Philippine Airlines on Wednesday projected a strong recovery this year that is seen sustaining its solid financial performance in 2022.
“We are expecting a continuing strong market recovery so there are plans in place to enhance and upgrade our fleet. We’re taking back some of the aircraft we relinquished during the Chapter 11 restructuring. One tri-class Airbus A330 was delivered back to us last January, and we are working on the return of the other airplanes,” Lucio Tan III, PAL director said at the flag carrier’s 82nd anniversary lunch.
PAL and Airbus earlier agreed to defer the delivery of 13 Airbus 321-231 NEO aircraft from 2026 to 2029 instead of the original delivery schedule from 2022 to 2025.
“We are also re-activating more aircraft that we parked during the pandemic, with all of them going back in service between now and the fourth quarter,” he added.
At present, PAL operates 68 aircraft of the total fleet of 75.
Tan said the carrier’s fleet expansion program will require big investments but the company is determined to take the needed action to ensure PAL offers reliable and competitive service that’s responsive to the market.
Captain Stanley Ng, PAL president and chief operating officer, said PAL delivered a solid performance last year.
PAL Holdings Inc., its parent firm, earlier posted a P9.68-billion comprehensive income in the first nine months of 2022, a turnaround from the P27.19-billion loss in the same period in 2021.
“Financially, we are in a better position after the restructuring. For the first quarter, we are looking good. For the full year, we are optimistic.”
Captain Stanley Ng, PAL president and chief operating officer
“Were giving passengers new and more reasons to fly PAL. So expect that in time flight frequencies will increase. We will create stronger connectivity locally and internationally,” Ng said.
He noted PAL is back 100 percent of its pre-pandemic domestic flights out of its Manila and Cebu hub of operations.
PAL flights now extend to the far corners of Asia and Oceania with more flights to more destinations in Australia than any other airline.
“We are excited to be back flying to mainland China, so we expect further growth in business and tourism from there,” Ng said.
