PAL ready to take off with last mile cargo delivery

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is ready to take off with its venture into last mile cargo delivery service soon.

PAL president and COO Stanley Ng said its last mile cargo delivery service is currently under trial and could be launched in the next two months.

“It’s on the way already. Unofficially, we did some trial already and it has proven to be successful,” Ng said.

“The timeline, it’s soon. Maybe in a month or two time,” he said.

Ng said a few trial service with PAL’s existing customers have been undertaken since last month.

“So it’s from other countries all the way to the people because there’s a tie up with this logistics company. It’s from the US all the way here to the homes of the people,” he said.

Ng said the service would not be exclusive to one partner, as it can tap other firms to expand the service.

As part of its transformation efforts this year, PAL earlier bared plans to go big on cargo, with innovations being planned such as a new cargo mobile app and website, Mabuhay Miles accounts for cargo customers and agents, and a last mile cargo delivery service via partnerships with express delivery firms in the country.

“PAL is now a cargo airline in our own right. We will continue to develop new all-cargo markets – removing dependence on passenger traffic as a single revenue stream,” Ng earlier said.

PAL posted a significant increase in revenues last year, mainly due to the increase in cargo revenues, with air cargo being a vital partner in delivering essential goods since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cargo revenues of the airline in 2021 stood at P15.02 billion, 60 percent higher from lasts year’s P9.41 billion.