Update: Cebu Pacific one peso seat sale to all domestic destinations is on! This is from June 10 to June 11, 2010 only. Travel for (almost) free to these places: Manila, Cebu, Clark, Davao, Bacolod, Surigao, Iloilo, Zamboanga, Dipolog, Cagayan de Oro, Boracay, Puerto Princesa, Legazpi, Tagbilaran, Dumaguete, Busuanga and other exciting places. Travel will be valid from January 1 to March 31, 2011.

Philippine Airlines still has its loyalists ( and I still prefer it for the pleasure of having in-flight food) but if figures are to be believed, its rival Cebu Pacific is now officially the Philippines’ largest airline judging from the number of passengers flown on both domestic and international routes for the first quarter of 2010.

The Cebu Pacific website cited statistics from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showing that CEB “flew 2,448,990 domestic and international passengers from January to March this year, almost 110,000 more than Philippine Airlines’ system-wide figures of 2,339,788.” It’s a close fight, but Cebu Pacific now claims to have a 51% share of the market, up 1% from last year’s 50%

In 2009, CEB flew 8.8 million passengers and it expects the numbers to increase by the end of the year with a projected 10 million passengers flown for the whole of 2010.

And while rival PAL is dealing with the possibility of mass layoffs, CEB seems to be awash with funds to buy new aircraft. The Cebu Pacific press statement says it is awaiting delivery of 22 Airbus A320s that can seat 180 people starting in October 2010 up to 2014. This lends credence to Cebu Pacific’s claim that it has the largest line-up of Airbus planes, as well as having the newest fleet among the local airlines. Its present fleet consists of 21 Airbus and 8 ATR 72-500 aircraft.

CEB is the third largest low-cost carrier in Asia and the only low-cost carrier flying to all three major North Asian countries of Japan, China and South Korea. It just introduced its newest international route Brunei which will start on August 21.

Our warmest congratulations to the winners of the Cebu Pacific Wandering Juan online photo contest which we wrote about here before. Competition must have been tight among the travel aficionados who joined the contest, and finally here are the winners:

Resty Uy bagged the top prize in the popular sights category plus a free trip to Singapore. He submitted a dramatic shot of a tsinelas (slippers) being illuminated by the setting sun in Coron, Palawan.

Karen Gonzalez emerged winner in the travelogue category with a series of shots capturing the vivacity of young people in Iloilo. They’re shown performing in a festival, leaping for joy and wading through the sea using their tsinelas which is the central object in the contest.

Michelle Salen topped the people category with her moving photo of a young boy joining the funeral march for the late President Cory Aquino. For this, Michelle wins a free trip to Bangkok. All the other winners also won Canon cameras and a Load Warrior from the Travel Club.

Next time you travel, practice Photography 101, especially those creative shots. Who knows, it can be a rewarding activity for you. I certainly hope Cebu Pacific continues this contest for next year:)

Just got this from the mail a few hours ago. Just goes to prove how top budget airline Cebu Pacific knows their marketing, despite the flight delays, LOL. They have launched the Wandering Juan Photo Contest in time for the lean travelling months of July to October. Get your pics taken in your location of choice, and have a chance to win free round trip tickets for two to Cebu Pacific international destinations, namely Singapore, Bangkok and Kota Kinabalu.

Highlights of the contest mechanics are the following:

1. Local (Filipino) and foreign travellers are eligible to join, for as long as they bought their CebuPac tickets from July 1 to Oct. 31, 2009.

2. Entries should fall under any of these categories:

- Photos of landmarks and other sceneries, with a caption of no more than six sentences.

- Photos of local residents, with a description of the person (including name and occupation) or a memorable quote from the person not exceeding six sentences.

- Travelogue with a series of five photographs that tell a story. It must come with a one-sentence caption.

Entries for all categories should feature a pair of tsinelas (flip-flops or slippers), which may range from Havaianas to Havanas, LOL. For photo samples, view the gallery in the official contest website.

This should be interesting. Hope the contest website doesn’t break down from the weight of all the entries. We know how Filipinos love to take photos during their trips, hehehe. I really don’t know the connection between slippers and Cebu Pacific, but that’s the motif they’ve chosen anyway. In all my recent trips, I’ve worn my favorite, super-soft sandals from Ipanema… so yes, that’s relevant