PAL eyes 20% passenger growth

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is poised to reach the 18-million mark in passengers flown this year, as the carrier enters new routes in Asia with the arrival of more aircraft.

PAL president and COO Stanley Ng told reporters that the airline is targeting to grow passenger traffic between 10 and 20 percent this year.

If achieved, PAL will expand its passenger volume to at least 17.16 million, to as high as 18.72 million, from 15.6 million in 2024.

Ng draws optimism from PAL’s retrieval of aircraft that were grounded by issues on jet engines.

As the airline recovers its grounded units, he said it could scale up its flight frequency and explore new routes, particularly to high-demand destinations in Asia.

PAL is mounting weekly flights between Cebu and Ho Chi Minh in May to provide passengers in Visayas with direct access to Vietnam.

Likewise, the airline is entering a new route in Vietnam by July by launching non-stop flights between Manila and Da Nang.

“We have recovered some of the grounded aircraft, so we are able to launch Manila-Da Nang and Cebu-Vietnam, and I think that would help really grow us,” Ng said.

Ng also disclosed that PAL may soon catch up with Cebu Pacific in connecting Manila and Sapporo, but issues have to be resolved first on its engine supply for cost efficiency.

PAL is also secured in the long term, especially as Airbus is on track to deliver the first batch of Airbus A350-1000s to the airline within the year.

The airline owned by the Tans will use the widebody A350-1000s to reach more cities in North America, where it is being challenged by foreign carriers Air Canada and United Airlines.

It will also deploy the aircraft for possible connections to Europe.

According to Ng, PAL expects to receive two more aircraft this year that would be useful in expanding its flight coverage.

Locally, PAL is also adding flight options in major hubs outside of Metro Manila like Cebu and Clark. It has increased its flight volume to 287 per week at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, where it can reach 18 destinations domestically.

PAL deploys non-stop flights from Manila, Cebu, Clark and Davao to 31 destinations locally and 37 cities in Asia and the Pacific, Australia and North America.