BY DARWIN G AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER
THE MANILA TIMES
PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) said it may post “better” growth in the second quarter ending September because of a higher passenger load factor. Jaime Bautista, PAL president and chief operating officer, told reporters that revenues and load factor for the months of July and August are “better than what we expected.”
He, however, said that the airline’s performance for July and August was still “below budget, but not bad.”
The Lucio Tan-owned airline earlier reported a profit of $31.6 million from April to June, 11 percent lower than last year.
PAL attributed the earnings to the “usual strong demand during the summer vacation.”
The flag-carrier’s revenues went up by 30 percent to $426.7 million for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2010 to 2011 from $327.7 million in the previous fiscal year.
As the aviation industry shows signs of slow recovery, Bautista said PAL will remain focused on generating more revenues and controlling costs.
Moving forward, he said PAL must “swallow bitter pills” and handle its labor issues with “utmost care” if the airline will survive amidst the difficult and cutthroat operating environment.
The negotiations between PAL management and Flight Attendants’ and Stewards’ Association of the Philippines (FASAP) earlier bogged down after the union rejected the airline’s P80-million economic package for their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) covering the period 2005 to 2010.
Because of this, FASAP filed a notice of strike before the Department of Labor and Employment.
PAL also has a pending labor problem with PAL Employees Association (PALEA) because of the airline’s planned spin-off of its three non-core businesses.
The spin-off would affect up to 3,000 employees under the in-flight catering services, airport services (including ground handling, cargo terminal/cargo handling, and ramp handling) and call center reservations units.
PAL said it was forced to implement the restructuring plan because of the global recession, high fuel prices, the unabated liberalization of the commercial aviation industry, and the recent blacklisting of Philippine carriers by the European Union.
During its fiscal year ending March 2010, PAL reported a net comprehensive loss of $14.4 million despite a $35.5-million profit during the first quarter.
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