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)