PAL bridges the islands with the right aircraft

The Palawan Times
September 1-15, 1998

When domestic airlines jostle to win passenger patronage, low-priced tickets do not necessarily lead to satisfied customers.
Frequent flyers, especially businessmen, look for the right airline with appropriate equipment to deliver the right kind of service.
Philippine Airlines' very young domestic fleet of aircraft provides just the right equipment to serve the needs of passengers and shippers, which is vital to sustaining economic growth in the countryside.
The medium-to-long-haul jet Airbus A330-300 currently flies on the busy Manila-Cebu sector while the single-aisle A320-300 and Boeing 737-300 are operated on eight other domestic points -- Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Dipolog, Iloilo, Kalibo, Tacloban, and Zamboanga.
The relatively older A300, the first wide-bodied airplane deployed for domestic operations, currently flies to Davao, General Santos, and Puerto Princesa where the airports are capable of handling big jets. Pending further airport improvements, the A330 will soon replace the A300 at these domestic points.
Highlight of PAL's domestic fleet are the ultra-modern A330s and A320s which were manufactured at Toulouse, France (Airbus assembly plant) and delivered to Manila just last year.
The A330s, like the A300s, are mainly used on regional flights and deployed only on domestic sectors with high passenger and cargo traffic.
PAL's A320s, reputed as the most popular single-aisle airplane in this category, seats 156 passengers (with Mabuhay section), or 15 seats more than the B737, the current workhorse for domestic operations. The A320 is also capable of using LD3 cargo containers compatible with wide-body airplanes utilized on international flights. The big cargo space of the A320 makes it most preferred by shippers of perishable farm and sea products.
Both the A320 and the B737 represent a huge leap in passenger capacity from the Fokker 50 turboprops that PAL had been using on missionary routes. There is a 161% increase in number of seats on the B737 against the Fokker 50 while the A320 offers 188% more cabin capacity.
As PAL aims to evolve its domestic service into an all-jet network, optimized passenger and cargo space definitely makes Philippine Airlines the lead domestic airline to spur economic recovery in the countryside.@