THE president of legacy carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) expects a smooth-sailing financing program for the aviation company’s planned $700-million refleeting strategy for 2015, thanks to its healthier financial standing.
PAL President Jaime J. Bautista said investors are more than willing to fund the multimillion-dollar outlay, as they see that the company is now ripe for investment.
“Financing is not a problem,” he said. “There are many companies willing to finance us, especially now that we are a profitable airline.”
PAL Holdings Inc., the airline’s parent company, booked a net income of P5.86 billion during the first six months of the year, a tenfold rise from the P560.25 million registered the year prior.
In the same comparative periods, revenues rose by 14.3 percent to P55.94 billion from P48.95 billion, while expenses increased by a slower 5.5 percent to P50.6 billion from P47.97 billion.
The company has ordered seven aircraft for next year—two long-range planes that will be deployed to its US flights, and five single-aisle jets for regional and domestic operations.
“We will invest in half a billion dollars in new aircraft next year. We are expecting seven planes: five Airbus A321s and two Boeing 777s. The value of the refleeting program is estimated at half a billion dollars, but, including spares, the amount might be around $700 million,” he said over the weekend.
As of end-June, the airline’s fleet is composed of 83 aircraft. It also announced that it would cancel some of its local and international flights, once concerned authorities provide them with the official schedule of runway closures.
PAL made the statement in connection with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit to be held from November 16 to 20, 2015.
PAL’s statement read: “In view of the arrival and departure of Apec leaders within the period from November 16 to 20, 2015, Philippine Airlines will be disclosing the list of certain flights that will be directly affected.”
“The affected flights shall be announced as soon as the concerned government authorities provide the official schedule of runway closures.
It is PAL’s aim to operate or consolidate as many flights as possible, as allowed within this period. However, passengers with confirmed tickets within the said period [November 16 to 20] have the option to rebook their flights, with rebooking and penalty charges waived,” the statement said.
For information on flights, passengers may call PAL hotline (02) 855-8888, visit any PAL Ticket Office or log on to www.philippineairlines.com.
There is concern that the arrivals of the various heads of state at the premier airport would disrupt what otherwise would be regular operations, causing the cancellations of several flights that would be affected on the days of their arrivals.
The “concerned authorities” PAL is referring to are the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) and the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa).
PAL Spokesman Cielo Villaluna told the BusinessMirror they can make an early announcement of what flights are cancelled but fears that those cancelled flights could have the chances of flying because Apec participants arrivals are not as accurate as scheduled flights.
“Unscheduled flights have tentative arrivals. They can arrive or depart early or later, depending on the whims of the passengers,” said Alger Ramo, Miaa ramp controller. Asked for comments about the lack of official statements, Miaa Spokesman David de Castro said: “That’s true. We do not have the complete list of the schedules of the heads of states yet from Apec. Once we have it, Caap will issue appropriate Notams [notice-to-airmen].”
“That’s what PAL is asking; they wanted to wait. Regardless, Miaa already showed the airlines the schedules of the heads [of State], which were given to us,” de Castro said.
On Sunday Miaa said there will still be commercial flights from November 16 to 20, but warned passengers of the possibilities of delays and inconveniences.
“Scheduled runway closures for maintenance services during the early hours of the morning would be lifted until the heads of state leave,” the Miaa said. Cebu Pacific issued their canceled domestic and international flights last week without waiting for the Caap’s or Miaa’s announcements.
(With Recto Mercene)
