PAL Expects Locals to Come In, But Hopeful in Talks with Cathay

Today

Thursday, December 17, 1998

DAVAO CITY—The Philippine Airlines (PAL) has expressed interest in tapping local investors while the fate of Cathay Pacific negotiations remain hanging.

As of last week, local managers of PAL were informed that negotiators from the two airlines were back in the negotiation table, said Domingo Duerme, PAL As­sistant Vice President for Sales and Marketing in Mindanao.

"We expect local investors to come in and pour their money in PAL," he said, “while we hope for the best in the talks.”

While the future of the talks, including initial feedback from prospective local in­vestors, remain uncertain Duerme said the rehabilitation scheme would be pushed through.

PAL is still 20 to 30 percent less in its air traffic to the cities of Davao and Cagayan de Oro, while it scrapped its services to Jolo, Sulu, Bongao in TawiTawi, and the cities of Ozamis in Misamis Occidental and Pagadian in Zamboanga del Sur. Duerme said these were considered “short destinations.”

He said PAL has 72 percent of its flying capacity to and from Davao City, and 78 percent to Cagayan de Oro, the two major destinations in the island. He said the other domestic airline compa­nies should fill in the shortfall in the service.

Despite the deficiency, Duerme said PAL has prepared to add more flights in December for the holiday season's de­mand for air travel. Since Friday last week, it started its Tuesday and Friday regular flights to accommodate the expected ar­rival of 400 tourists from Asia going to the Island Garden City of Samar at the in­stance of the Samal Casino Resort owned by the Ekran Berhad of Malaysia.

He said the tourists, mainly Taiwanese, are expected to arrive in batches, and Duerme has assured the company that its Tuesday and Friday flights would become a regular feature until January 8 "even with an assured seating demand of only 50 passengers.” M. Cayon