PAL: Local flight routes won’t be compromised

Philippine Airlines will continue to fly to all domestic routes it currently serves, but may assign smaller aircraft for destinations where demand levels do not warrant the use of large jets, the flag carrier’s chief assured local government officials.

Most of the officials had expressed concern that the airline would stop servicing their cities, and this development would adversely affect commerce and tourism prospects.

“Part of the plan [to improve the airline’s business model] is to restructure operations by designating the appropriate aircraft [for the destination], recognizing that we have narrow- and wide-bodied aircraft of varying configurations,” PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang said in his letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer from one LGU recipient.

The realignment of PAL’s aircraft and routes come amid severe difficulties for so-called “legacy carriers” whose levels of profitability have been constrained by the challenge posed by budget airlines, coupled with persistently high fuel prices on the international market.

The PAL chief acknowledged that the plan had caused “a certain degree of alarm” among the airline’s customers when news of the aircraft realignment was reported in the press last month.

“Let me assure you that we are not discontinuing service to any of our existing local routes,” he said. “We are simply positioning our existing aircraft fleet to match existing needs in certain destinations.”

In particular, some of PAL’s domestic routes are served by wide-bodied aircraft like the Boeing 747-400 or the Airbus A330, with most flights only partially filled up upon takeoff. Under the new scheme, PAL will assign smaller aircraft for routes with less passenger demand, allowing it to realize significant cost savings, officials explained earlier.

Other less profitable routes, meanwhile, would be served by Airphil Express which would soon be renamed PAL Express and would operate under a code-sharing agreement with its parent firm.

Both PAL and PAL Express fly the narrow-bodied Airbus A320 and the Bombardier Q400 on domestic routes.

“The change in name is an affirmation that both airlines share the same exceptional standards of safety and customer service,” Ang said.

“With this exercise, we hope to provide for convenient schedules, allow servicing of more routes and ensure seamless connectivity between stops while awaiting delivery of our new Airbus aircraft to complete our fleet.”

PAL is set to receive eight A320s in 2013, as part of its multi-year 100-plane refleeting plan.

“While we continue to invest in new aircraft and new products, both inflight and on the ground, we are also incessantly implementing measures that will protect the gains we have already achieved in the first three months and make your airline more efficient and profitable without reneging on our commitment to serve this country,” Ang added.