Sunlight Express Airways

What Sunlight Express Airways does

Sunlight Express Airways, Corp., doing business as Sunlight Air, is a private Philippine boutique airline founded in 2019 and headquartered in Parañaque City, Metro Manila. The carrier operates a domestic scheduled route network using ATR 72 turboprop aircraft, connecting Clark and Cebu hubs to five island destinations: Cebu, Coron, Boracay, Siquijor, and Siargao. Revenue is generated across five streams: passenger ticket sales (with promotional one-way fares starting from PhP 488), private aircraft charter, bundled vacation packages (flight plus accommodation and dining), the SmartPass® all-inclusive fare subscription, and the Sunlight Miles loyalty program.

The company serves a primarily consumer base composed of domestic leisure travelers and families, with secondary segments for private charter customers, group bookings, and corporate accounts. Distribution is hybrid: direct-to-consumer via the sunlightair.ph website, res.sunlightair.ph booking platform, and iOS/Android mobile applications (including an APP8 promotional code for an 8% discount); agent-assisted via a dedicated travel-agent portal; and direct sales for group and corporate clients. Differentiated offerings include the recently launched FlyFam family program with Infants Fly Free (children 0-2), SmartPass® price-locking, and the quarterly Sunlight Air Gazette inflight publication.

Sunlight Air distributes marketing through its website, mobile apps, email newsletters, social media (Facebook, Instagram), and promotional seat sales, with support from PR activity announcing fare changes and program launches. The operating geography is exclusively the Philippines, the carrier is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors or parent company, and registered trademarks cover the SmartPass®, FlyFam, and Sunlight Miles brands.

Name

Sunlight Express Airways

Legal name

Sunlight Express Airways, Corp.

Website

https://sunlightair.ph

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sunlight Express Airways (DBA Sunlight Air) is a private Philippine boutique airline operating ATR 72 turboprop flights from Clark and Cebu hubs to five island destinations (Cebu, Coron, Boracay, Siquijor, Siargao), serving leisure travelers, families, charter customers, and corporate groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Domestic Passenger Air Transportation

NAICS

Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation (481111)

SIC

Air Transportation, Scheduled (4512)

akta.pro primary industry

Turboprop Regional Airlines (THABACAJ)

Keywords

• Domestic passenger flights
• Island air travel
• Private charter services
• Vacation packages
• Frequent flyer program

Headquarters

HQ city

Manila

HQ country

Philippines

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Passenger Air Transportation: Core revenue from selling scheduled commercial flights across Philippine island routes including Cebu, Coron, Boracay, Siquijor, Siargao, and Clark. Revenue generated through variable ticket pricing with base fares starting from PhP 488.
2. Private Charter Services: Revenue from exclusive aircraft charter services offering customers their own aircraft, schedule, and destination with competitive pricing.
3. Vacation Packages: Bundled travel products combining flights, accommodation, and dining for island getaways, creating additional revenue per transaction.
4. SmartPass Subscriptions: All-inclusive fare product that locks in pricing for travelers, providing predictable revenue and customer lock-in through value-based pricing.
5. Loyalty Program Monetization: Sunlight Miles program generates ancillary revenue through mile redemption for flights and partner benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sunlight Express Airways (Sunlight Air) operates scheduled domestic passenger air transportation across the Philippines using ATR 72 turboprop aircraft, with hubs in Clark and Cebu and routes to island destinations including Coron, Boracay, Siquijor, and Siargao. It supplements scheduled service with ancillary products such as SmartPass all-inclusive fare passes, Private Charter aircraft hire, FlyFam family-services enhancements, bundled vacation packages, and the Sunlight Miles loyalty program.

Product overview

Sunlight Express Airways is a boutique airline operating in the Philippines, offering direct flights to popular island destinations including Cebu, Coron, Boracay, Siquijor, and Siargao. The company provides a core flight booking service through its reservation platform, complemented by several specialized products: SmartPass® (all-inclusive fare program with price locking), Private Charter® (customized private aircraft service), FlyFam (family travel enhancement program), and Vacations (bundled flight and accommodation packages). Additional offerings include the Sunlight Air Mobile App for trip management, Sunlight Miles loyalty program, and the Sunlight Air Gazette inflight publication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SmartPass: All-inclusive one-way fares that lock in price, allowing customers to fly anytime without worrying about rising costs.
• FlyFam
• Private Charter

Products and services

• SmartPass All-inclusive one-way fare product that locks in pricing so travelers can fly anytime without exposure to fare increases; available in Value and Plus tiers with an 8% mobile app discount.
• Private Charter Private aircraft charter service giving customers exclusive use of an aircraft with personalized scheduling and destination choices.
• FlyFam Family travel program featuring priority services, family seating, luggage assistance, and the Infants Fly Free benefit for children aged 0 to under 2.
• Vacations Bundled vacation packages combining Sunlight Air flights with accommodation and dining for island getaways.
• Sunlight Air Mobile App Native iOS and Android application for booking flights, managing trips, checking flight status, online check-in, and accessing mobile boarding passes.
• Sunlight Miles Frequent flyer loyalty program with member tiers, miles earning on flights, and miles redemption for flights and partner benefits.
• Flight Booking & Management Scheduled domestic passenger air transportation on ATR 72 turboprop aircraft between mainland hubs and Philippine island destinations, booked and managed through the res.sunlightair.ph platform.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cebu Pacific: Cebu Pacific is the dominant low-cost carrier in the Philippines, operating both domestic island routes and international services with a much larger fleet. It competes with Sunlight Air directly on core domestic routes including Cebu and other tourist islands, and serves as the most relevant benchmark for ticket pricing, load factor, and unit economics in the Philippine market.
• AirAsia Philippines: AirAsia Philippines is the Philippine arm of the AirAsia Group, operating low-cost scheduled flights on similar domestic tourist routes. It directly competes on price (seat sales) and network breadth with Sunlight Air and is one of the most comparable businesses in terms of target customer (price-sensitive leisure travelers) and operating model.
• PAL Express: PAL Express is the regional/domestic subsidiary of Philippine Airlines, operating turboprop and regional jet services on Philippine domestic routes. It is a direct competitor to Sunlight Air on island and secondary-city routes and serves as a useful benchmark for the regional segment of the Philippine market.
• Cebgo: Cebgo is the regional/ATR turboprop subsidiary of Cebu Pacific, operating short-haul island routes in the Philippines with ATR 72 aircraft. It is the closest direct comparable to Sunlight Air in terms of fleet type (ATR 72 turboprop), route structure (short island hops), and operational model—making it the most relevant fleet-comparability peer.

Emerging players

• AirSwift: AirSwift is a Philippine-focused regional airline operating turboprop services to smaller islands and tourist destinations from hubs such as Clark and Cebu—sharing both Sunlight Air's hubs and route typology. It is an emerging peer with strong overlap on niche island routes and similar boutique commercial/charter mix.
• SkyJet Airlines: SkyJet Airlines is a Philippine boutique carrier focused on domestic and short-haul international routes, including chartered and scheduled services. Its small-fleet, niche-positioning model parallel Sunlight Air's boutique strategy, making it a relevant emerging/direct peer in the Philippine boutique segment.

Regional players

• Nok Air: Nok Air is a Thai low-cost carrier historically focused on domestic regional routes in Thailand using a mix of aircraft types. While not a direct Philippine competitor, its small-fleet, domestic-focused operating model and travel-agency oriented distribution represent a useful Southeast Asian comparable for boutique regional economics.
• Wings Air: Wings Air is an Indonesian regional carrier operating ATR 72 turboprop services across the Indonesian archipelago with a similar short-haul island-hopping model. While geographically distinct, it offers comparable business mechanics (turboprop fleet, regional island routes, low-cost positioning) and serves as a useful Southeast Asian comparable for fleet and route economics.
• Bamboo Airways: Bamboo Airways is a Vietnamese hybrid carrier that launched with a boutique positioning combining scheduled domestic services with charter and package offerings. While based in Vietnam, its mix of scheduled regional flights, charter services, and vacation bundles mirrors Sunlight Air's portfolio strategy, making it a useful regional playbook comparable.

Broad incumbents

• Philippine Airlines: Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the Philippines' flag carrier, operating a broad domestic and intercontinental network. While PAL serves as a full-service incumbent with dedicated premium cabins and long-haul services, its domestic mainland/island route network overlaps directly with Sunlight Air's island destinations, making it a relevant peer for the scheduled domestic segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/experiencesunlight
• Instagraminstagram.com/sunlightair.ph
• Xx.com/AirSunlighkm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunlight Express Airways