Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:52:00 08/04/2010
MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Airlines (PAL) is dropping three daily flights indefinitely after 25 pilots walked out to take higher-paid jobs abroad mainly in the Middle East.
The cuts affect domestic routes and make up a tiny portion of the airline’s 160 daily trips, while the flag carrier’s international flights are not affected, company officials said.
“We would like to assure you that we will not cancel flights to the US,” PAL president Jaime Bautista said.
The carrier also flies to the Middle East, Australia and East Asia.
“In case there are flight disruptions we can rebook, we can reissue tickets. There will be no penalties and we will see to it that they will be accommodated in the next available flights,” Bautista added.
One daily flight each to Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro has been dropped, PAL said.
All other flights to these cities remain unchanged.
Rescheduled flights
“All flights continue as scheduled except those to and from Bacolod (PR 135/136); Cagayan de Oro (PR 181/182 except Thursdays); and Iloilo (PR 147/148). Passengers booked on rescheduled flights are being advised accordingly to avoid any inconvenience or delays at the airport,” the company said.
PAL continues to have four flights a day each way between Manila and Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro.
PAL spokesperson Jonathan Gesmundo said flights were cut to adjust to fewer pilots of short-haul aircraft that serve domestic and regional routes.
Twenty-five pilots and first officers quit abruptly last week, forcing the cancellation of 18 PAL flights on Saturday and Sunday and four domestic flights on Monday, Gesmundo said. Reports from Agence France-Presse and Paolo G. Montecillo
No comments:
Post a Comment