PAL to start flying to India in Q1 2011

By Paolo Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:20:00 08/26/2010

AMID CHALLENGES in the country’s tourism sector and the company’s own problems, flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) yesterday announced plans to mount flights to India by the first quarter of next year.

PAL president Jaime J. Bautista said the company was planning to mount three direct flights a week to India’s main airport in the City of New Delhi starting March.

“There is a lot of Indian nationals here in the Philippines,” Bautista told reporters.

He said the company would use its wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft for its flights to India. This will make PAL the only local carrier that will serve routes to the sub-continent.

The new service is part of PAL efforts to expand routes to take advantage of improving economic conditions and strong demand for travel.

Earlier this year, PAL introduced new flights to Brisbane, Australia. The flag carrier also flies to Sydney and Melbourne.

The company also introduced new flights to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which makes the airline the only local company serving Middle Eastern routes.

“Another opportunity for us is to get the market of Indian nationals who want to go to North America,” Bautista said. He said the company also had the option to increase its flights to seven a week if there would be enough demand.

He said these passengers could stop over in the Philippines and take connecting flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas in the United States or to Vancouver, Canada.
In the past, international carriers have found it hard to compete against Middle Eastern airlines, which get their fuel at a discount, allowing them to offer cheaper tickets.

In April to June—the first quarter of the company’s fiscal year 2010-2011—PAL posted a net income of $31.6 million or about 11-percent lower year-on-year.