became more conscious of spending.
Operational discipline also played a major role. We improved aircraft utilisation, strengthened day-to-day reliability, and invested in systems to support growing demand. These efforts helped us carry a record 276.9 million passengers while maintaining a healthy seat load factor.
We also deliberately expanded the network by strengthening hubs outside Metro Manila, including Cebu, Clark, and Davao, helping drive economic development and create more opportunities in communities beyond the capital.
What 2025 reinforced for us is that resilience in aviation does not come from reacting quickly to challenges alone. It comes from having a clear understanding of what the brand stands for and executing consistently, even in a more demanding operating environment.
Cebu Pacific became the first Philippine airline to operate a 100-aircraft fleet. What does this milestone represent for the company’s long-term vision?
CEB reaching a 100-aircraft fleet is meaningful because it reflects both how far the airline has come and how much demand for travel continues to grow across the Philippines and the wider region.
A larger fleet allows CEB to add more flights, strengthen connectivity, and operate more efficiently across high-demand routes. It also helps keep fares accessible while serving more passengers, as growing connectivity continues to drive demand and expand access to travel across the region.
The timing of the milestone is also significant. In Q1 2026 alone, CEB carried close to 8 million passengers and grew seat capacity by 10%, reflecting strong demand across both domestic and international markets.
The addition of aircraft such as the Airbus A330neo is also strategically important. These aircraft provide more flexibility in how capacity is deployed across the network while improving operational efficiency as the airline continues to grow.
But beyond the numbers, the milestone represents something much bigger. Nearly 30 years ago, CEB started with the belief that more Filipinos deserved the opportunity to fly. Reaching a 100-aircraft fleet reflects how much that vision has grown, and how many more people can now travel for work, family, education, or opportunity as air travel becomes more accessible.
It also signals where CEB is heading next: strengthening connectivity, opening more opportunities across the region, and continuing to grow in a way that brings more people forward with it.
What is your vision for the brand over the next decade and how is Cebu Pacific preparing for the future of travel and connectivity?
Over the next decade and beyond, the ambition for CEB is not simply to become a bigger airline. It is to continue growing alongside the Filipino people and to do so in a way that brings people forward with us. In the past 30 years, we have enabled more people to fly. That is a legacy we are proud of. But it is also the foundation for what comes next.
As the needs of Filipino travellers continue to evolve, the ambition for the brand must evolve alongside them.
We want to connect more people, places, and opportunities. Every new route can do more than move passengers. It can support tourism, strengthen local businesses, connect families, and contribute to economic growth across communities.
We also want CEB to be a stronger platform for Filipino identity and pride, where people see themselves in the brand, the stories we tell, and the culture, warmth, and resilience Filipinos are known for globally.
As the airline grows, there is also a responsibility to ensure that growth remains inclusive. Progress only matters if people feel part of it. The goal is not simply to modernise or expand for scale, but to ensure more Filipinos benefit from greater access to travel and connectivity.
Technology will continue shaping the future of travel, with operations becoming more seamless, efficient, and digitally enabled. But at the centre of Cebu Pacific’s long-term vision is something deeply human: the belief that travel can continue opening doors for more people, just as it has for nearly 30 years.
