PAL: ‘Over the Hump and Here to Stay’

Weekend Balita
August 28 – September 3, 1998
By Max G. Alvarez

LOS ANGELES – With the disclosure that “we are over the hump and we are here to stay,” Philippine Airlines (PAL) Wednesday outlined the new global thrusts of the air firm, which only recently lay almost paralyzed by a labor strike.

Felix J. Cruz, Officer-in-Charge for Marketing of the PAL corporate office in Makati City, Philippines, addressed the media representatives at the PAL Los Angeles headquarters on Century Boulevard to reemphasize the dramatic return of PAL to the skies.

The essence of Cruz’s briefing for the press also served as an enhancement of PAL’s slogan, “Asia’s Sunniest,”  and the position of the Makati-based airline as Asia’s pioneer air company with a 57-year track record in the aviation industry.

With Cruz at the meeting were PAL/Los Angeles District Sales Manager Adrian M. Ingles, Manager for Advertising (PAL Corporate Office) Jesus Guidote Garcia, Reservations Manager Graciella C. Cruz of PAL/Los Angeles, and Narciso (Soy) Cervantes, PAL Supervisor at the L.A International Airport.

A support duo composed of Pio C. Lee, Vice President for Administration, K Adventure Corporation (Manila), and Leonardo V. Uy, president of LEONEL Waste Management (Manila), also attended the news conference.

The announcement about the resumption of daily flights between L.A–Manila and San Francisco–Manila (and return flights from Manila for these routes) highlighted the updates given by Felix J. Cruz.

Cruz also took occasion to dispel speculations that PAL is keeping old aircraft and disposing off new ones in the aftermath of the worst labor problem ever to hit Asia’s pioneer air enterprise.

By a temporary policy triangulation, PAL serves the Manila–L.A–San Francisco route with a new service strategy. Sooner than the industry might expect, the airline will be back full blast with the “dedicated flights to serve the North America routes even better.” And fares, said Cruz and Ingles, are better than ever with the “Salamat” (Thank you) offer. Prospective passengers may call any PAL office to check out this best ever bargain.

“We expect the PAL Filipino market to be fully back with us soon, now that we have regained foothold after the recent strike,” Cruz explained.

Advertising Division Manager Jesus Guidote Garcia pledge “to do everything possible” to assist Filipino-American newspaper with advertisements from PAL.

The L.A visit of the PAL team from Makati City was a hands-on amplification of a recent PAL announcement about the airline’s rebuilding process now “that the negative effects of the strike are waning and public confidence is coming back.”

PAL last week announced a manpower complement of 8,578, including 200 pilots, and a young fleet of 21 jet planes averaging three years in age.

Recent statistics from PAL Makati also summed up the airline’s advantages in such areas as number of aircraft, number of stations, on-time performance, comparative frequencies, and passenger traffic.

A PAL rehab plan, according to Makati sources, will be submitted to the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission in October this year. The document spells out how the company’s $2 billion debt would be restructured, along with specific details about schedule of payments.

The rehab plan calls for 21 aircraft (Plan 21) which, according to the airline’s Makati office, “is the initial number of aircraft to rightsize PAL towards viability. The number could go higher if needed.”