Conrad Clifford (left), regional vice President for Asia Pacific of the International Air Transport Association presents the IATA Certificate of Membership to Cebu Pacific president and CEO Lance Gokongwei.

Leading Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) joins the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), the trade association for the global airline industry. CEB is IATA’s largest member among Philippine carriers, comprising 44 percent of total domestic passenger volume and 46 percent of total domestic cargo, based on data from the Philippines’ Civil Aeronautics Board.

IATA is comprised of over 290 member-airlines from 117 countries, representing 82 percent of global air traffic. With some of the world’s leading passenger and cargo airlines as members, IATA represents, leads and serves the airline industry.

Cebu Pacific was formally inducted into IATA by Conrad Clifford, Regional Vice President for Asia Pacific. The IATA team also briefed top management of Cebu Pacific on IATA governance, industry concerns and how the organization can support CEB’s expansion plans.

“We are pleased to join IATA as we can gain access to expertise and learnings on best practices and innovations among global airlines, as well as help formulate policies on critical aviation issues.

Moreover, we will also be able to share our own operational experience and contribute to further developing the airline industry as a whole,” said Lance Gokongwei, president and CEO of Cebu Pacific.

For his part, Conrad Clifford, vice president for Asia Pacific said the entry of Cebu Pacific augurs well for the growth of the country’s travel and tourism sector.

“We warmly welcome Cebu Pacific, Asia’s oldest low-cost carrier, to the IATA family. Today about 20 percent of our members globally are low-cost carriers and we encourage more to join. We look forward to working together with the Cebu Pacific team to help shape industry standards, best practices and policies that ensure the safe, efficient and sustainable growth of aviation in the Philippines and Asia. Together with our 290-plus member airlines, we make aviation the business of freedom,” Clifford said.

Cebu Pacific achieved full compliance with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), joining a registry of 437 carriers worldwide that have strictly complied with an internationally-recognized and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. Recently, Cebu Pacific was named the “Most Improved Airline” for 2020 by airline safety and product review website airlineratings.com, citing the carrier’s commitment to “expand its global footprint using new generation fuel-efficient aircraft.”

As of end-September 2019, Cebu Pacific ramped-up capacity by 23 percent, totaling 19 million seats. The carrier flew close to 16 million passengers on 121 routes with more than 2,600 weekly flights.