Cebu Pacific wary of Iran war-driven fuel price spike

Cebu Pacific warned that soaring fuel prices linked to the Iran war could pressure airline operations. This, even as the low-cost carrier reported continued growth in passenger traffic in February.

On Friday, Cebu Air Inc. CEO Mike Szucs said the airline remains cautious about the potential impact of sharply rising fuel costs amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which are disrupting global oil markets.

“We remain cognizant of the ongoing crisis and uncertainty in the Middle East, and the potential impact of sharply increasing fuel prices on our business,” Szucs said.

“We will continue to review pricing and network strategies to ensure we minimize the negative impact of the higher fuel prices,” he added.

Despite emerging headwinds, the airline said underlying travel demand remained resilient.

Cebu Pacific carried about 2.34 million passengers in February, up 7.9 percent from 2.17 million in the same month last year.

This growth came as the airline expanded seat capacity by 9.5 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, systemwide seat load factor reached 85.6 percent, slightly lower than the 86.8 percent recorded a year earlier.

Domestic passenger traffic rose 7.6 percent to 1.73 million, while international traffic increased 8.8 percent to 610,000.

For the first two months of 2026, Cebu Pacific carried 5.07 million passengers, up 7 percent from the same period last year.

The number of domestic passengers reached 3.74 million, a 6.2 percent increase. International passenger traffic climbed 9.2 percent to 1.33 million.

Szucs said Cebu Pacific has “relative advantages” over other airlines amid the global oil supply crunch.