PAL soaring past pandemic challenges

Even if the business environment remains unstable, flag-carrier Philippine Airlines is optimistic about soaring to greater heights, thanks to its reinforced operational strength.

In Wednesday's interview on Straight Talk, DAILY TRIBUNE's online program, PAL president and COO Capt. Stanley K. Ng said the Lucio Tan-led air carrier has been developing innovative solutions to overcome challenges. "Being in the airline industry is tough, I would say. Anything that happens in the world always affects the airlines. Let's say, for example, the global pandemic, the geopolitical tensions always affect fuel prices," Ng said.

"So fuel is one of the most volatile commodities that we have today, and that takes almost 40 percent of our operation costs that prompts fares to go up — that's a challenge," he said.

Easing brain drain

According to Ng, supply chain and workforce issues brought about by the pandemic also affected PAL's operations.

"It is very important to address the problem of manpower because we have a healthy population, and that demographic in the Philippines is quite good. We have a lot of workforce, but the problem is that we can't see this in the aviation industry because the competent and qualified ones usually get poached by other airlines, other countries," Ng explained.

To help resolve the so-called "brain drain," Ng said PAL has partnered with the Department of Migrant Workers to enforce a training program to "replenish the balance."

"The Philippine Airlines aviation school, which I went to, suspended operations because of the pandemic, because there's no demand. But I would say it's one of the best in the world. I would proudly say that. Even the CEO of Malaysian Airlines graduated from that school, from Philippine Airlines," Ng said.

Financial strength

As PAL equips its workforce to meet international standards, it is also working to ensure its financial capacity can keep pace with the changing landscape.

For instance, the continuing growth in passenger travel has significantly helped PAL rake in P19.2 billion in net income in the first nine months of the year, up 166 percent from P7.2 billion last year. PAL said its operating income also ballooned to P24.6 billion from January to September from only P11.5 billion in 2022.

As of the end of September, PAL flew 11 million passengers, representing an improvement of 6.4 million over the same period last year. With this, passenger revenues for the period surged to P120.1 billion from P79.5 billion last year.

For Ng, such financial gains will help bankroll the airline's fleet expansion to serve passengers better.

 "We are immensely grateful for the support of our faithful customers and all our employees, partners and stakeholders. We assure them that we will continue investing in brand new aircraft, upgraded products, and digital innovations that will help us deliver better service and a more satisfying experience for the people who entrust their flights and shipments to Philippine Airlines," Ng said.

"At the same time, we have to be ready to face potential major challenges in the coming months, as geopolitical upheavals drive up fuel prices and threaten economic disruptions." 

Fleet expansion

PAL's fleet expansion and service enhancements include the recently announced acquisition of Airbus A350-1000 long-range aircraft valued at over P176.6 billion for the nine aircraft ordered.

It also includes the expansion of the airline's Cebu hub network, an all-new customer relations management system offering more personalized self-service options for PAL customers, and continuing increases in staffing of customer care personnel.

 Along with an extensive network of 33 domestic destinations, PAL operates the largest network of nonstop flights from the Philippines to North America, Japan, the Middle East and Australia.