PAL poised for US expansion, anticipates growth opportunities with lifting of ban

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is ready to implement an expansion plan in the United States, following the re-classification of the country’s aviation safety rating to Category 1, which it said would boost tourism and trade and open up new and exciting opportunities for the flag carrier.

With the upgrade, the Philippines now re-joins the ranks the most important aviation nations in the world, made up of select countries that meet the US’ strict standards of aviation safety.

Following the re-classification, the flag carrier said it is set to immediately deploy a fleet of newly – acquired Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for its long-haul flights to the US. With this, passengers can now enjoy non-stop flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco aboard new aircraft equipped with the most modern cabin and state-of the-art amenities, including lie-flat beds in business class.

PAL President & Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said: “Your flag carrier welcomes the return of the country’s aviation rating to Category 1. This is a culmination of the government’s hard work, as exemplified by the efforts of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, to upgrade the country’s international aviation safety standards.”

“This latest development allows us to deploy our modern and fuel-efficient Boeing 777-300ER fleet to the US, and enables us to explore new destination opportunities in one of the Philippines’ largest passenger markets,” he added.

Currently, PAL operates a total of 26 weekly flights to the US, with frequencies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam.

The flag carrier said it would deploy six Boeing 777-300ERs, amounting to US$1.2 billion, for US flights within a month’s time. For its flights to Honolulu and Guam, PAL will continue to utilize new wide body Airbus A330-300s and single-aisle A320-200s.

Apart from ushering a new era in the flag carrier’s trans-pacific service, Mr. Ang added that the upgrade will also allow PAL to explore possible airline partnerships with foreign carriers in order to maximize its growth potential.

PAL poised for US expansion, anticipates growth opportunities with lifting of ban

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is ready to implement an expansion plan in the United States, following the re-classification of the country’s aviation safety rating to Category 1, which it said would boost tourism and trade and open up new and exciting opportunities for the flag carrier.

With the upgrade, the Philippines now re-joins the ranks the most important aviation nations in the world, made up of select countries that meet the US’ strict standards of aviation safety.

Following the re-classification, the flag carrier said it is set to immediately deploy a fleet of newly – acquired Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for its long-haul flights to the US. With this, passengers can now enjoy non-stop flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco aboard new aircraft equipped with the most modern cabin and state-of the-art amenities, including lie-flat beds in business class.

PAL President & Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said: “Your flag carrier welcomes the return of the country’s aviation rating to Category 1. This is a culmination of the government’s hard work, as exemplified by the efforts of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, to upgrade the country’s international aviation safety standards.”

“This latest development allows us to deploy our modern and fuel-efficient Boeing 777-300ER fleet to the US, and enables us to explore new destination opportunities in one of the Philippines’ largest passenger markets,” he added.

Currently, PAL operates a total of 26 weekly flights to the US, with frequencies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam.

The flag carrier said it would deploy six Boeing 777-300ERs, amounting to US$1.2 billion, for US flights within a month’s time. For its flights to Honolulu and Guam, PAL will continue to utilize new wide body Airbus A330-300s and single-aisle A320-200s.

Apart from ushering a new era in the flag carrier’s trans-pacific service, Mr. Ang added that the upgrade will also allow PAL to explore possible airline partnerships with foreign carriers in order to maximize its growth potential.

Pilot error, turbulence & bad weather

Most of my friends have their own horror stories about flying but most of it is about the plane being shaky and uncomfortable mid-flight. Once on a 5J trip to Coron, Palawan, turbulence was so bad for the whole stretch that my seatmates were retching to death on the barf bags and I was trying to humor myself by talking to the stewardess and asking her why the pilot has been quiet throughout :)

However, I’ve figured out that turbulence is not really the culprit for most air accidents, although this one doesn’t paint a pretty picture either.

Aftermath photo of the chaos onboard an SQ A380 plane after it hit clear air turbulence & dropped to 100 feet in a flight from Singapore to London last May 26, 2013. (via Facebook)

SQ turbulence

When things like this happen, it doesn’t matter whether you fly budget or Star Alliance, you see. But the records would show most incidents happen during takeoffs, landings and the state of the weather.

The pictures appearing on the web of the Cebu Pacific flight 5J 971 that closed down Davao International Airport for several days give one the goosebumps. Everyone is lucky and it seems that the heavens were really blessing everyone on board this flight because nothing worse happened (like an explosion).

Photo via The Aviation Herald (av.com):

5J 971  in Davao

Funny because I also took a Cebu Pacific flight on this same weekend (Manila-Cebu v.v.) The civil aviation body’s initial findings show pilot error as a likely cause of 5J 971′s missing the runway. This flight’s passengers found it weird that the pilot used the toilet four times in a span of one hour. Whether LBM or other troubles caused his error in judgment remains to be seen :)

Now I can compare another airline’s handling of the same situation. Two weeks ago, I was on a Philippine Airlines flight from Hong Kong. The pilot already announced that we were about to land and indeed, I thought we were less than 5 minutes short of touching the runway. But then again, heavy rains and a thunderstorm came which made our plane stay on the air and divert to Clark International Airport for refueling. It was a hassle thinking about a trip taking five hours instead of two but as a traveller, safety is paramount and it’s indeed supremely better to arrive at your destination in one piece than in several (ouch!)

Post script: The latest incident makes me think Cebu Pacific may have the youngest fleet and the youngest crew but they are also the youngest in experience. Hope the fiasco makes them a better airline ;)

Read also my previous blog posts:

Safety risk assessment of Philippine airlines

Counterfeit plane parts, fake pilot licenses and other ills plaguing RP aviation industry