Cebu Pacific, Flyadeal Forge Strategic Partnership for Wet Lease, Commercial Cooperation

Cebu Pacific (CEB) Chief Executive Officer Mike Szucs and Flyadeal Chief Executive Officer Steven Greenway . Image: CEB/flyadeal

​Cebu Pacific (CEB), Philippines’ leading carrier, and flyadeal, Saudi Arabia’s fast growing low-cost airline, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore joint strategic commercial initiatives.

The historic agreement covers a wide range of opportunities in commercial cooperation and support in maintenance and engineering.

The first phase of the MoU will see flyadeal utilize two of Cebu Pacific’s Airbus A320 aircraft on a wet-lease arrangement for the upcoming summer peak flying season in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Reciprocally, Cebu Pacific is examining wet-leasing flyadeal A320s during the busy winter period in Southeast Asia at the end of the year.

The agreement was signed at a joint press conference held in Manila today at which flyadeal chief executive officer (CEO) Steven Greenway and Cebu Pacific CEO Mike Szucs outlined plans for a phased cooperation beginning with the wet-lease arrangement.

Talks between the two airlines began earlier this year following a visit by Greenway and a f lyadeal delegation to Manila to learn more about Cebu Pacific’s A330-900neo operations. f lyadeal, the Middle East’s fastest growing airline, recently announced plans to venture into the long-haul market with an order for 10 A330 widebodies to be deployed between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines, and across southeast Asia from 2027.

Greenway said: “Today’s agreement is momentous as it marks flyadeal’s first ever strategic airline partnership. It was clear and obvious that flyadeal could learn a lot from Cebu Pacific’s experience of low-cost long-haul operations given we will be inducting the same A330-900neos into our fleet in just two years’ time. There are great benefits in sharing technical knowledge, training, and best practice in preparation for our A330 induction and, of course, we are both A320 operators.

“This was the starting point for wide-ranging commercial discussions covering a broad range of areas including more immediate needs of wet-leasing aircraft for flyadeal’s busy upcoming summer season. A win, win situation all round to bring in Cebu Pacific aircraft during our peak period and vice versa for Mike and his team to explore taking our aircraft for their winter peak later this year.”

Szucs explained: “With Cebu Pacific’s growing fleet, we seek to maximize the potential of our increased capacity through all months of the year. The utilization of our capacity by other carriers during our lean season is a way of achieving that.”

“This partnership with flyadeal highlights Cebu Pacific’s growing capability to support international carriers through wet leasing and broader operational collaboration. It diversifies our revenue streams and further expands Cebu Pacific’s presence beyond the Asia Pacific region.”

Both CEOs said their respective teams will meet frequently to map out the joint commercial plans over the next few months.

Cebu Pacific is the Philippines’ largest carrier both domestically and internationally with 37 domestic destinations, with hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark, Iloilo, and Davao. It also currently operates flights to 26 international destinations, spanning across Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. Cebu Pacific currently operates a fleet of 98 aircraft—the youngest jet fleet in the Philippines—including a diversified mix of Airbus A320, A321, A330, and ATR aircraft.

In 2024, CEB signed a landmark purchase agreement with Airbus and Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, for up to 152 A321neo aircraft, equipped with Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engines. This acquisition—which has a minimum commitment of 70 aircraft—is the largest in Philippine aviation history, valued at approximately USD $24 billion (PHP 1.4 trillion) based on list prices for the entire 152 aircraft order. This purchase agreement reflects CEB’s unwavering optimism for the future of air travel and steadfast commitment to meeting the evolving needs of passengers.

CEB was awarded as the Best Low-Cost Airline Brand in the Philippines in 2023 by World Economic Magazine, and the Best Airline in 2024 by Route Asia Awards. CEB is also a recognized ESG leader in both the Philippines and the Global Airline Industry. It also received a Gold Rating for Environmental Sustainability from Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in 2023 and achieved an MSCI ESG rating of ‘AA’ in 2024. Only two companies in the Philippines and only 11 airlines in the world achieve this distinction.

CEB remains dedicated to providing affordable and accessible flights, enabling more travelers to connect with people, explore new places, and seize opportunities across the Philippines and beyond.

On 23 September 2017, National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, flyadeal began operations with its historic maiden flight from Jeddah to Riyadh. A pioneer and innovator, flyadeal was the first regional low-cost airline to be launched only across digital distribution channels. Being the sister airline of full-service national carrier Saudia — both under the umbrella ownership of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation (Saudia Group) — flyadeal was created for the price-conscious and tech-savvy consumer in mind in a market where 80 per cent of the Saudi population is aged less than 40 years and has at least two mobile phones.

flyadeal aims to stimulate travel, tourism and trade with its affordable, value for money everyday fares catering to leisure, religious, family and business travellers. Simplicity is key with an all-Economy Class cabin across flyadeal’s narrowbody fleet. With the Kingdom undergoing dramatic transformation through its Vision 2030 economic diversification drive, aviation and tourism are among the many sectors earmarked for dynamic growth. flyadeal is the fastest growing airline in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Middle East, recognised for excellence in on-time performance that is consistently above the global industry average.

flyadeal operates a young fleet of Airbus A320 narrowbody aircraft flying from bases in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to destinations across Saudi Arabia with a growing international footprint in Europe, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. The airline has flown over 35 million passengers since its inaugural flight. In May 2024, flyadeal placed its biggest ever order for 51 aircraft – 12 A320neos and 39 larger A321neos – with a delivery schedule beginning in 2026. In addition, flyadeal will operate long-haul scheduled services from 2027 with the phased induction of 10 Airbus A330neo widebody aircraft ordered by Saudia Group in April 2025.

By 2030, flyadeal plans to operate hundreds of routes that will see its fleet and network triple in number to over 100 aircraft and destinations, respectively. flyadeal’s aggressive expansion drive makes the rapidly growing airline one of the country’s most desirable companies to work for.