PAL Opts for a Leaner but More Modern Fleet

The Philippine Star
Tuesday, September 1, 1998
What’s On In Manila & Expat Philippines
September 6-12 1998

Philippine Airlines will begin deploying starting November a leaner, younger fleet made up entirely of modern jet aircraft in both its domestic and international operations.

The move will allow the airline to provide a top quality service while achieving greater operational efficiency and reliability.

Under a rehabilitation plan due for submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) next month, a major fleet restructuring is among the measures PAL intends to undertake to recover its financial strength.

PAL’s refleeting program – cut short by a debilitating currency crisis that engulfed all of Asia – left PAL with a motley fleet of 54 aircraft that combined brand-new state-of-the-art jets from Boeing Co. and Airbus Industrie with older models.

The rehab plan calls for a considerably leaner but ultra-modern fleet of initially between 21 and 25 aircraft.

Accordingly, PAL will have to retire its remaining Fokker 50 turboprop aircraft from domestic operations, particularly on the highly unprofitable “missionary routes”.

The cost-efficiency afforded by leaner, more modern fleet, combined with the airline’s reduced exposure to unprofitable operations, should allow PAL to cope better with the difficulties brought on by the new economic realities prevailing in the region and recover faster from a financial tailspin that has threatened its very survival.

At the same time, the many advance features that will become standard fare on many of its flights – whether domestic or international – should raise PAL’s service reliability levels to new highs.

Indicative of this is the impressive 86.28-percent average on-time performance (OTP) last July for both domestic and international operations. In the last fiscal year ending last March 31, PAL could only manage a dismal 65-percent OTP.

Moreover, the comfort, luxury, and the many outstanding safety features provided for in the new PAL fleet – still among the youngest and most modern in the industry – remain unmatched by any other local commercial carrier today.