Cebu Pacific @30: Celebrating the journey, not the destination
For years, airline brand videos have been near stand-ins for tourism promotion reels, highlighting their home country’s most marketable attractions, or sleek fleet showcases spotlighting the carrier’s fleet of aircraft.
But that is not the route budget carrier Cebu Pacific took this year. As it marks its 30th anniversary, the airline pivoted from picture-perfect destinations and toward the stories behind its crew and passengers.
Last week, Cebu Pacific released the latest installment of its brand film, “Si Cebie at Ako,” a two-minute production centered on Anna Faye, an aspiring flight attendant, and her pursuit of that dream alongside her father, an overseas Filipino worker.
Strip away the airline branding, and the film could easily pass for a “teleserye” episode.
The video leans heavily into drama, weaving in moments of setbacks—including Anna failing her first flight attendant interview—and strikes close to home for many Filipinos by telling a familiar story of families separated by overseas work.
In doing so, Cebu Pacific gives a new life to the old adage: it’s not about the destination, but the journey.
“The ‘Where Dreams Fly’ campaign, which includes ‘Si Cebie at Ako,’ takes a different approach from our usual campaigns because it focuses less on the destinations, or flights,” the carrier tells the Inquirer. “This time, we want to shine light on the stories of everyone who flies with us.”
“Travel is not just about getting from point A to point B,” it adds. “Life actually happens in between, which makes the journey more meaningful.”
Own turbulence
Perhaps the most striking element of the film is Anna’s imperfect journey.
After struggling through her interview process, Anna eventually becomes a flight attendant with Cebu Pacific, but only after her father has died, as the video implies. This circles back to a promise he made when she was a child: that one day, they would fly together.
This sense of imperfection is something that Cebu Pacific itself appears willing to embrace.
“Over the past 30 years, Cebu Pacific has faced moments that tested its resilience,” the airline says.
Chief among them was the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought global travel to a standstill and forced airlines to suspend operations.
From 143,897 flights and 22.5 million passengers in 2019, Cebu Pacific’s flights fell 71 percent to just 41,804 in 2020, while passenger numbers plummeted 78 percent to about 5 million. Revenue dropped to P22.6 billion, down 73 percent from prepandemic levels.
The airline eventually recovered in 2024, surpassing pre-pandemic passenger volumes with 24.5 million travelers. But this rebound did not mean Cebu Pacific was entirely out of the woods.
In the latter half of 2025, the carrier faced fresh supply chain challenges, particularly involving Pratt & Whitney engines, which grounded portions of its fleet and weighed on passenger volume forecasts.
Takeoff
Still, the airline sees this turbulence as part of a longer, uneven journey.
“We wanted to capture the essence of perseverance, showing how every journey has its ups and downs, but also its rewards,” it says.
“Through these experiences, Cebu Pacific focused on keeping people moving, enabling connections, and helping dreams take flight.”
That message appears to have resonated with the Filipino audience. Since its release, the brand film has drawn more than half a million views on Facebook alone.
By leaning into turbulence, Cebu Pacific gives its 30th anniversary a more grounded and credible tone. And it offers a reassurance to many Filipinos that setbacks, while painful, aren’t enough to stop dreams from taking off.
