Cebu Air parent sees oil bonanza trumping risks to demand

JG Summit Holdings expects its Philippine airline to carry a million more passengers this year, as decade-low prices for crude oil flow through to cheaper fares. Cebu Air will probably carry more than 19m passengers this year, up from more than 18m in 2015, president Lance Gokongwei said. Gokongwei said the fall in fuel prices does have its downsides, though. "First is that fuel surcharges have been removed, so that has reduced yields" on Cebu Air flights, he said. "Second, it's a manifestation of weaker economic growth globally, especially with concerns about China's weakening economy. There also are currency fears in emerging markets." Cebu Air, which was unprofitable in Q3 2015 due to fuel hedging and currency losses, is reviewing its fuel-purchase strategy and will consider adding more hedges to take advantage of the current low fuel price, Gokongwei said. <br/>