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After nearly 20 years, Cebu
Pacific is sporting a new
look. “The new branding
is an evolution of the old
one,” explains Candice
Alabanza-Iyog, the airline’s
Vice-President for Marketing
and Distribution. “So it’s built
on the same values the airline
was founded on, but better
reflects our mission.”
To get a full sense of
this mission, you’ll need to
hear a bit of backstory, and
current airline CEO Lance
Gokongwei is more than
happy to share Cebu Pacific’s
amazing journey, from being
“the little airline that could” in
the late 1990s to becoming
most people’s go-to airline in
the Philippines in just under
Cebu Pacific's
rebranding
Behind
the scenes
Brand new
heavyweight
As Cebu Pacific steps up as a truly global
Filipino airline, its head honchos and the folks
behind its updated look talk us through the
cool changes
20 years. “It all began with a
dream my father [industrialist
John Gokongwei] had,”
he explains. “He wanted to
serve the vast majority of
the traveling public in the
Philippines. There was an
apparent need for more
affordable flights and he
wanted to address that.”
Twenty years ago, air travel
in the Philippines seemed
to be a luxury exclusive to
those who could afford the
often hefty price tag. When
Cebu Pacific arrived on the
scene as the first low-cost
carrier in the Philippines
and in all of Asia, it offered
low fares all year round, plus
regular promotions that saw
rates dive to as low as PHP1.
The airline was a game-
changer as soon as it took
flight. “Apart from making
necessary travel possible
where it wasn’t before, the
airline also enabled people
to act on their wanderlust,”
says Candice. “It allowed
more people to travel for fun
without breaking the bank.”
A frequent flier recalls
feeling the collective
excitement as the airline’s
domestic network grew and,
along with it, the possibilities for
adventure. “All of a sudden we
were booking flights to places
we’d only vaguely heard of,” she
says. “We didn’t have to spend
long weekends prowling one
mall after another. We were
making travel checklists.” By the
The team
at Bonsey
Design
PHOTOS: BONSEY BY FRANZ NAVARRETE; LANCE GOKONGWEI BY MJ SUAYAN
