By: the staff
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:09 am | Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
Spend money to make money
Philippine Airlines may be back in the black this year, but that doesn’t mean the flag carrier is about to start taking it easy.
Apart from its much-talked-about efforts to streamline its sometimes cumbersome cost structure inherited from its days as a government-owned firm, PAL is also trying to improve its revenue profile.
One particular area of interest for the airline is its lucrative trans-Pacific route which, according to our source, accounts for the biggest share of PAL’s revenue pie, but also has some of the slimmest profit margins.
To improve this, PAL not only needs to fly more passengers but it has to be able to do this more efficiently by using its brand-new Boeing 777 jets for its Manila-Los Angeles and Manila-San Francisco services (something currently prohibited by US government “Category 2” restrictions).
So PAL isn’t sitting around while waiting for this elusive upgrade to Category 1. In fact, PAL began last month paying for the services of a world-renowned aviation consultant, Tim Neel, whose specialty is getting downgraded countries upgraded to Category 1 status.
No, Tim Neel isn’t advising PAL, as the airline has always been up to par with international standards. The airline is paying him solely to help the government-run Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. That’s how important this is for PAL’s sustained profitability.—Daxim L. Lucas
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