PAL increases its flight frequencies

Manila Bulletin
October 26, 2011
By Raymund F. Antonio

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has assured that its operations will be back to normal as the country prepares for the All Saints’ Day.

In a sign of recovery, PAL said it is increasing its flight frequencies to 11 domestic and two regional destinations, as part of its service for the long weekend ahead.

The domestic points are Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Cotabato, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Kalibo, Ozamiz, Tagbilaran and Zamboanga, while the regional routes are Hong Kong and Singapore.

The increased flights is in anticipation of the thousands of passengers that are expected to flock to the country’s airports starting October 28 for November 1, All Saints’ Day and November 2, All Souls’ Day.

PAL has been besieged with labor problems that affected its normal operations, cutting down flights as retrenched workers barricaded its premises to protest the cut-down of its non-core operations.

Its operations dipped to 40 percent capacity at the height of the labor problem, as third party service providers sought to fill up the vacuum in the operations.

PAL said that beginning Oct. 28, it will fly an average of 125 flights daily covering international and domestic routes, both inbound and outbound, representing close to 90 percent of its 140 average flights before the strike and protests began last Sept. 27.

“From a low of 40 percent capacity during PAL’s transition to third party service providers from September 27-October 3, the flag carrier’s week-on-week capacity increases indicate that it is well on its way to full recovery in terms of number of flights by December,” PAL said.

It said it is closely coordinating with the Manila International Airport Authority, Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the PNP Aviation Security Group to ensure passenger safety.

PAL said it is also preparing for a similar passenger influx between, Nov. 5 to 7 after Malacañang declared November 7 a holiday in celebration of the Eid’l Adha or the “Festival of Sacrifice” for Muslims.