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Tag: Philippine Airlines

  • Philippine Airlines inks deal for nine A350-1000s

    Philippine Airlines inks deal for nine A350-1000s

    PAL and Airbus officials sign the Purchase Agreement for 9 Airbus A350-1000s on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show: PAL President Capt. Stanley Ng (center), PAL Holdings President Lucio Tan III (leftmost), Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer (3rd from right) and Airbus Asia Pacific Pres. Anand Stanley (rightmost)

    Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Airbus have finalized a purchase agreement for the firm order of nine A350-1000 aircraft, at the 2023 Paris Air Show held at La Brouget, France this week.

    The A350-1000 will fly on non-stop services from Manila to North America, including to the East Coast of the US and Canada. The new aircraft, able to accommodate 380 passengers in a three-class layout, will join two A350-900s already in service at the airline. Expected time frame for the first delivery was not mentioned.

    Captain Stanley K. Ng, president and chief operating officer of Philippine Airlines, said the order will see PAL operating one of the youngest and most modern widebody fleets in Asia.

    “We selected the A350-1000 to give PAL the power to match capacity closely to predicted demand on both the very longest routes to the North American East Coast but also on our prime trunk routes to the West Coast and potentially to Europe as well. At the same time the aircraft will use significantly less fuel than older aircraft of a similar size, which also brings an important reduction in carbon emissions.”

    Airbus claims the A350 offers the longest range capability of any commercial airliner in production today and is capable of flying 9,700 nautical miles or 18,000 kilometers non-stop. For cargo, it has a payload of 68 tonnes and a capacity of 44 LD3 containers. So far, only Qatar and Virgin own an A350-1000.

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  • Philippine Airlines suspends all UK flights

    Philippine Airlines suspends all UK flights

    Philippine Airlines has suspended flights to and from London till the end of February 2021 as Britain battles a new coronavirus strain, said a report.

    The airline said it supports all measures that seek to curb any potential increase in Covid-19 cases during the holiday season and beyond.

    Passengers already in transit and those who arrived in the Philippines from the UK before December 24 will be allowed to enter the country, but they must undergo stricter quarantine and testing protocols, the report cited Presidential spokesman Harry Roque as saying.

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  • Philippine Airlines to operate Manila-London roundtrip for stranded travellers

    Philippine Airlines to operate Manila-London roundtrip for stranded travellers

    Philippine Airlines will fly a single round-trip flight between Manila and London Heathrow on April 4 “in response to an urgent public need amid Covid-19 quarantine situation,” the airline said in a notice posted on its website.

    While the airline initially announced that it would pause all remaining international flights from March 26 until April 14 last week, it will now operate this one-off service to the UK to help stranded travelers return home.

    The Manila-London Heathrow flight (PR720) will be allowed to carry only UK nationals to comply with “current Covid-related UK immigration restrictions”, the airline said.

    The return leg (PR721), on the other hand, will be allowed to carry only Filipinos, their foreign spouse and children, and officials from governments and international organizations.

    The service will be operated with an Airbus A350-900, which has seats for 295 passengers.

    Hundreds of thousands of British citizens are thought to be struggling to get home from overseas after the UK government advised all British travelers to come home as soon as possible on March 23. Many airlines are operating a small number of flights to help stranded passengers return home after countries around the world closed their borders to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

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  • Philippine airlines are losing Chinese tourists amid coronavirus outbreak

    Philippine airlines are losing Chinese tourists amid coronavirus outbreak

    When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pursued closer foreign relations with China, he helped attract planeloads of Chinese tourists to the Southeast Asian nation. Now, the coronavirus outbreak is reversing the trend, much to the chagrin of airline companies.

    Budget carrier Cebu Pacific has put its expansion plans into the Chinese market on hold after the Covid-19 disease triggered the biggest health scare in the region since the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003. Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have both canceled all China-related flights until the end of March, and both stocks have taken a beating along the way.

    The country has reported three infection cases, and recorded the first death outside China on February 2. After that, Duterte imposed a sweeping ban on travels to and from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau to protect the country in one of the most drastic reactions by regional governments. Approvals for visas on arrival have also been tightened.

    “Traveller volumes on China-Philippines routes have fallen,” said Jose Enrique Perez De Tagle, vice-president of corporate communications at PAL Holdings, which owns Philippine Airlines. Mainland Chinese account for about 10 percent of its global passengers, he added.

    Global travel restrictions on Chinese travelers as airlines cut flights to mainland
    15 Feb 2020

    Since Duterte won the presidential election in June 2016, the combative president has embraced closer ties with Beijing despite territorial disputes in the South China Sea. He has also distanced the country from the US, including a decision last week to end the Visiting Forces Agreement, a 21-year pact that allowed US troops to be based in the country for bilateral exercises.

    Mainland Chinese tourists have since become the nation’s second-largest source of tourist arrivals in the Philippines, according to government data. They made up more than one-fifth of the 7.5 million arrivals in the first 11 months of last year, versus 9.1 percent in 2013.

    The Philippines received 1.26 million Chinese tourists in 2018 versus 491,000 in 2015, according to Colliers, citing government data. They spent US$1,130 per person on average, boosting the retail and tourism sectors. In January to November last year, arrivals jumped 40 percent year-on-year, faster than the national average of 10-15 percent, Colliers said.

    Ending Philippines-US military pact will affect South China Sea disputes: analysts
    16 Feb 2020

    The coronavirus outbreak has claimed more than 1,800 lives and infected more than 71,000 people worldwide, mostly in mainland China.

    Before the outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, local carriers were emboldened by the surge in Chinese visitors to consider adding more routes in China to take advantage of the growth.

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  • Fast-Growing Philippine Airlines Emerging as Regional Power

    Fast-Growing Philippine Airlines Emerging as Regional Power

    Once debt-ridden, Philippine Airlines (PAL) has emerged as one of the fastest growing carriers in its region.

    On June 8 it launched a daily Manila-Kuala Lumpur flight using Airbus A321 aircraft after a lapse of four years. Despite the presence of Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines with seven daily services on the route, PAL is confident of making an impression. Last month PAL also introduced a daily Tagbilaran-Incheon service, making it the sixth Filipino city to connect with South Korea, joining Manila, Cebu, Clark, Kalibo and Puerto Princesa.

    PAL has begun reconfiguring its fleet of 15 Airbus A330-300s from an all-economy-class layout that seats 414 passengers to a three-class, business, premium economy and economy class arrangement designed to seat 309.

    PAL placed the first reconfigured aircraft on international routes last month, starting with Dubai and Honolulu. This month it inducts more on its Melbourne and Doha routes, followed by Sydney and Riyadh in August, Singapore, Kuwait and Jeddah in September, Tokyo Haneda in October, Tokyo Narita in November and Osaka in December.

    Now serving eight destinations in China, its biggest market, the airline hopes to penetrate the country still further, adding to Beijing, Shanghai, Jinjiang, Macau, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong.

    PAL plans to deploy two Boeing 777-300ERs leased from Intrepid Aviation on a long-term basis starting in December on the London route, replacing its Airbus A340-300.

    Six Airbus A350-900s it ordered will arrive on a staggered basis starting mid-2018. PAL expects to decide either late this year or early next year on the possibility of launching flights to Frankfurt and Rome with the delivery of the aircraft.

    Domestically, PAL recently boosted operations at Clark International Airport (CIA) as part of its plans to develop its third hub. On June 22 it launched three-times-weekly  flights to Bacolod and a daily service to Tagbilaran. Four-times-weekly service to Cagayan de Oro started the following day. The carrier currently operates to Caticlan, Busuanga, Cebu, Davao and Puerto Princesa from Clark.

    Incheon remains the only international route operated by PAL from CIA, the former U.S. military base located some 43 nautical miles outside Manila. Manila and Cebu account for PAL’s other two hubs.

    The carrier currently operates a fleet of 81 aircraft consisting of 777-300ERs, A340-300s, A330-300s, A321s and A320s.

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  • Philippine Airlines to increase capacity with new aircraft

    Philippine Airlines to increase capacity with new aircraft

    Philippine Airlines is to increase capacity on its London to Manila route.

    The airline is replacing its 254-seat Airbus A340 to a 370-seat Boeing 777 from mid-December.

    It will also take delivery of six new Airbus A350-900s over the next two years, one of which will serve the London route.

    From June 8 the airline is also set to resume flights to Kuala Lumpur after a three year respite.

    More fam trips are planned for later in the year following the success of a mega-fam it held in March which saw 50 UK agents tour the Philippines in partnership with the Philippines Department of Tourism.

    Senior assistant VP and EMEA division manager Genaro Velasquez said UK passenger figures were up 38% in the first quarter compared to last year.

    As well as increasing passenger numbers with the new aircraft planned, he said the next step was to promote the airline as a carrier to Australia.

    The airline flies to multiple destinations in Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, via Manila.

  • Philippine Airlines to resume daily Manila-KL flights

    Philippine Airlines to resume daily Manila-KL flights

    Philippine Airlines will resume daily flights between Manila and Kuala Lumpur in June 2017 after a three-year hiatus, targeting at least 80% in load factor over the next 12 months.

    Its senior vice-president for commercial group, David A. Lim, said the flight resumption between both capitals was in line with the carrier’s route expansion and flight modernisation.

    “We are looking to not only ‘selling’ Manila to Malaysian travellers but also the Philippines as a whole and the Americas, as well as the Oceania routes,” he told reporters after announcing the Manila-Kuala Lumpur route on Wednesday.

    Present were Philippine Airlines vice president of sales Ryan T. Uy and Pacific World Travel Sdn Bhd president Tunku Datuk Seri Iskandar Tunku Abdullah.

    Pacific World Travel is a general sales agent for Philippine Airlines Malaysia.

    “We have expanded eight new destinations this year and we will expand more as we move towards the year-end,” Lim said.

    To date, Philippine Airlines has 29 domestic flights and 44 international destinations, including that of the Middle East and Europe.

    He noted that the reopening of the route was also aimed at capitalising on the Asean economic integration as it would provide direct access to new business opportunities.

    Lim expressed confidence that the airline would regain its market share in Malaysia as it planned to expand its code-share partnership with Malaysia Airlines in domestic flights.

    The carrier halted its flights to Kuala Lumpur in 2014 after a year in operation partly due to microeconomic factors, said Uy.

    He said 2013 was a challenging year for everyone due to high fuel prices.

    “That was part of the reasons why we stopped the route. We believe this is the best time to come in, especially with Asean celebrating its 50th anniversary, to grow our tourism industry,” he added.

     

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  • Philippine Airlines awards five-year DF contract to ISG

    Philippine Airlines awards five-year DF contract to ISG

    Inflight Sales Group (ISG) founder and CEO Jean-Marcel Rouff has confirmed that the retailer has been awarded a five-year contract to operate the Philippine Airlines (PAL) duty free contract.

    This follows the narrowing down of the list of bidders to a final three in mid-2016, led by ISG, DFASS and the Regent Travel Retail Group in partnership with Duty Free Philippines’ ground shops.

    As exclusively reported last July, the airline amended the concession length from three to five years with the inclusion of a two-year extension, according to Resty Tizon, Inflight Duty Free Director who handled the process last year.

    INTEREST WAS HIGH IN THIS LONG-RUNNING TENDER

    At that time she confirmed to TRBusiness that there were additional companies who showed initial interest in the contract, but ultimately decided not to bid. These were Tourvest Duty Free and Lagardère Travel Retail.

    According to the airline, the average spend onboard last year was around $2, although the airline has been trying to attract more Chinese passengers.

    In the last 18 months it has also acquired several new aircraft, including five Airbus 321 planes and two B777s. This year it is also due to take delivery of another two A321s.

    NEW ROUTES – MORE INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS

    On January 1 this year, Philippine Airlines also launched its first international flight from Clark Airport, marking its new policy to try and spread more international connectivity outside the heavily congested capital city of Manila.
    A Philippine Airlines Airbus A340.

    PAL also launched a second new non-stop service to Singapore from Mactan-Cebu Airport in December 2016.

    In addition to the duty free contract to sell goods onboard, PAL has also increased the number of products now available through its Philippine Airlines Boutique online store.

    This offers online purchasing of ‘lifestyle merchandise’, including special hotel deals, car rentals, tours and recreation packages, fashion items and gadgets.

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  • Philippine Airlines expands operations at Clark

    Philippine Airlines expands operations at Clark

    Philippine Airlines is ramping up its operations at Clark International Airport, north of Manila. The national carrier is aiming to ease pressure at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport by launching new services connecting Clark with Cebu, Davao and Puerto Princesa. Clark is located approximately 80km from the Philippine capital.

    Having launched flights between Clark and Boracay in late 2016, PAL will launch four weekly Clark-Cebu flights and three weekly Clark-Davao services on 30 January 2017. Then on 26 March PAL will start offering three weekly flights between Clark and Puerto Princesa, on the island of Palawan.

    “We aim to cater to the flight needs of northern Metro Manila, central and northern Luzon residents. Now, they will be able to experience the convenience of easy travel from their homes to the Clark Airport. Travellers from abroad and domestic outlying stations may fly to Clark and journey on to popular travel spots in the Luzon area,” stated PAL’s president & chief operating officer, Jaime Bautista.

    PAL will continue to serve Cebu, Davao and Puerto Princesa from Manila’s main airport.

  • Philippine Airlines Partners With Translations.com to Localize Website

    Philippine Airlines Partners With Translations.com to Localize Website

    Translations.com, a division of TransPerfect, the world’s largest privately held provider of language and technology solutions for global business, today announced that Philippine Airlines has chosen its GlobalLink Connect technology to launch and maintain the company’s corporate site as well as its Mabuhay Miles loyalty site in four languages.

    Translations.com will support the launch and maintenance of www.philippineairlines.com and www.mabuhaymiles.com in four languages — Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. GlobalLink’s Sitecore Experience Platform connector will provide Philippine Airlines with a powerful solution to initiate, automate, control, track, and complete all facets of the translation process within their existing Sitecore user interface.

    Because the Sitecore integration is pre-built, no additional IT requirements or development hours were required to enable the integration. With GlobalLink Connect, Philippine Airlines is able to automate translation workflows, simplify review processes, and release in-language content to their target audiences quickly and on-brand.

    “The launch of our corporate and loyalty sites in these four languages marks a significant breakthrough for us,” said Snooker Jaranilla, Assistant Vice President of Philippine Airlines. “With GlobalLink’s ability to integrate directly with our existing Sitecore platform, managing our multilingual content is easy, familiar, and cost-effective. GlobalLink has made a significant positive impact on our international strategy.”

    “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Philippine Airlines,” said Phil Shawe, Co-CEO at Translations.com. “It’s fulfilling to know that our GlobalLink Connect technology is helping such a strong Asian brand provide a better online experience to their customers both at home and abroad.”

    Translations.com Co-CEO Liz Elting added, “As its country’s flagship carrier, we knew that it was important for Philippine Airlines to represent their country with a strong online presence. By launching their corporate and loyalty sites in four new languages, they are making a strong statement showing the care and value they place on customers across all languages.”

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  • PAL to launch international, domestic flights at Clark

    PAL to launch international, domestic flights at Clark

    Philippine Airlines (PAL) is launching on Dec. 16 its first regular international and domestic flights from Clark International Airport (CIA).

    This is PAL’s response to President Duterte’s call to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) .

    Clark International Airport Corp. president Alexander Cauguiran said PAL president Jaime Bautista gave him the green light to announce that PAL is launching on Dec. 16 its first Clark-Caticlan daily flights.

    PAL will add more flights starting January 2017, including daily flights to Cebu, flights to Davao four times a week, weekly flights to Busuanga and flights to Cagayan de Oro thrice a week.

    PAL will also launch daily international flights to Incheon, South Korea in January 2017. Cauguiran said that PAL would have a total of 21 flights per week at ClA.

    Cebu Pacific Air earlier announced the increase of its flights at CIA, including flights to Hong Kong three to 10 times per week starting in December and Clark-Cebu flights six times per week.

    In a forum held here by the Bases Conversion Development Authority, Cauguiran warned that flight congestion at the NAIA has endangered passenger safety.

    “NAIA has four terminals designed for 13 million people per year. But last year, it processed 36 million passengers already, so long lines of waiting people often occurred,” he said.

    Cauguiran also noted that NAIA’s lone runway allows only 40 flights per movement or one hour for every 40 flights. “Beyond that, you are inviting trouble” because this requirement has often compelled incoming aircraft to stay in the air longer than scheduled before being allowed to land.

    Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines director general Jim Sydiongco said the Legazpi, Dumaguete, Roxas and Caticlan airports could also now accommodate flights in the evening as such are night-rated.

    Direct flights to Mindoro Occidental

    Meanwhile, budget carrier Air Juan has launched direct flights between Manila and Mamburao, Mindoro Occidental’s capital.

    The province’s representative, former governor Josephine Sato, said yesterday the air service would “be a big boost to our efforts to promote Mindoro Occidental as a prime eco-tourism destination.”

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  • Philippine Airlines firms order for five Q400s

    Philippine Airlines firms order for five Q400s

    Philippine Airlines has firmed an order for five Bombardier Q400 turboprops, with purchase rights for an additional seven aircraft.

    The five Q400s, which will be configured with 86 seats in two classes, will be delivered throughout 2017, says Bombardier in a statement. The deal is worth $165 million at list price.

    “The Q400 aircraft is the ideal solution for the airline as it develops its domestic operations network from secondary hubs and increases intra-island connectivity,” says Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Fred Cromer.

    The Q400s will be operated by the Philippine flag carrier’s PAL Express unit, which currently operates four Q300s and four Q400s, largely on services to island destinations. It also has nine Airbus A320s and two A321s in its fleet.

    Its current Q400 fleet has an average age of 14 years, while its Q300s are 10 years old on average.