The Philippine Airlines (PAL) projects flying more or less 18 million passengers this year on the basis of air travel proving more bubbly than in 2023. It projects passenger volume rising as high as 20 percent.
“We’re expecting about 10 to 20 percent growth,” Capt. Stanley Ng, PAL president and chief operating officer, said.
PAL carried 14.7 million passengers last year, up 58 percent from 9.3 million passengers in 2022.
The flag carrier operated 105,294 flights during the period, a 36-percent growth from only 77,533 flights mounted in 2022. This represented an increase of more than 27,000 flights.
As consequence, the airline posted net income of USD379 million (P21 billion) last year, higher by 92 percent from only USD197 million (P11 billion) logged in 2022.
PAL has set aside USD450 million as capital expenditure this year, higher than only USD170 million spent in 2023.
The airline would use about 80 percent of capex to refurbish aircraft, maintain and upgrade as well as pay for delivery.
PAL recently acquired an additional 777-300 ER aircraft as a first step towards renewing its long-haul fleet.
“We are progressively renewing our fleet. We ordered nine airbus A350 1000s for routes to North America. Deliveries will start in 2025,” said PAL senior vice president and general counsel Carlos Luis Fernandez.
The new aircraft include 13 Airbus 321 NEOs scheduled for delivery until 2029.
