Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 13, 2012
By Paolo G. Montecillo
When Roxanne Lu bought a regular-price round-trip ticket from Manila to Caticlan, she did not imagine that a vacation in Boracay could end on anything less than a pleasant note.
On May 7, Lu went through what can be described as any traveler’s worst nightmare, short of a plane crash.
‘Bullying’
Lu chronicled her ordeal in a note titled “Airline Bullying” on Facebook.
According to her account, the airline—AirPhil Express—tried several times to move her to a different flight for reasons that were never adequately explained to her.
“There were at least two serious occasions where they blatantly lied to me just so they could bump me to a later flight,” Lu said.
At one point, the airline’s staff said she could not be rebooked on an earlier flight back to Manila because that flight was being rerouted to Masbate—a claim she later found out was a lie.
Bittersweet
Exasperated and after crying several times, Lu did finally get on her 8:20 a.m. flight back to Manila—the one that was supposedly rerouted to Masbate. But she said the “win” was bittersweet.
“Although I fought hard and ‘won,’ it doesn’t change the fact that I have been victimized by the cunning deception and unprofessional service of Air Philippines and (affiliate) Philippine Airlines (PAL),” Lu said in her note.
“I want them to own up to what they put me through and explain to me all the vague points/claims made. I would appreciate an apology, sure, but at this point, I just want the PAL management to know and learn from this case,” she said.
AirPhil probe
Jane Llanes, media affairs group vice president for AirPhil Express’ parent firm, San Miguel Corp., declined to issue a comment on the matter. She said the company was aware of the Lu incident, but would not give a reaction before completing a proper investigation.
Lu’s case came a day after the brawl between radio host and Inguirer columnist Ramon Tulfo and several men, including actor Raymart Santiago, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3. The brawl stemmed from Santiago demanding that Tulfo surrender the cell phone he used in taking photos of the former’s wife, actress Claudine Baretto, berating a Cebu Pacific employee for some off-loaded baggage.
Birthing pains
The brawl highlights, among other things, what many perceive as the insensitive business practices of local budget airlines.
For AirAsia Inc., the country’s newest budget carrier, such cases were part of birthing pains for the budget airline industry in the Philippines.
“I can understand the frustration of passengers,” AirAsia president and CEO Marianne Hontiveros said in an interview.
While not commenting on Lu’s ordeal—opting not to openly criticize a competitor—Hontiveros said passengers had become accustomed to a market that for decades was monopolized by the full-service flag carrier PAL.
Tourism’s driving force
Hontiveros said the budget airline industry, which made air travel more affordable for millions of Filipinos, was the single-biggest driving force for the domestic and international tourism industry over the last decade.
“If we didn’t have budget airlines, air travel and tourism would not be as robust,” Hontiveros said.
Data from the Manila International Airport Authority showed that 29.8 million passengers passed through Naia’s four terminals in 2011. This was up by more than half from the 18 million Naia passengers in 2007.
Complaints surge
This growth, however, has come at a cost.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said it had seen a significant rise in passenger complaints this year—nearly all of them directed at budget airlines.
The regulator said most of the complaints involved flight delays, a result of congestion at airports, and denial of boarding of passengers who arrived late.
While full-service carriers like PAL tried to pamper their passengers as best they could, Hontiveros said budget carriers were more straightforward with their services.
“We are required to deliver safe, reliable, on-time travel for passengers who just want to get from point A to B. We want them to be safe and comfortable at the lowest cost possible,” Hontiveros said.
“But over and above that, if they want the flexibility of rebooking flights even if they miss their planes and other frills like that, they should go full service,” she said.
Lapses
The country’s largest budget carrier, Cebu Pacific, acknowledged that at times, it was guilty of lapses in terms of dealing with irate passengers.
“I’m not saying that we are perfect. There are lapses sometimes,” said Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution.
But in most cases, what most people considered insensitivity on the part of the airline, the company saw only strict and fair adherence to corporate rules. Iyog noted that many complaints of passengers being denied boarding pinned the blame on the industry practice of overbooking of flights.
“That’s a misconception. Most of the time, it’s because passengers come in late for their flights. In those cases, we have to be firm with our rules,” Iyog said.
In 2009, Cebu Pacific implemented a set of rules that said passengers who arrived late for their flights would forfeit their tickets.
The company explained that allowing the rebooking of tickets of passengers who missed their flight, at little to no extra cost to that passenger, would mean selling two seats on different planes for the price of one.
Seats highly perishable
“But we treat seats as highly perishable products,” Iyog said. “People have to understand that it’s really hard to make money in this business. The common joke is that owning an airline would make you a millionaire—but only if you start off as a billionaire,” she said.
She said being firm in the implementation of rules was vital for any airline that hopes to sell affordable tickets to the public.
When passengers are bumped off from flights because of overbooking—which is done to compensate for “no-shows” expected on most flights—Cebu Pacific always tries to make up for its mistakes, Iyog said.
“We book passengers on the next available flight. On top of that, we also give them a round-trip ticket free of charge to make up for the inconvenience,” she said. If passengers opted not to be rebooked on the next flight, their tickets were refunded, Iyog said.
She said the practice of overbooking was not applied to all flights. “We have revenue management people who look at historical load trends and behavior of passengers on certain days to determine which flights can be overbooked and which ones cannot,” she said.
“For example, we know that for early morning flights, there are some passengers who fail to wake up. But we also know that on weekend flights to popular destinations like Caticlan, everybody shows up. So, those flights are rarely overbooked,” she said.
Read fine print
Part of the blame, Iyog said, should be pinned on the failure of most passengers to read the fine print when buying their tickets.
She said passengers should take time reading the terms and conditions of plane tickets they buy.
“We put those conditions in our print ads. And whenever passengers buy tickets online, we require them to accept these terms. But I think a lot of people just click the ‘accept’ button without reading the terms,” she said.
Hontiveros agreed, saying that passengers, too, have a duty to keep themselves informed. She said budget airlines could not afford to make compromises that would put further pressure on their already slim profit margins.
(Paolo G. Montecillo is an Inquirer reporter covering the transportation and communications beat.)
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
PAL Planning Manila-NY Flights
Manila Bulletin
By JAMES A. LOYOLA
Philippine Airlines (PAL) aims to beat rival carrier Cebu Pacific Air to the draw by aiming to start flying the Manila to New York route in three months-notwithstanding the Philippines' Category 2 status.
In an interview, PAL President Ramon S. Ang said cryptically that they already have a way to overcome this obstacle adding that “we assure you, we will be the first to come out with Manila-New York flights.“
Ang said PAL also intends to use its new Boeing 777-300ER to fly Manila-Toronto and Toronto-Manila non-stop. The carrier already has two of the long-haul aircraft and has ordered four more, of which two will be delivers this year and two more next year.
“We hope we can resolve quickly the category 2 issue so we can go to Europe including London, Paris, Rome,” said Ang.
Ang said he is confident of being able to turnaround PAL’s finances so that it will be profitable, together with
its budget unit Air Philippines, in just one year after San Miguel Corporation invested in it.
He said profitability can be boosted by improving PAL’s system of selling tickets, to get better yield and pricing, as well as by lowering cost through better aircraft utilization.
“From an average of 10 hours per aircraft, we will raise utilization up to 16 hours,” said Ang.
He added that, “in a year or two, PAL will have the most beautiful flight attendants in Asia” as the airline plans to woo more passengers by having the best service, newest aircraft and the best food on board.
PAL intends to acquire 100 aircraft in the next five years. Aside from the new 777-300ERs, the carrier has also order four additional Airbus A320s in preparation for the expansion of its route network. The expansion and modernization program will be bankrolled by the $500 million SMC will be infusing into the airline. Last month, San Miguel Equity Investments Inc. entered into investment agreements with Lucio Tan's Trustmark Holdings Corporation and Zuma Holdings and Management Corp. giving SMC a 49 percent stake in PAL and AirPhil.
By JAMES A. LOYOLA
Philippine Airlines (PAL) aims to beat rival carrier Cebu Pacific Air to the draw by aiming to start flying the Manila to New York route in three months-notwithstanding the Philippines' Category 2 status.
In an interview, PAL President Ramon S. Ang said cryptically that they already have a way to overcome this obstacle adding that “we assure you, we will be the first to come out with Manila-New York flights.“
Ang said PAL also intends to use its new Boeing 777-300ER to fly Manila-Toronto and Toronto-Manila non-stop. The carrier already has two of the long-haul aircraft and has ordered four more, of which two will be delivers this year and two more next year.
“We hope we can resolve quickly the category 2 issue so we can go to Europe including London, Paris, Rome,” said Ang.
Ang said he is confident of being able to turnaround PAL’s finances so that it will be profitable, together with
its budget unit Air Philippines, in just one year after San Miguel Corporation invested in it.
He said profitability can be boosted by improving PAL’s system of selling tickets, to get better yield and pricing, as well as by lowering cost through better aircraft utilization.
“From an average of 10 hours per aircraft, we will raise utilization up to 16 hours,” said Ang.
He added that, “in a year or two, PAL will have the most beautiful flight attendants in Asia” as the airline plans to woo more passengers by having the best service, newest aircraft and the best food on board.
PAL intends to acquire 100 aircraft in the next five years. Aside from the new 777-300ERs, the carrier has also order four additional Airbus A320s in preparation for the expansion of its route network. The expansion and modernization program will be bankrolled by the $500 million SMC will be infusing into the airline. Last month, San Miguel Equity Investments Inc. entered into investment agreements with Lucio Tan's Trustmark Holdings Corporation and Zuma Holdings and Management Corp. giving SMC a 49 percent stake in PAL and AirPhil.
Friday, May 11, 2012
PAL seen getting back in the black in a year
Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 11, 2012
By: Doris C. Dumlao
SMC confident it can reverse airline’s fortune.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines can turn profitable again in just one year, even by just using the existing fleet now under the management control of San Miguel Corp., SMC chief Ramon S. Ang said.
“Based on the existing fleet, we are already confident we can turn it around,” Ang told reporters Thursday after the stockholders’ meeting of SMC’s hard liquor unit, Ginebra San Miguel Inc.
“PAL is a very good company and a very good brand,” he said.
PAL’s return to profitability one year after SMC’s takeover, Ang said, would be achieved through the implementation of a better sales and ticketing system and reduction in cost through higher utilization of aircraft.
He said PAL would implement a “better system of selling to get a better yield and better pricing.”
Ang also said that operating costs could be significantly reduced by increasing aircraft utilization from about 10.5 hours per day to 12 to as high as 16 hours daily, in line with international benchmarks.
Doing so would help achieve PAL’s turnaround even before the planned refleeting program that Ang had extensively discussed.
Two previously purchased Boeing 777-300E7 planes are set to arrive this year.
Ang, who recently became chief executive officer of PAL, added that he would find ways to review current routes and introduce non-stop Manila-New York flights in the next three months.
“We hope to go to Toronto this year,” Ang said, adding that PAL hoped to resolve international aviation woes so that the flag carrier will be able to fly to European cities like London, Paris and Rome.
The European Union currently disallows carriers from the Philippines, Honduras and the two Congos to fly to its jurisdiction.
Since 2008, the US Federal Aviation Administration has also downgraded the Philippines to Category 2 safety, effectively banning local carriers from expanding their operations in the United States.
With the Category 2 status in force, PAL is limited to various destinations in the US, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, Guam and Las Vegas via Vancouver.
But Ang said SMC was “doing something” to be able to fly to new destinations in the United States.
May 11, 2012
By: Doris C. Dumlao
SMC confident it can reverse airline’s fortune.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines can turn profitable again in just one year, even by just using the existing fleet now under the management control of San Miguel Corp., SMC chief Ramon S. Ang said.
“Based on the existing fleet, we are already confident we can turn it around,” Ang told reporters Thursday after the stockholders’ meeting of SMC’s hard liquor unit, Ginebra San Miguel Inc.
“PAL is a very good company and a very good brand,” he said.
PAL’s return to profitability one year after SMC’s takeover, Ang said, would be achieved through the implementation of a better sales and ticketing system and reduction in cost through higher utilization of aircraft.
He said PAL would implement a “better system of selling to get a better yield and better pricing.”
Ang also said that operating costs could be significantly reduced by increasing aircraft utilization from about 10.5 hours per day to 12 to as high as 16 hours daily, in line with international benchmarks.
Doing so would help achieve PAL’s turnaround even before the planned refleeting program that Ang had extensively discussed.
Two previously purchased Boeing 777-300E7 planes are set to arrive this year.
Ang, who recently became chief executive officer of PAL, added that he would find ways to review current routes and introduce non-stop Manila-New York flights in the next three months.
“We hope to go to Toronto this year,” Ang said, adding that PAL hoped to resolve international aviation woes so that the flag carrier will be able to fly to European cities like London, Paris and Rome.
The European Union currently disallows carriers from the Philippines, Honduras and the two Congos to fly to its jurisdiction.
Since 2008, the US Federal Aviation Administration has also downgraded the Philippines to Category 2 safety, effectively banning local carriers from expanding their operations in the United States.
With the Category 2 status in force, PAL is limited to various destinations in the US, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, Guam and Las Vegas via Vancouver.
But Ang said SMC was “doing something” to be able to fly to new destinations in the United States.
Ang vows to turn PAL around in 1 year
The Philippine Star
May 11, 2012
“PAL is a good airline and brand. We’re confident we can turn PAL and its sister budget carrier Air Philippines around in a year. Give me a year or two, PAL will have the most beautiful FAs (flight attendants) and the best service,” said Ang, who earned a reputation for engineering business turnarounds.
Ang said he continues to hold dialogues with PAL management to further professionalize the airline’s operations and boost its revenues as part of its turnaround plan. Specifically, he wants to improve airline ticketing, increase efficiencies and customer satisfaction.
He also wants to maintain a high daily aircraft utilization rate, which measures the number of flight hours they use the aircraft per day, from the existing 10 1/2 hours to 12-16 hours.
Ang explained that higher daily aircraft utilization will allow PAL to maximize the amount of revenues it generates from its aircraft and, in turn, develop schedules that will enable it to increase average hours flown per day.
Under its plan, PAL is planning to beef up its fleet with the acquisition of up to 100 new aircraft over the next five years. For this year, around eight Airbus A320 planes and two Boeing 777-300s will arrive. Another two Boeing 777-300s will come on line next year.
Part of the plan is to fly non-stop to New York from Manila within the next three months.
Ang said PAL is also hoping to resume flights to Europe, the Middle East as well as the East Coast of the United States as he expressed confidence the Philippines can restore the country to US Category 1 status. “We hope to fly to Toronto within the year,” he said.
The US Federal Aviation agency downgraded the Philippines’ status to Category 2 due to the local regulator’s in ability to implement safety standards.
The ambitious refleeting program will be funded by San Miguel’s recent infusion of $500 million in the airline, plus a fresh $500 million from both San Miguel and the group of tycoon Lucio Tan, which still owns 51 percent of PAL. - By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
May 11, 2012
“PAL is a good airline and brand. We’re confident we can turn PAL and its sister budget carrier Air Philippines around in a year. Give me a year or two, PAL will have the most beautiful FAs (flight attendants) and the best service,” said Ang, who earned a reputation for engineering business turnarounds.
Ang said he continues to hold dialogues with PAL management to further professionalize the airline’s operations and boost its revenues as part of its turnaround plan. Specifically, he wants to improve airline ticketing, increase efficiencies and customer satisfaction.
He also wants to maintain a high daily aircraft utilization rate, which measures the number of flight hours they use the aircraft per day, from the existing 10 1/2 hours to 12-16 hours.
Ang explained that higher daily aircraft utilization will allow PAL to maximize the amount of revenues it generates from its aircraft and, in turn, develop schedules that will enable it to increase average hours flown per day.
Under its plan, PAL is planning to beef up its fleet with the acquisition of up to 100 new aircraft over the next five years. For this year, around eight Airbus A320 planes and two Boeing 777-300s will arrive. Another two Boeing 777-300s will come on line next year.
Part of the plan is to fly non-stop to New York from Manila within the next three months.
Ang said PAL is also hoping to resume flights to Europe, the Middle East as well as the East Coast of the United States as he expressed confidence the Philippines can restore the country to US Category 1 status. “We hope to fly to Toronto within the year,” he said.
The US Federal Aviation agency downgraded the Philippines’ status to Category 2 due to the local regulator’s in ability to implement safety standards.
The ambitious refleeting program will be funded by San Miguel’s recent infusion of $500 million in the airline, plus a fresh $500 million from both San Miguel and the group of tycoon Lucio Tan, which still owns 51 percent of PAL. - By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
San Miguel looking to list energy unit, revitalize PAL
Business World
May 11, 2012
DIVERSIFIED conglomerate San Miguel Corp. may revive plans to take its energy unit public this year, its president yesterday said, and is also looking to a quick return to profit for its newly acquired aviation business.
San Miguel’s Ramon S. Ang, in a chance interview on Tuesday, said the company remained interested in an initial public offering for SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.
"We will try if we can, who doesn’t want money?" Mr. Ang said in Filipino when asked if the listing could push through this year.
SMC Global Power President Alan T. Ortiz last November said IPO plans would be deferred amid volatile market conditions.
Mr. Ang, meanwhile, yesterday bared plans to boost the operations and profits of Philippine Airlines after San Miguel acquired a 49% stake in PAL Holdings, Inc., last month.
"We are confident that we will be able to turn around PAL within a year from our first investment," he told reporters following the annual stockholders’ meeting of San Miguel liquor unit Ginebra San Miguel, Inc.
PAL Holdings’ nine-month losses stood at P3.629 billion last year, a reversal of the P3.237 billion in net income recorded the previous year.
Mr. Ang said route additions and modifications were being considered, including a non stop Manila-to-New York flight pending the removal of the country’s Category 2 status -- indicating non-compliance with international safety standards -- imposed by the US-based Federal Aviation Administration.
Long-term plans for profitability include a "better ticket sale system" to bring down expenses and to improve yields, and increasing the daily aircraft usage from the current average of 10.5 hours per day to roughly 12 to 16 hours per day in a bid to reduce costs, Mr. Ang added.
He said PAL also hoped to close a deal for a five-year re-fleeting program.
"What we want to do is to close the deal as soon as possible for the 100 units we will order. Most of the new airplanes will replace the old airplanes, while others will be reserved for expansion," Mr. Ang said.
He said two Boeing 777-300ERs and eight Airbus 320s were expected to join the PAL fleet this year, having been previously purchased by the previous management.
Moving forward, Mr. Ang said he was confident that the public would again view the company with favor despite recent labor issues.
"PAL is a very good company and a very good brand. Despite all that it has been through, it seems many people still want to ride PAL again," he claimed.
San Miguel shares lost 0.44% to P113.50 yesterday from P114.00 on Wednesday. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente and Cliff Harvey C. Venzon
May 11, 2012
DIVERSIFIED conglomerate San Miguel Corp. may revive plans to take its energy unit public this year, its president yesterday said, and is also looking to a quick return to profit for its newly acquired aviation business.
San Miguel’s Ramon S. Ang, in a chance interview on Tuesday, said the company remained interested in an initial public offering for SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.
"We will try if we can, who doesn’t want money?" Mr. Ang said in Filipino when asked if the listing could push through this year.
SMC Global Power President Alan T. Ortiz last November said IPO plans would be deferred amid volatile market conditions.
Mr. Ang, meanwhile, yesterday bared plans to boost the operations and profits of Philippine Airlines after San Miguel acquired a 49% stake in PAL Holdings, Inc., last month.
"We are confident that we will be able to turn around PAL within a year from our first investment," he told reporters following the annual stockholders’ meeting of San Miguel liquor unit Ginebra San Miguel, Inc.
PAL Holdings’ nine-month losses stood at P3.629 billion last year, a reversal of the P3.237 billion in net income recorded the previous year.
Mr. Ang said route additions and modifications were being considered, including a non stop Manila-to-New York flight pending the removal of the country’s Category 2 status -- indicating non-compliance with international safety standards -- imposed by the US-based Federal Aviation Administration.
Long-term plans for profitability include a "better ticket sale system" to bring down expenses and to improve yields, and increasing the daily aircraft usage from the current average of 10.5 hours per day to roughly 12 to 16 hours per day in a bid to reduce costs, Mr. Ang added.
He said PAL also hoped to close a deal for a five-year re-fleeting program.
"What we want to do is to close the deal as soon as possible for the 100 units we will order. Most of the new airplanes will replace the old airplanes, while others will be reserved for expansion," Mr. Ang said.
He said two Boeing 777-300ERs and eight Airbus 320s were expected to join the PAL fleet this year, having been previously purchased by the previous management.
Moving forward, Mr. Ang said he was confident that the public would again view the company with favor despite recent labor issues.
"PAL is a very good company and a very good brand. Despite all that it has been through, it seems many people still want to ride PAL again," he claimed.
San Miguel shares lost 0.44% to P113.50 yesterday from P114.00 on Wednesday. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente and Cliff Harvey C. Venzon
Ang: PAL profitable after 1 year
Manila Standard Today
May 11, 2012
by Jenniffer B. Austria
Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. is confident Philippine Airlines will return to profitability one year after acquiring a 49-percent interest and taking over management control over the country’s national flag carrier.
San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said in an interview at the sidelines of the annual stockholders’ meeting of Ginebra San Miguel Inc. that the airline planned to reduce cost by increasing the utilization of aircraft from 10 hours to 16 hours a day and improving the system for selling tickets to get better yield and pricing.
“PAL will make turnaround a year from the time we invested in the company. We are confident that PAL will make a turnaround,” Ang said.
He said PAL would also fly non-stop to New York within the next three months, Toronto within the year and Europe within a one-year period.
Ang said the airline would utilize two Boeing 777-300 ERs to be delivered this year for the flight to New York and Toronto. Two more Boeing 777-300 ERs are scheduled for delivery by 2013.
PAL is launching the non-stop flights amid the decision of US authorities to strip the Philippines of its Category 1 status. Ang expressed hope that the country’s problems with US and EU aviation authorities would be resolved soon to enable the carrier to fly European destinations like London, Paris, Frankfurt and Rome.
May 11, 2012
by Jenniffer B. Austria
Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. is confident Philippine Airlines will return to profitability one year after acquiring a 49-percent interest and taking over management control over the country’s national flag carrier.
San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said in an interview at the sidelines of the annual stockholders’ meeting of Ginebra San Miguel Inc. that the airline planned to reduce cost by increasing the utilization of aircraft from 10 hours to 16 hours a day and improving the system for selling tickets to get better yield and pricing.
“PAL will make turnaround a year from the time we invested in the company. We are confident that PAL will make a turnaround,” Ang said.
He said PAL would also fly non-stop to New York within the next three months, Toronto within the year and Europe within a one-year period.
Ang said the airline would utilize two Boeing 777-300 ERs to be delivered this year for the flight to New York and Toronto. Two more Boeing 777-300 ERs are scheduled for delivery by 2013.
PAL is launching the non-stop flights amid the decision of US authorities to strip the Philippines of its Category 1 status. Ang expressed hope that the country’s problems with US and EU aviation authorities would be resolved soon to enable the carrier to fly European destinations like London, Paris, Frankfurt and Rome.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Tan to keep remaning PAL stake
The Philippine Star
May 7, 2012
By Zinnia B. Dela Peña
May 7, 2012
By Zinnia B. Dela Peña
MANILA, Philippines - The family of taipan Lucio Tan, who ceded management control of Philippine Airlines to diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp., plans to keep its remaining stake in Asia’s oldest carrier.
“No, we’re not selling” was the reply of Michael Tan, son of the country’s second wealthiest man, when asked whether his family would eventually sell what’s left of its stake in PAL.
The Tans now hold a 51-percent indirect stake in PAL and budget sister carrier Air Philippines after unloading 49 percent to San Miguel, the nation’s largest company by revenue, for about $500 million. The new investment, however, will be used to strengthen the operations of PAL, which has been saddled with skyrocketing fuel costs, labor problems, and fierce competition from low-cost rivals.
To stay afloat, PAL needs to upgrade its ageing fleet and add new routes.
Tan’s family has taken over PAL in 1992 when it was privatized by the government.
In 1995, Tan’s group embarked on an ambitious $4-billion modernization and re-fleeting program aimed at making PAL one of Asia’s best airlines within three years.
The 1997 Asian financial crisis, however, has crippled PAL’s financial status, forcing the airline to downsize its international operations by ceasing operations to Europe and the Middle East, reducing the size of its fleet and laying off employees.
Tan, who had a networth of $2.8 billion according to Forbes, was earlier rumored to sell all of his businesses except his liquor firm Asia Brewery Inc., the second largest brewer in the country and realty firm Eton Properties.
He also owns cigarette-maker Fortune Tobacco Corp., the country’s largest tobacco company, Philippine National Bank and Tanduay Holdings.
In addition to this, Tan owns Century Park Hotel, University of the East, Foremost Farms, and Lucky Travel Corp.
“No, we’re not selling” was the reply of Michael Tan, son of the country’s second wealthiest man, when asked whether his family would eventually sell what’s left of its stake in PAL.
The Tans now hold a 51-percent indirect stake in PAL and budget sister carrier Air Philippines after unloading 49 percent to San Miguel, the nation’s largest company by revenue, for about $500 million. The new investment, however, will be used to strengthen the operations of PAL, which has been saddled with skyrocketing fuel costs, labor problems, and fierce competition from low-cost rivals.
To stay afloat, PAL needs to upgrade its ageing fleet and add new routes.
Tan’s family has taken over PAL in 1992 when it was privatized by the government.
In 1995, Tan’s group embarked on an ambitious $4-billion modernization and re-fleeting program aimed at making PAL one of Asia’s best airlines within three years.
The 1997 Asian financial crisis, however, has crippled PAL’s financial status, forcing the airline to downsize its international operations by ceasing operations to Europe and the Middle East, reducing the size of its fleet and laying off employees.
Tan, who had a networth of $2.8 billion according to Forbes, was earlier rumored to sell all of his businesses except his liquor firm Asia Brewery Inc., the second largest brewer in the country and realty firm Eton Properties.
He also owns cigarette-maker Fortune Tobacco Corp., the country’s largest tobacco company, Philippine National Bank and Tanduay Holdings.
In addition to this, Tan owns Century Park Hotel, University of the East, Foremost Farms, and Lucky Travel Corp.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)