PAL expects sales to grow by 25%

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. sees sales rising by at least 25 percent this year following the opening of new routes and with increased passenger capacity, airline president Ramon S. Ang said.

Ang, who also leads conglomerate San Miguel Corp., said the airline was expecting the arrival of 21 more planes this year.

The order, part of a total of 65 aircraft from European manufacturer Airbus SAS, includes the long-range A300s, which Ang hopes can be used to mount flights to Europe once the ban on Philippine carriers there is lifted.

“With the arrival of 21 new aircraft this year, we believe our sales revenue should increase by at least 25 percent,” Ang told reporters at the sidelines of PAL’s  “kickoff” event, where additional routes in Asia, the Middle East, Australia and the Philippines were launched.

Ang said the new planes would bring down maintenance costs and lower fuel consumption.

PAL Holdings Inc., the airline’s listed parent firm, noted narrowed losses to P2.74 billion in  the nine months of its fiscal year that ended in December, a 24-percent improvement over the same period in 2011.

Total revenue rose by 2.4 percent to P55.7 billion during the period. The company has yet to release full-year 2012 financial figures.

PAL on Thursday launched new routes as part of an aggressive expansion program. These are Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to start operations on May 2; Darwin, Brisbane and Perth in Australia on  June 1; Guangzhou, China on June 2; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Oct. 1; Doha, Qatar on Nov. 1; Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam in Saudi Arabia on Dec. 1; Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Nov. 1 and Basco, Batanes on May 1.