PAL nears full recovery after stellar 1st half results

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) expects to end the year on a strong note as it marks its first full year after exiting rehabilitation in 2021.

“We are ending the year strong. By December this year, we expect to be at 86 percent in terms of pre-pandemic flight recovery,” said PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna.

For one, PAL’s North America flights, one of its major revenue drivers, are expected to hit 100 percent pre-COVID level by next month.

Similarly, PAL flights to Australia are expected to achieve full pre-pandemic recovery by December.

“Our flights to Southeast Asia will register 97 percent recovery by November and December this year,” Villaluna said.

PAL is now under the leadership of Capt. Stanley Ng as president and COO, and PAL Holdings Inc. vice president and PAL director Lucio Tan III, grandson of PAL owner Lucio Tan.

Banking on the reopening of Hong Kong, PAL will likely ramp up operations to the island.

“We will be ramping up our Hong Kong operations from the current daily service to as much as three times daily starting mid-December for the Christmas peak season,” Villaluna said.

The Middle East also continues to operate above pre-COVID frequencies, she added.

In Asia, PAL has started to increase frequencies to Seoul with daily flights effective Oct. 12.

Flights to Busan, likewise, have also increased to four times weekly starting Oct. 10.

PAL is now awaiting the reopening of China so it can likewise resume flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Jinjiang and Xiamen.

“On Dec. 9, we will reinstate our Cebu-Bangkok operations via twice weekly flights,” Villaluna said.

Bangkok is the latest destination to be flown out of the flag carrier’s Cebu hub, which connects Cebu to Tokyo Narita and various cities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

PAL previously operated a Cebu-Bangkok service from December 2017 to March 2020.

PAL also hopes to meet its goal of returning to Baguio this year.

Following a debilitating nearly two-year slump in air travel, PAL registered a net comprehensive income of $71 million or P4.2 billion in the first semester of this year, and an operating income of $125 million or P6.6 billion during the period.

PAL said this was the first positive first and second quarter financial results for the company since 2016.