New PAL Pilot Corps Roll Up Their Sleeves

Today
Saturday, September 5, 1998
STYLE TODAY – TRAVEL
By Angelo Sambo

AFTER undergoing a cathartic upheaval during the last two months, the new pilot corps of the Philippine Airlines now flies with a renewed sense of purpose–to serve the riding public first and foremost.

“We want to serve the public first and get the airline off the ground,” says First Officer Miguel Rocha, a former striker who returned to PAL’s fold after a month on the picket line.

Rocha’s attitude is indicative of the new culture prevailing at PAL’s flight operations unit, which was at the center of the storm during the 22-day strike by the pilot’s union in June.

“There is a very clear and tangible change in attitude around here,” says Capt. Edilberto Medina, Chief Pilot of the Boeing 737 division. “The new pilot corps we have now is more disciplined, more dedicated to their jobs and highly professional.”

PAL has steadily built up its flight deck crew after its ranks were decimated by the strike. The flag carrier now has 224 pilots (made up of 191 line pilots and 33 management pilots) in its roster–a huge contraction from the 620 pilots in the line before the strike. Of the 191 line pilots, more than three-fourths are “returnees.”

But if they once struck to bring PAL to its knees, the returnees are now the flag carrier’s biggest boosters along with the management pilots. “The past is past. It’s time to move on. Right now, we want to do our part and help in PAL’s recovery effort,” says Rocha, who flies the airline’s long-range workhorse, the Airbus A340.

“There’s very evident willingness among the pilots to roll up their sleeves and get down to work,” says Capt. Alejandro Campos Jr., deputy chief pilot of the A340 division. “Everybody is available at all times, unlike before when we had many cases of pilots calling in sick. We’ve never had a case of a pilot being medically grounded or experiencing on-time performance [OTP] problems during the last two months.”

The new work ethic is reflected in the efficiency and on-time ratings, which have reached new highs. In July OTP averaged 79 percent in international operations and 88 percent in the domestic sector, for a system-wide rating of 86 percent–a market improvement over the 65-percent average during the last fiscal year.

One unintended benefit of the leaner pilot corps is the more focused and concentrated training regimen. “Since there are now fewer pilots in the line, PAL can now devote more attention to each individual’s training needs,” says Medina. “Even our finest pilots undergo the rigid training process.”

Indeed, at the end of the day, it is the quality of PAL’s pilot corps (and of its entire work force) that matters to the riding public. “For 57 years that it has been the national flag carrier, PAL has always been known for the quality of its people–its pilots, cabin crew and ground staff,” says Capt. Julio Hernandez, chief pilot of the Boeing 747 division.

“That was true before, during and after the strike. We have never sacrificed that standard of quality. We will never fly an airplane if we didn’t think we could keep that standard. So anybody riding a PAL plane can be assured of only the highest standard of quality in the aviation industry.”

Even at the height of the pilots’ strike in June and later on, the ground crew strike in July, PAL strictly adhered to all aviation safety standards and regulations mandated by the Air Transportation Office (ATO), including the requirement on pilot licenses. All PAL flights (contingency and scheduled) mounted with ATO directives, stressed PAL Vice President for flight operations Capt. Rogelio Narciso.