19 July 2013
By Guy Ledoux
Ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines
One month ago, I took the plane for Brussels to attend the EU-Philippines Senior Official meeting. As I was in the check line, I learned that the computer system of the airline I was using had broken down and the checking was done by hand.
By Guy Ledoux
Ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines
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| "The lifting of the EU air ban for Philippines Airlines on 10 July opening the door for direct flights to Europe is significant in today’s world where time is precious." |
We were back in the old age where the airline attendant was writing your name and seat number by hand on your boarding pass. Inevitably the boarding time was delayed by 2 hours.
When I was finally comfortably seated in the plane a very strong storm hit the airport and we had to wait another two hours for the weather to improve so that we could take off.
Of course with that sort of delay, I missed my connecting flight and instead of arriving at 7 a.m. in Brussels I arrived at 6 p.m. I must emphasise that the delay was not related to the airport nor to the local staff. These sorts of situations happen. I was however upset that I could not enjoy the short break I had planned which included the visit of the newly renovated Rijks museum of Amsterdam.
In our modern world, travellers, whether for business or leisure, expect airlines to be on time. When it is for business, a late arrival might result in an important meeting with a customer missed. When it is for leisure, time is also precious and one prefers to spend a few hours more on the beach than in a cramped airplane parked on the tarmac.
The lifting of the EU air ban for Philippines Airlines on 10 July opening the door for direct flights to Europe is significant in today’s world where time is precious. The re-introduction of direct flights will bring the travel time between Manila and Paris or Manila and London from around 17:00 h to 12:00 h. Businessmen and tourists will appreciate the absence of connecting flights with all the related inconvenience such as transit time, transit formalities and risk of losing luggage.
The Philippine government considers tourism one of its key growth industries that should contribute to providing much needed jobs. The beauty of Philippine beaches and diving opportunities undoubtedly represent a key comparative advantage for the Philippines. In 2012, European tourist arrivals in the Philippines were up 10%, with 349,000 visitors, despite the absence of direct flights. Direct connections will provide a strong additional incentive for European tourists to visit the Philippines.
The lifting of the air ban, starting with the national flag carrier, demonstrates that the Philippine government is following a steady path of reforms. Having identified tourism as a growth industry it concentrates its efforts on progressively eliminating all bottlenecks affecting the sector. By renewing its fleet with an order of 67 new planes from Airbus, Philippine Airlines will offer its customers attractive direct flights from Europe and local investors are building new hotel facilities showing that the private sector is following suit. These combined efforts will definitely validate the department of tourism’s slogan: Its more fun in the Philippines. (Published on the Philippine Star on July 19, 2013)
In our modern world, travellers, whether for business or leisure, expect airlines to be on time. When it is for business, a late arrival might result in an important meeting with a customer missed. When it is for leisure, time is also precious and one prefers to spend a few hours more on the beach than in a cramped airplane parked on the tarmac.
The lifting of the EU air ban for Philippines Airlines on 10 July opening the door for direct flights to Europe is significant in today’s world where time is precious. The re-introduction of direct flights will bring the travel time between Manila and Paris or Manila and London from around 17:00 h to 12:00 h. Businessmen and tourists will appreciate the absence of connecting flights with all the related inconvenience such as transit time, transit formalities and risk of losing luggage.
The Philippine government considers tourism one of its key growth industries that should contribute to providing much needed jobs. The beauty of Philippine beaches and diving opportunities undoubtedly represent a key comparative advantage for the Philippines. In 2012, European tourist arrivals in the Philippines were up 10%, with 349,000 visitors, despite the absence of direct flights. Direct connections will provide a strong additional incentive for European tourists to visit the Philippines.
The lifting of the air ban, starting with the national flag carrier, demonstrates that the Philippine government is following a steady path of reforms. Having identified tourism as a growth industry it concentrates its efforts on progressively eliminating all bottlenecks affecting the sector. By renewing its fleet with an order of 67 new planes from Airbus, Philippine Airlines will offer its customers attractive direct flights from Europe and local investors are building new hotel facilities showing that the private sector is following suit. These combined efforts will definitely validate the department of tourism’s slogan: Its more fun in the Philippines. (Published on the Philippine Star on July 19, 2013)
Business passengers (high yielding ones) will always fly direct where flights are available. There is no argument to that adage.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is always premium fare on time. You want to travel fast, pay a much higher fare. Want to arrive the next day, pay the cheapest fare. No argument to that adage either.
That's not necessarily true. There are other important considerations like frequent flyer mileage and status that comes with its perks. These programs are successful because loyalty counts. PAL also does not offer any Executive Lounges in Europe and Mabuhay Class cannot compare to the amenities offered by carriers like Singapore Airlines and Emirates. Tight schedules will certainly demand a direct flight but if there was a choice, business travellers would wait for an airline that is better equipped. Unfortunately, there are not enough people wanting to travel direct to justify paying more. Why do you think KLM pulled out? In spite of the common carrier tax being thrown out, they have not decided to reinstate their direct flights.
DeleteDo you mean to say that because of those perks, a french businessman on a business meeting or Diplomat from Paris bothers to travel to Singapore or Dubai just to earned miles instead of flying direct flights to the Philippines if they are indeed available?
DeleteAs far as we know only passengers booked on economy class do that. Never in business class.
As for the KLM story, perhaps you should try to read our post. The answer to your question is there and were sorry, its not about the CCT.
Very well said, Ambassador Ledoux!
ReplyDeletePAL should release a new ad for European travellers!!
ReplyDeletepr will get killed on this route! they stand no chanse with the airplanes they use compare to the legacy carriers who fly like 3 times daily to philippines, and up to 4 times daily out of the big airports in europe. and for business class people, they would be upset, their is no privacy on pr airplanes. business is to crowded and limited availability to business people. im half filipino myself, and love philippines, but never been happy with pr. even my mother pay 100 dollar extra to go with singapore airlines out of copenhagen or qatar from Oslo.
ReplyDeleteYou think PAL expansion to EU will kill the airline? Do you know the past of PAL or what? Philippine Airline used to be the Worlds Legacy Airline until the Asia's Financial Crisis happened. Which led them to downgrade. PAL was Asia's first airline, the first airline to cross over Pacific Ocean, the first airline to fly to Europe. PAL has already experience all of this and your telling me the expansion will kill the airline? Dude, PAL knows what their doing. They have experienced it and will regain its routes back. I guarantee you, if PAL never did went through those Financial Crisis or downgraded. Im sure PAL would still be topped with Qatar Airways, Singapore, ANA Airlines, and etc.
DeleteDude, fix your English first before you complain. You can't even spell or put your words together in a proper manner.
DeleteLearn your facts about the airline before you criticize.
Deletei went to cebu last year, roundtrip ticket from oslo via manila for 712usd including taxes. and my parents traveled with sq from copenhagen to cebu for 900. and its high season.
ReplyDeletePAL has been to Europe before and they know what they are doing
ReplyDeleteNkakalungkot pero ang daming Negative Feedback., This is all I can say to all Filipino's na nag cocomment ng "Negative" dito, Do you think PAL management is too stupid to launch these routes? Do you think in just 24 hours naisip ng mga executives na "Ohh that route is good lets operate there" . All of this improvements and enhancement are done by PAL to bring back the good image and to make all of us "Filipino's" proud of our Legacy Carrier. So please give PAL the chance to prove na they are on the right track. This is the right time for us all to cooperate dahil di lang ito para sa PAL, para ito satin lahat. Kudos Philippine Airlines and PAL Express! J.d.
ReplyDeleteIt will be like Toronto. They gonna pull out from many destinations.
ReplyDeleteToronto won't be axed. Toronto stays on.
Delete