MANILA -Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is hoping to sell four nonoperational aircraft soon, proceeds of which can be allocated for fleet upgrade as passenger movement continues to gain momentum.
PAL president and chief operating officer Stanley Ng, in a recent interview in Makati, said they were in negotiations with potential buyers of the old units as the airline seeks to free up some assets for cash.
The Lucio Tan-led airline currently has four Bombardier DHC 8-300 units that are available for sale.
“It is a dead asset already. It is parked there. It is not flying,” he said.
“We have to liquidate those and invest in newer generation planes and even digitalization,” he added.
Ng, however, estimated these units would not yield significant proceeds due to their old age.
PAL recently announced its purchase of nine A350-1000 units from Airbus as it seeks to offer nonstop services from Manila to North America. It also secured purchase rights on three additional aircraft of the same kind for future long-haul route expansion plans.
As of end-March, its fleet comprised 81 units, 15 of which are its own property. These include nine Airbus 320-200s, two Bombardier DHC 8-400s and four Bombardier DHC 8-300s.
Among the units under lease are nine Boeing 777-300ERs, two Airbus 350-900s, 10 Airbus 330-300s and 21 Airbus 321-231s.
In the first quarter, airline operator PAL Holdings Inc. reported that its net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company grew by more than four times to P4.65 billion from P1.08 billion a year ago.
The bottom line was lifted by passenger revenues, which surged by 119 percent to P37.62 billion in the first quarter.
It serviced 3.4 million passengers in the first three months, showing 156.2-percent growth from the same period last year.
Moving forward, Ng projects a positive outlook for the aviation sector after ending the first quarter with profit growth.
“I hope it continues that way for the rest of the year,” he said. INQ