Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific breached the 22-million passenger mark in the first 10 months of the year despite a slight decline in October, putting the airline within reach to break last year’s record.

In a public disclosure, Cebu Pacific said it served 22.03 million passengers from January to October, a 12-percent jump from 19.61 million passengers in the same period last year.

The Gokongwei-led airline reported that its domestic passengers rose by 11 percent to 16.43 million passengers during the 10-month period, compared to last year’s 14.82 million passengers.

Meanwhile, end-October international passengers reached 5.6 million, 17-percent higher than 4.79 million passengers a year ago.

During the 10-month period, Cebu Pacific offered 26.14 million seats, 13-percent more than last year’s 23.24 million seats.

Seat load factor, which measures the percentage of available seats occupied by passengers, remained firm at 84.3 percent.

Taking into account October alone, Cebu Pacific served 2.08 million passengers during the month, slightly down from 2.1 million passengers in the same month last year.

Domestic passengers in October fell to 1.55 million, while international passengers improved to 534,000.

During the month, the airline put up 2.63 million seats compared to last year’s 2.61 million seats, while seat load factor fell from 80.5 percent to 79.3 percent.

Cebu Pacific Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mark Cezar said the carrier intentionally moderated its flights in October to ensure operational resilience amid the upcoming peak holiday season.

“October reflected our active capacity management, as we navigated ongoing supply chain challenges,” he said.

Cezar noted that aircraft-on-ground (AOG) issues related to engines procured from American aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, as well as weather-related disruptions were among the challenges faced by the airline that month.

He added that similar headwinds and moderation are expected in November.

“We will be returning to double-digit capacity growth in December and January,” said Cezar.

Cebu Pacific is banking on strong demand over the holidays, particularly in December, to surpass last year’s record of 24.5 million passengers.

It plans to post a 20-percent growth from last year’s figures, with a target of around 29 million passengers by the end of the year.

Cebu Pacific pointed to stronger passenger volume so far this year as the main driver of its revenues in the first three quarters, which totaled ₱87.6 billion.

The airline’s net income in the nine-month period reached ₱9.47 billion, markedly higher than the ₱3.37 billion in the same period last year.