“SAAN ang eroplano? Akala ko andito? [Where’s the plane? I thought it was here?]” A perplexed and amused President Duterte asked before he began his speech during the inauguration of two brand-new Airbus planes of flag-carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Tuesday.
The audience, titillated by the President’s remarks, laughed and applauded. As if on cue, powerful lights outside the tent illuminated the A350-900XWB and the A321neo (new engine option). Sitting on the tarmac and being pelted by rain, the planes were visible behind Duterte’s opaque plastic doors to indicate the rollout of two new additions to PAL’s growing fleet.
Addressing PAL Chairman and CEO Lucio Tan, Duterte said: “Sir, may God grant you a thousand years more of your life. Happy birthday, Mr. Tan. You are 83 years old and still a success story on all fronts.”
The event was held inside a huge white tent of the Lufthansa Technik hangar in Villamor Base in Pasay City.
Duterte thanked the two local airlines, PAL and Cebu Pacific, for providing the airplanes that evacuated distressed Filipino migrant workers from Kuwait last month. “Before I would begin to talk about the event, let me just express my profound gratitude to the two airlines that helped government during the Kuwait stressful moment—not a crisis,” he said.
“And I requested, though we had the money then, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to fly to Kuwait and bring in some of our countrymen who were there in distress,” the President added.
He said he hopes that somehow “government can return the favor in the days to come.” “Salamat po sa lahat ng ginawa ninyo para sa ating mga kababayan (Thanks for what you did for the sake of our fellow Filipinos).”
The President led the welcome ceremonies for the new jets. He was joined by Tan and company president and COO Jaime J. Bautista. The event coincided with the birthday of Tan who has served as the carrier’s chairman since 1995.
“As the PAL family works together to achieve our dream of becoming a 5-star global carrier, we have achieved great strides in support of this goal. We are in the midst of a fleet modernization program. We are also focused on route network expansion and have improved our services to our passengers. I am happy to welcome the A321neo and A350 to our fleet.”
Bautista said: “Through these new airplanes, we aim to reclaim our stature as one of the world’s best airline-to be a beacon of hope…that Filipinos can set the standard of excellence and be the best of what we can do.”
Image credits: Recto Mercene