Riding on the continuing recovery of the aviation industry, flag-carrier Philippine Airlines said Wednesday it will invest in reactivating parked aircraft to provide customers with topnotch services as demand increases.

“We are expecting a continuing strong market recovery so there are plans to enhance and upgrade our fleet,” PAL director Lucio Tan III said during the flag carrier’s 82nd-anniversary celebration in Manila on Wednesday.

“We are also reactivating more aircraft that we parked during the pandemic, with all going back in service between now and the fourth quarter,” Tan added.

From 98 aircraft pre-pandemic, PAL has an existing fleet composed of 75 aircraft — 68 of which are active while the remaining seven are still parked.

Reactivation dependent on demand

However, PAL president and COO Stanley Ng told reporters at the sidelines of the event that reactivating the parked aircraft is dependent on passenger demand.

“We’re 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.

“We have an extensive domestic network connecting the Philippines’ top economic centers in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. We are already back to 100 percent of our pre-pandemic domestic flights out of our primary hubs in Manila and Cebu,” he added.

Relatedly, Ng affirmed that the company expects to report better financial results this year — even returning to profitability may be possible.

“Our first quarter numbers are looking good. The Philippines is growing and it is emerging as one of the highest-growth markets so there are so many opportunities.