MANILA -- Cebu Pacific is now reviewing the proposals sent by aircraft manufacturer Airbus and Boeing for what is considered the biggest single plane order in the country. 

Cebu Pacific said it is eyeing to buy up to 150 aircraft in one order.

Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer Xander Lao said the airline has received the proposals after issuing a ‘Request for Proposals’ to the two Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). They may complete the process in the first half of the year.

The airline earlier said an order of 100 aircraft would cost over $12 billion based on catalogue prices, and 150 aircraft could reach around $18 billion.

Lao said the carrier wants to pursue this huge single order instead of having smaller separate orders because they are optimistic of the Philippine economy and the opening of new airports across the country.

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“There are a lot more infrastructure opportunities, whether it is the privatization of NAIA that’s coming soon or the opening of Bulacan in 2026, 2027. Those are huge opportunities. And clearly ordering 10-15 aircraft will not be sufficient to take on those opportunities,” Lao said.

Previous plane orders of Cebu Pacific were only around 30 aircraft or less. This development also opens up the budget carrier to having Boeing airplanes, since the airline mostly use Airbus planes today. It used to operate a Boeing plane.

With the order still being finalized, Cebu Pacific is banking on the arrival of 14 new aircraft this 2024 amid the supply chain issue affecting many airlines across the world.

Cebu Pacific has recently signed a damp lease agreement for two planes with Bulgaria Air because of the growing passenger demand. The airline, however, is not prioritizing new destinations for now, but may connect different existing stations.

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“Connecting more dots, making existing routes thicker, reviewing bases. We talked about Caticlan earlier, we also talked about Bohol,” said Candice Iyog, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer of Cebu Pacific.

Lao added: “ We try to make our operations as efficient as possible. We try to increase the utilization of of our aircraft. We try to make our flight routes more efficient.”

Cebu Pacific currently has 78 aircraft, some of which are being repaired due to the Pratt & Whitney engine global issue.