PAL: ‘Over the Hump and Here to Stay’

Weekend Balita
August 28 – September 3, 1998
By Max G. Alvarez

LOS ANGELES – With the disclosure that “we are over the hump and we are here to stay,” Philippine Airlines (PAL) Wednesday outlined the new global thrusts of the air firm, which only recently lay almost paralyzed by a labor strike.

Felix J. Cruz, Officer-in-Charge for Marketing of the PAL corporate office in Makati City, Philippines, addressed the media representatives at the PAL Los Angeles headquarters on Century Boulevard to reemphasize the dramatic return of PAL to the skies.

The essence of Cruz’s briefing for the press also served as an enhancement of PAL’s slogan, “Asia’s Sunniest,”  and the position of the Makati-based airline as Asia’s pioneer air company with a 57-year track record in the aviation industry.

With Cruz at the meeting were PAL/Los Angeles District Sales Manager Adrian M. Ingles, Manager for Advertising (PAL Corporate Office) Jesus Guidote Garcia, Reservations Manager Graciella C. Cruz of PAL/Los Angeles, and Narciso (Soy) Cervantes, PAL Supervisor at the L.A International Airport.

A support duo composed of Pio C. Lee, Vice President for Administration, K Adventure Corporation (Manila), and Leonardo V. Uy, president of LEONEL Waste Management (Manila), also attended the news conference.

The announcement about the resumption of daily flights between L.A–Manila and San Francisco–Manila (and return flights from Manila for these routes) highlighted the updates given by Felix J. Cruz.

Cruz also took occasion to dispel speculations that PAL is keeping old aircraft and disposing off new ones in the aftermath of the worst labor problem ever to hit Asia’s pioneer air enterprise.

By a temporary policy triangulation, PAL serves the Manila–L.A–San Francisco route with a new service strategy. Sooner than the industry might expect, the airline will be back full blast with the “dedicated flights to serve the North America routes even better.” And fares, said Cruz and Ingles, are better than ever with the “Salamat” (Thank you) offer. Prospective passengers may call any PAL office to check out this best ever bargain.

“We expect the PAL Filipino market to be fully back with us soon, now that we have regained foothold after the recent strike,” Cruz explained.

Advertising Division Manager Jesus Guidote Garcia pledge “to do everything possible” to assist Filipino-American newspaper with advertisements from PAL.

The L.A visit of the PAL team from Makati City was a hands-on amplification of a recent PAL announcement about the airline’s rebuilding process now “that the negative effects of the strike are waning and public confidence is coming back.”

PAL last week announced a manpower complement of 8,578, including 200 pilots, and a young fleet of 21 jet planes averaging three years in age.

Recent statistics from PAL Makati also summed up the airline’s advantages in such areas as number of aircraft, number of stations, on-time performance, comparative frequencies, and passenger traffic.

A PAL rehab plan, according to Makati sources, will be submitted to the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission in October this year. The document spells out how the company’s $2 billion debt would be restructured, along with specific details about schedule of payments.

The rehab plan calls for 21 aircraft (Plan 21) which, according to the airline’s Makati office, “is the initial number of aircraft to rightsize PAL towards viability. The number could go higher if needed.”

New PAL pilot corps vows to win back passenger trust

The Newsmaker
August 28 - September 3, 1998

After undergoing a cathartic upheaval during the last two months, the new pilot corps for Philippine Airlines now files with a renewed sense of purpose to serve the riding public first and foremost.
“We want to serve the public first and get the airline off the ground," says First Officer Miguel Rocha, a former striker who returned to PAL’s fold after a month on the picket line.
Rocha's attitude is indicative of the new culture prevailing at PAL's flight operations unit, which was at the center of the storm during the 22-day strike by the pilots' union last June.
"There is a very clear and tangible change in attitude around here," says Capt. Edilberto Medina, chief pilot of the Boeing 737 division. “The new pilot corps we have now is more disciplined, more dedicated to their jobs and highly professional."
PAL has steadily built up its flight deck crew after its ranks were decimated by the strike. The flag carrier now has 224 pilots (made up of 191 line pilots and 33 management pilots) in its coaster -- a large contraction from the 620 pilots in the line before the strike. Of the 191 line pilots, more than three-fourths are "returnees."
But if they once struck to bring PAL to its knees, the returnees are now the flag carrier's management pilots. “The past is past. It's time to move on. Right now, we want to do our part and help in PAL's recovery efforts," says Rocha, who files the airline's long- range workhorse, the Airbus A340.
"There's very evident willingness among the pilots to roll up their sleeves and get down to work," says Capt. Alejandro Campos, Jr., deputy chief pilot of the A340 division.
“Everybody is available at all times, unlike before when we had many cases of pilots calling in sick. We've never had a case of a pilot being medically grounded or experiencing    on-time performance (OTP) problems during the last two months," he added.@