By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes
(The Philippine Star)
Updated March 18, 2012 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Airlines (PAL) has laid the foundation to strengthen its brand image and reinforce its brand equity, even as it vowed to further reinforce its superiority over other local carriers this year.
PAL executive vice president for commercial group Vivienne Tan also unveiled during the flag carrier’s 71st anniversary last March 15 a new marketing campaign, “Love, Your PAL,” which depicts PAL’s gratitude to its loyal customers over the last 71 years.
“Today, I am proud to announce our latest campaign- Love, Your PAL - the signature for all our domestic and outbound communications. Love, Your PAL will provide the emotional message to make Filipinos fall in love with PAL again,” said Tan, the daughter of PAL chairman Lucio Tan.
The new campaign - coming at the close of PAL’s year-long 70th anniversary - is evident in the latest sales promo that offers heavily discounted rates on the purchase of second tickets to selected PAL destinations.
Passengers buying regular fare tickets from March 15 to 21, 2012 are eligible to buy a second ticket for as low as P77 on domestic routes, $7 on regional destinations, and $277 on international flights.
“All the issues and problems that have hindered our growth last year are behind us now. I am proud that the work of then PAL team has resulted in a great rebound in our sales and passenger count,” she emphasized.
Tan asked for the public’s support by patronizing PAL’s “attractive” offers that go beyond price. “We will excite the market with new programs that aim to strengthen passenger loyalty,” she added.
Upcoming promotions include the PAL-Mastercard partnership, the Manila premier of the musical “Phantom of the Opera” whose cast and crew are to be flown in by PAL, and the airline’s support to the local film “The Road,” to be flown by PAL to Hollywood as the first Filipino movie to be commercially shown in US theaters.
or 2012, PAL is expecting delivery of its third and fourth Boeing 777-300ER as well as four additional Airbus A320s, which will trigger expansion of PAL’s route network with the introduction of service to new destinations to be announced in the coming months.
PAL’s first flight took off on March 15, 1941 at Nielsen airfield in Makati to Baguio using a twin-engine Beech Model 18 airplane, carrying a full load of five passengers. After seven decades, PAL remains as Asia’s first airline and the country’s first national flag carrier.
Tan revealed that they will continue to build on the momentum the company started last year. “We will implement an aggressive program to build brand image and preference, strengthen loyalty with customers, and increase the quality of services and product offerings.
“Last year, we continuously offered attractive rates without sacrificing our full-service pricing strategy. These promos enticed travellers to continually fly the flag carrier. Despite the disruptions of the union strike, our activities allowed us to stay within our forecast. Imagine the prospects if there were no disruptions. As we move forward this year, several strategies will guide us in achieving the goals that we set,” she said.
Tan explained that they will build on this momentum by continuing to offer creative and innovative promotions to further strengthen PAL’s value for money proposition.
“We will continue to apply the latest technology to drive innovation and to make the consumer’s experience with us more convenient and pleasurable,” she pointed out.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
PAL mgm't not involved in sale talks
By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes
(The Philippine Star)
Updated February 25, 2012 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said yesterday that the airline management is not involved, directly or indirectly, in any talks for the sale of PAL shares to third parties like San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
In a statement, PAL president Jaime Bautista maintained that PAL or any of its officers are not privy to the reported talks between its principal shareholders and the SMC Group.
“There has been a lot of chatter about ongoing negotiations for the sale of PAL shares. But I want to make it clear that any talks or negotiations are just between our principal shareholders and the SMC Group. PAL management is definitely not part of it,” said Bautista.
He said PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna was misquoted in published reports confirming talks between PAL and SMC. “Ms. Villaluna said talks are definitely ongoing, but didn’t say it was between PAL and SMC. She must have been referring to published reports about ongoing negotiations between shareholders of the two companies,” Bautista said.
He stressed that PAL is separate and distinct from its individual shareholders.
Tan earlier confirmed there are negotiations with SMC president Ramon Ang for possible investments in the ailing flag carrier.
It has been reported that SMC may end up acquiring over 40 percent of PAL, with Tan’s group still retaining control.
Earlier, SMC said that it was invited by Tan to participate and assist in the refleeting and modernization of PAL’s aircraft in preparation for the projected heavy influx of tourists in the coming years.
(The Philippine Star)
Updated February 25, 2012 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said yesterday that the airline management is not involved, directly or indirectly, in any talks for the sale of PAL shares to third parties like San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
In a statement, PAL president Jaime Bautista maintained that PAL or any of its officers are not privy to the reported talks between its principal shareholders and the SMC Group.
“There has been a lot of chatter about ongoing negotiations for the sale of PAL shares. But I want to make it clear that any talks or negotiations are just between our principal shareholders and the SMC Group. PAL management is definitely not part of it,” said Bautista.
He said PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna was misquoted in published reports confirming talks between PAL and SMC. “Ms. Villaluna said talks are definitely ongoing, but didn’t say it was between PAL and SMC. She must have been referring to published reports about ongoing negotiations between shareholders of the two companies,” Bautista said.
He stressed that PAL is separate and distinct from its individual shareholders.
Tan earlier confirmed there are negotiations with SMC president Ramon Ang for possible investments in the ailing flag carrier.
It has been reported that SMC may end up acquiring over 40 percent of PAL, with Tan’s group still retaining control.
Earlier, SMC said that it was invited by Tan to participate and assist in the refleeting and modernization of PAL’s aircraft in preparation for the projected heavy influx of tourists in the coming years.
SMC acquisition of PAL ‘imminent’
By: Daxim L. Lucas, Paolo Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
February 24th, 2012
San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) acquisition of a “significant minority stake” in flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is, for all intents and purposes, a done deal with an official announcement set to be made in the coming days.
Sources from both camps familiar with the negotiations between tycoon Ramon Ang and the country’s second richest man, Lucio Tan, described the deal as “imminent,” adding that only “minor details and final touches” remained to be ironed out between both businessmen.
The SMC conglomerate is set to acquire a 49-percent stake in PAL for an estimated $500 million, which will come in the form of an equity infusion, resulting in a dilution of Tan’s stake. SMC will also be given management control of the airline.
The deal is being likened to Tan’s divestment of half his stake in Fortune Tobacco Corp. to form a joint venture with multinational cigarette maker Philip Morris International in 2010.
In that transaction, management control of the merged entity was also handed over to the acquiring party.
PAL—the first airline to offer commercial services in Asia—has also seen its market share eroded in recent years by the entry of no-frills carriers like Cebu Pacific of the Gokongwei family.
According to sources, an initial agreement between San Miguel president Ang and Tan was sealed as early as late last year and would have been concluded last month were it not for a last-minute expression of interest by telecommunications tycoon Manuel Pangilinan.
Pangilinan—who also runs Hong Kong-based First Pacific Group of Indonesia’s Salim family—was said to have offered Tan $700 million for a 100-percent stake in the airline.
The offer was said to have divided Tan’s close advisers with the taipan having decided to favor Ang with the deal only in recent days.
Officials from both camps declined to speak on the record about the transaction.
Ang said: “We are still in talks with them.”
Yesterday, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna confirmed months of speculation surrounding the nation’s oldest carrier.
“Talks are definitely going on,” Villaluna told the Inquirer.
She clarified, however, that discussions were at the shareholder level and that the company as an entity was not directly involved.
She declined to give details, saying that the company would issue public disclosures at the appropriate time, or once any deal is signed.
Villaluna added that she was not aware if PAL’s shareholders were in talks with other groups aside from SMC.
Earlier this month, PAL’s parent company PAL Holdings reported a net loss of P3.6 billion for the April-to-December period of 2011—the first three quarters of the airline’s current fiscal year. This was a reversal from more than P3 billion in profits a year before.
The losses were caused by high fuel prices and labor issues in late 2011 that prevented PAL from cashing in on the holiday season last December.
PAL said total expenses rose 12 percent, driven mainly by the higher cost of jet fuel, which averaged $133 a barrel in 2011 from $98 in 2010.
At the end of 2011, PAL said jet fuel accounted for more than 50 percent of total expenses, up from 39 percent a year earlier.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
February 24th, 2012
San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) acquisition of a “significant minority stake” in flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is, for all intents and purposes, a done deal with an official announcement set to be made in the coming days.
Sources from both camps familiar with the negotiations between tycoon Ramon Ang and the country’s second richest man, Lucio Tan, described the deal as “imminent,” adding that only “minor details and final touches” remained to be ironed out between both businessmen.
The SMC conglomerate is set to acquire a 49-percent stake in PAL for an estimated $500 million, which will come in the form of an equity infusion, resulting in a dilution of Tan’s stake. SMC will also be given management control of the airline.
The deal is being likened to Tan’s divestment of half his stake in Fortune Tobacco Corp. to form a joint venture with multinational cigarette maker Philip Morris International in 2010.
In that transaction, management control of the merged entity was also handed over to the acquiring party.
PAL—the first airline to offer commercial services in Asia—has also seen its market share eroded in recent years by the entry of no-frills carriers like Cebu Pacific of the Gokongwei family.
According to sources, an initial agreement between San Miguel president Ang and Tan was sealed as early as late last year and would have been concluded last month were it not for a last-minute expression of interest by telecommunications tycoon Manuel Pangilinan.
Pangilinan—who also runs Hong Kong-based First Pacific Group of Indonesia’s Salim family—was said to have offered Tan $700 million for a 100-percent stake in the airline.
The offer was said to have divided Tan’s close advisers with the taipan having decided to favor Ang with the deal only in recent days.
Officials from both camps declined to speak on the record about the transaction.
Ang said: “We are still in talks with them.”
Yesterday, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna confirmed months of speculation surrounding the nation’s oldest carrier.
“Talks are definitely going on,” Villaluna told the Inquirer.
She clarified, however, that discussions were at the shareholder level and that the company as an entity was not directly involved.
She declined to give details, saying that the company would issue public disclosures at the appropriate time, or once any deal is signed.
Villaluna added that she was not aware if PAL’s shareholders were in talks with other groups aside from SMC.
Earlier this month, PAL’s parent company PAL Holdings reported a net loss of P3.6 billion for the April-to-December period of 2011—the first three quarters of the airline’s current fiscal year. This was a reversal from more than P3 billion in profits a year before.
The losses were caused by high fuel prices and labor issues in late 2011 that prevented PAL from cashing in on the holiday season last December.
PAL said total expenses rose 12 percent, driven mainly by the higher cost of jet fuel, which averaged $133 a barrel in 2011 from $98 in 2010.
At the end of 2011, PAL said jet fuel accounted for more than 50 percent of total expenses, up from 39 percent a year earlier.
PAL confirms Talks With SMC
Planned Acquisition Of 49% Stake
By CLARISSA BATINO (BLOOMBERG)
February 25, 2012, 3:22am
MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Corp., the Philippines’ largest company, is in talks to buy 49 percent of Philippine Airlines Inc. and take management control of the carrier, according to three people familiar with the discussions, Philippine Airlines confirmed.
''Talks are definitely ongoing,'' airline spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna told AFP when asked to confirm media reports that negotiations were under way.
''As to the acquisition of shares and details of the negotiations, we are bound by non-disclosure until (the) fine print of the deal is reached.''
The airline, controlled by billionaire Lucio Tan, expects to get about $500 million for the stake, said one of the people, who declined to be identified as the discussions are private. Tan’s holdings will drop to about 51 percent as the carrier will issue new shares, the people said.
A purchase would help San Miguel President Ramon Ang reach his goal of doubling sales by 2016 as he diversifies away from food and brewing. Unprofitable PAL cut 2,400 jobs in 2011 after losing market share to budget carrier Cebu Air Inc.
Ang declined to comment about a possible deal in a mobile phone message yesterday. Joey de Guzman, a Philippine Air spokesman, declined to comment. Tan controls the carrier through companies including Manila-listed PAL Holdings Inc.
“The airline business has the potential for growth in a country that’s now focused on boosting its infrastructure and tourism,” said Jonathan Ravelas, market strategist at Manila-based BDO Unibank Inc. “San Miguel is betting on the view that once the nation’s infrastructure improves, tourism will boom and you start bringing in bigger planes, increase air traffic and even turn PAL into a regional player.”
San Miguel, parent of the brewer that controls more than 90 percent of the Philippines’ beer market, said last year it plans to invest more than $4 billion expanding in industries including energy, telecommunications and transportation. In August, the Manila-based company agreed to buy three Malaysian units from Exxon Mobil Corp. for $610 million.
Philippine Airlines, Asia’s oldest carrier, posted a $33.5-million loss in the October-December period. Cebu Air, which flies as Cebu Pacific, has lured customers with a younger fleet and a low-cost, no-frills service. A carrier backed by AirAsia Bhd., the region’s biggest budget airline, may begin flying in the country as early as next month.
PAL Holdings, which owns 82 percent of Philippine Airlines, has jumped 49 percent in Manila trading in the past year. Tan controls 98 percent of the parent company.
Tan, the second-richest man in the Philippines behind Henry Sy, has a family fortune of $2.3 billion, according to Forbes. His other companies include cigarette-maker Fortune Tobacco Corp. and Asia Brewery Inc., the country’s second-biggest brewer.
''Talks are definitely ongoing,'' airline spokeswoman Cielo Villaluna told AFP when asked to confirm media reports that negotiations were under way.
''As to the acquisition of shares and details of the negotiations, we are bound by non-disclosure until (the) fine print of the deal is reached.''
The airline, controlled by billionaire Lucio Tan, expects to get about $500 million for the stake, said one of the people, who declined to be identified as the discussions are private. Tan’s holdings will drop to about 51 percent as the carrier will issue new shares, the people said.
A purchase would help San Miguel President Ramon Ang reach his goal of doubling sales by 2016 as he diversifies away from food and brewing. Unprofitable PAL cut 2,400 jobs in 2011 after losing market share to budget carrier Cebu Air Inc.
Ang declined to comment about a possible deal in a mobile phone message yesterday. Joey de Guzman, a Philippine Air spokesman, declined to comment. Tan controls the carrier through companies including Manila-listed PAL Holdings Inc.
“The airline business has the potential for growth in a country that’s now focused on boosting its infrastructure and tourism,” said Jonathan Ravelas, market strategist at Manila-based BDO Unibank Inc. “San Miguel is betting on the view that once the nation’s infrastructure improves, tourism will boom and you start bringing in bigger planes, increase air traffic and even turn PAL into a regional player.”
San Miguel, parent of the brewer that controls more than 90 percent of the Philippines’ beer market, said last year it plans to invest more than $4 billion expanding in industries including energy, telecommunications and transportation. In August, the Manila-based company agreed to buy three Malaysian units from Exxon Mobil Corp. for $610 million.
Philippine Airlines, Asia’s oldest carrier, posted a $33.5-million loss in the October-December period. Cebu Air, which flies as Cebu Pacific, has lured customers with a younger fleet and a low-cost, no-frills service. A carrier backed by AirAsia Bhd., the region’s biggest budget airline, may begin flying in the country as early as next month.
PAL Holdings, which owns 82 percent of Philippine Airlines, has jumped 49 percent in Manila trading in the past year. Tan controls 98 percent of the parent company.
Tan, the second-richest man in the Philippines behind Henry Sy, has a family fortune of $2.3 billion, according to Forbes. His other companies include cigarette-maker Fortune Tobacco Corp. and Asia Brewery Inc., the country’s second-biggest brewer.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
PAL registered P3.6-b loss in 3 quarters
Manila Standard Today
February 21, 2012
by Jenniffer B. Austria
Philippine Airlines Holdings Inc., the parent company of flag carrier Philippine Airlines, posted a P3.6-billion net loss in the first three quarters of its fiscal year ending December, a reversal from P3.2-billion net profit posted in the same period last year due to lower income from operations.
PAL’s full fiscal year begins in April and ends in March of the following year.
PAL Holdings, in a financial report filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange, said revenues reached P54.38 billion in nine months to December, down 2 percent from P55.22 billion in the same period a year ago.
“Decline in revenues can be attributable mainly to decrease in passenger and cargo revenues by 13 percent, offset by the increase in other income earned during the period,” PAL Holdings said.
“The drop in passenger revenues by 1 percent was brought about mainly by the effect of the peso-dollar exchange rate fluctuations,” it added.
Other revenues, which were up by 9 percent, included lease income from aircraft operating lease arrangements with an entity under common control, excess baggage revenues and ancillary revenues generated mainly from other passenger transport services.
Total expenses jumped to P57.97 billion from P51.67 billion, owing to higher expenses related to flight operations, aircraft and traffic servicing, reservation and sales and other expenses.
February 21, 2012
by Jenniffer B. Austria
Philippine Airlines Holdings Inc., the parent company of flag carrier Philippine Airlines, posted a P3.6-billion net loss in the first three quarters of its fiscal year ending December, a reversal from P3.2-billion net profit posted in the same period last year due to lower income from operations.
PAL’s full fiscal year begins in April and ends in March of the following year.
PAL Holdings, in a financial report filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange, said revenues reached P54.38 billion in nine months to December, down 2 percent from P55.22 billion in the same period a year ago.
“Decline in revenues can be attributable mainly to decrease in passenger and cargo revenues by 13 percent, offset by the increase in other income earned during the period,” PAL Holdings said.
“The drop in passenger revenues by 1 percent was brought about mainly by the effect of the peso-dollar exchange rate fluctuations,” it added.
Other revenues, which were up by 9 percent, included lease income from aircraft operating lease arrangements with an entity under common control, excess baggage revenues and ancillary revenues generated mainly from other passenger transport services.
Total expenses jumped to P57.97 billion from P51.67 billion, owing to higher expenses related to flight operations, aircraft and traffic servicing, reservation and sales and other expenses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)