Revenge travel lifts PAL Holdings’ 9-month income to P15.2B

TAKEOFF Philippine Airlines’ passenger volume as of September beats full-year 2022 performance. —FILE PHOTO

MANILA  -The surge in passenger volume as of September this year helped the operator of Philippine Airlines (PAL) more than double its profits at the end of the third quarter, as it ramped up operations and route launches.

PAL Holdings said in its latest financial disclosure that passenger volume as of September already exceeded the level recorded at the end of 2022.

This allowed net income attributable to the parent company to more than double or grow by 124 percent to P15.16 billion in the first three quarters after receiving a boost from revenues that rose by 38 percent to P134.58 billion.

Passenger revenues

Most of the topline was contributed by passenger revenues, which soared by 51 percent to P120.08 billion for the period from P79.52 billion a year ago.

The flag carrier has been lifted by the resurgence of air travel, servicing 11 million passengers as of end-September. This was more than the 6.4 million passengers in the same period last year and the 9.3 million passengers for the entire 2022.

PAL registered a passenger load factor of 81.81 percent as of end-September, an improvement from just 41.06 percent a year ago.

Passenger load factor measures the percentage of available seating capacity in an aircraft. A higher figure means higher occupancy or more tickets sold.

Busier operations

With busier operations, PAL saw its flying operation expenses grow by 16 percent to P59.5 billion for the period.

“We are immensely grateful for the support of our faithful customers and all our employees, partners and stakeholders,” PAL president and chief operating officer Stanley Ng said.

Ng said the airline would “continue investing in brand-new aircraft, upgraded products and digital innovations that will help us deliver better service and a more satisfying experience for the people.”

To beef up its fleet, the flag carrier inked a purchase deal for nine A350-1000s with Airbus, which will be used for long haul services from Manila to the East Coast of US and Canada. It also has 13 units of narrow-body aircraft pending for delivery starting 2026. The Lucio Tan-led airline currently operates a 76-jet fleet.

Along with this, PAL continues to expand its network, recently announcing the launch of Cebu-Laoag flights starting on Dec. 15.

The airline, however, is also dealing with the impact of the global supply chain and engine issues that could result in more jets being withdrawn for inspection.

Ng recently said that four of PAL’s aircraft were parked for maintenance.