DAVAO CITY – The country’s flag-carrier, Philippine Airlines, is set to lose 60 to 70 percent of the total passengers traveling to Boracay via its Caticlan and Kalibo routes, including foreign tourists.
In a press conference on Thursday at the Marco Polo Hotel here, PAL president and Chief Operating Officer Jaime Bautista said PAL last year flew about a million passengers to Caticlan and Kalibo plus its regular chartered international flights.
Bautista said if Boracay is closed for six months then it will affect the number of passengers flying with PAL.
PAL has already announced flight adjustments following the announcement of the government on the six-month closure - starting April 26 - to pave the way for the island to rehabilitate.
It is reducing the frequency of flight from and to Caticlan and Kalibo, from its nine weekly flights between Manila and Kalibo, and seven weekly flights between Manila and Caticlan.
But Bautista said to compensate for the impending closure of Boracay, PAL will increase flights to different vacation destinations throughout the country.
“We expect Visayas, Mindanao and Palawan to benefit as we re-direct more flights from China, Korea and Taiwan to Cebu and Puerto Princesa, with some traffic flowing on to Siargao, Camiguin, Coron and Butuan,” he said.
Starting April 20, PAL will have additional flights between Manila and Cebu, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, and Bacolod. It will also increase flights between Cebu and Busuanga, Cebu and Siargao starting April 26.
Bautista said PAL will also convince its charterers to move to Cebu, Puerto Princesa, Tagbilaran and Davao.
Despite expected losses due to Boracay's closure, Bautista announced that PAL will continue to open more routes with the delivery of new airplanes. PAL's losses in 2017 were pegged at PHP7 billion.
Bautista said this was attributed to PAL’s not being able to sell tickets at rates higher than its competitors.
From the current fleet of 85 aircraft, PAL is aiming to reach 100 aircraft by 2010 “which places us in the league of a major carrier.
“But we are not merely adding more planes, we are constantly upgrading the cabins, seats, amenities, in-flight entertainment and technology,” he said.
PAL currently serves 76 destinations in four continents. “We just turned 77 years old, but our fleet is among the youngest in the industry. Most of all, our spirit is young and we are focused strongly on the future,” he pointed out.
PAL recently achieved a 4-star Global Airline Certification by Skytrax, an international rating organization.
“This 4-star rating was the fruit of two years of transformation in fleet, cabins, products and services that demanded millions of dollars in hard investments and the concerted efforts of all members of the PAL organization,” he stressed.
Bautista said PAL’s 4-star certification is just a stop-over point. He said PAL will even work harder to sustain hard-won gains and make the next big leap to full 5-Star Global Airline status by the year 2020. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)
