CAT 1 Finally!

10 April 2014








US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg (left) hands over to Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General William Hotchkiss on Thursday, April 10, a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certifying that the Philippines has passed the Category 1 level for airport safety. More than six years after having been downgraded for air safety issues, the country has regained the much coveted status, which means PHL carriers can now add flights and services to more points in the US.



WASHINGTON– The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that the Republic of the Philippines complies with international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and has been granted a Category 1 rating.

The country previously held a Category 1 rating until January 2008, when it was downgraded to a Category 2. A Category 2 rating means a country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or that its civil aviation authority – equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping or inspection procedures.

The return to Category 1 status is based on a March 2014 FAA review of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards. With the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Category 1 rating, the Republic of the Philippines’ air carriers can add flights and service to the United States and carry the code of U.S. carriers.

As part of the FAA’s IASA program, the agency assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that have applied to fly to the United States, currently conduct operations to the United States or participate in code sharing arrangements with U.S. partner airlines and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether or not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations.

In order to maintain a Category 1 rating, a country must adhere to the safety standards of ICAO, the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance. 

18 comments:

  1. Congratulation to the Philippins Airline industry!
    Now, I am looking forward to see Philippine Airline progress through the years and see their future plans and expansions :D
    Hoping to see some improvements when I go back for a vacation to the Philippines :3

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  2. PAL can now place orders for more 777's, 747-8's & 787 Dreamliners in addition of previous Airbus orders to complete the 100 aircraft order.

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  3. I want to see PAL flying to other US cities esp. to Houston, Denver, Miami, Washington DC, Boston & Atlanta.

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    1. The only places we can see PAL flying to in the US is either Chicago, Seattle, or JFK. I would love Denver since I live here, but there isn't enough Filipino presence here in the rockies to support a flight that would be profitable.

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  4. PAL can now join the Oneworld alliance anytime soon, to even out the 2 ASEAN carriers in Star, Skyteam & Oneworld.

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    1. They're more likely to join Star Alliance if they'll enter a partnership with ANA though.

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    2. But Star needs to drop one of two ASEAN carriers, either Thai or Singapore in order to PAL into the alliance. If not, there's no choice but to join Oneworld, because SKYTEAM has VN & GA, while STAR has TG & SQ & Oneworld has only one ASEAN airline, MH. Maybe ONEWORLD needs one more ASEAN airline to complete the cast.

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  5. Good news for philippines, but still a very long way to go!! Plz ugrade seats and ife, specially in business class. Look at qatar, singapore and even GARUDA indonesia. I,ve been using the a321 few times and it sucks, seats are less comfy than the old ones and where is the screen on these new planes? Arent they trying to be a premium airline? And most important is the airport in manila, theres no hope for this airline until a brand new one opens up so it can compete with the well establishes ones. Toilet stinks like shit and 2 few restaurants to choose. No offense guys , but frequent flyers who use airports as transit dont want to use terminal 2 as one, even t1.

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  6. Get a agreement with russia so the flight will be shorter and ticket less expensive to Europe. Pal is ok, but still one of the bad airlines on skytrax according to passengers.

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    1. PAL is already one of the cheapest fare to London and what Aeroflot is asking is more than what the airline spend for fuel for the up to 3 longer hours to EU.

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    2. Bad on some short-medium haul flights (using A320s, A321s, A330s) because they haven't refurbished it. Their long haul aircraft (B747s, B777s, A340s) have new cabin features like lie flat seats on business class, IFE AVOD on both business and economy and Wi-Fi on 777s. They're cabin service has improved yet not at par with 5 star airlines. But, PAL still is one of the safety airlines. They hire the best pilots.

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    3. Where do you get the best pilots from? Do you know how many who fails the checkride with emirates and qatar for their pilot positions? Why do you think there are so many old timers left in pal.. i know many who left to vietnam airlines and japan

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    4. Their widebody fleet is not really up to date. Lie flat beds but on their latest airplane in 2-3-2 config. When people pay these prizes they want privacy, im used to 1-2-1 or 2-2-2 and almost same price as 5 star airlines. And when u compare the food and inflight entertainment is nil compare to others. By the way pal a321 is their latest refurbished airplane. Been on it 4 times and far from satisfied. Check out asiana a321 or virgin america, then u see what pal should be and not cheap shit.

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  7. Good news to CAAP and PAL! B77Ws on US flights and more cities. Congrats CAAP! PAL should purchase more B77Ws and buy 787s. They should immediately fly to New York, Seattle, DC, Chicago.

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    1. Meaning, the B747-400s of PAL has been counted down for retirement.
      Yes. SFO and LAX will see PAL's B77Ws to land by May but unfortunately, I will miss the old beauties (B747-400s)... T_T

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  8. Watch this blog for the future announcement of the long haul wide body orders from PAL. Decision has already been made.

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    1. Where will these planes be put if they buy more? Look at manila airport, and they wont have a new airport within atleast 8 years... its sickening how aviation is treated in this country..

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    2. When would be the timeline for this and mind if you give us a clue on what aircraft we are looking into?

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