Domestic Air travel Jumps 230% in 1st Quarter

30 May 2022

Domestic Air travel in 2022 showed signs of strong recovery after registering first quarter surge of 230% of passengers as compared to the same period recorded last year.

Data from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed that domestic passenger traffic from January to March stood at 3.26 million, a 230 percent jump from the 988,212 recorded in the same period in 2021.

Transporting the most number of passengers is budget carrier Cebu Pacific, and subsidiary CebGo which carried during the quarter with 1.87 million, followed by flag carrier Philippine Airlines and PAL Express with 895,539. Meanwhile, AirAsia Philippines came third with 474,064, while Ayala unit, AirSwift Transport Inc., carried 18,805 passengers during the three-month period.

CAB said  domestic passenger traffic for the first quarter is already more than half of 2021’s full year domestic passenger volume, which stood at 5.53 million, an indication that air travel is on its way to recovery this year.

Local airline operators have seen a strong rebound in domestic travel in the second quarter this year, with the easing of travel restrictions and reopening of borders.

Cebu Pacific announced that it is in the process of restoring 100 percent of its domestic pre-pandemic capacity right in time for the summer season. Its domestic network currently has over 50 routes spanning Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines, expects to return to pre-pandemic levels in its domestic network within the second or third quarter. 

The airline said some of its Visayas-Mindanao routes, and some of its intra Mindanao route remains suspended. It is however opening new services in Mindanao with plans to inaugurate next month the first-ever air links within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao through regular jet flights between Cotabato City and Tawi-Tawi.

PAL Confirms COO Appointment

27 May 2022

Philippine Airlines (PAL) Board of Directors has confirmed the appointment of Stanley Ng, as President and Chief Operating Officer.

The flag carrier also announced the election of new Directors, during its annual stockholders’ meeting on Thursday.

“I am humbled by the trust and confidence of our PAL board and stockholders. Working together with the entire PAL leadership team and our valued employees, I pledge to do the best we can, with passion and dedication, to ensure that Philippine Airlines fulfills its mandate as the flag carrier to be of service to the flying public,” Ng said.

The newly elected Director to PAL Board includes Shiela Tan-Pascual, Vivienne Tan, Jerome Tan and David Uy Ong.

Shiela Pascual and Vivienne Tan, both daughters of Lucio Tan, filled the vacant positions in the board. 

Jerome Tan and Davit Ong, replaced Florentino Herrera and Mark Chen to the Board after completing their service.

Shiela Pascual also serves as director of Allied Commercial Bank, among other companies in the LT Group, while Vivienne Tan is a director of Philippine National Bank, board member of University of the East (UE) and UE Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center and founding chair of Entrepreneurs School of Asia.

Jerome Tan is also director of PAL Holdings and president of Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc., while David Ong serves as top executive at Global Tech Eco Corp., Globo de Oro Holding Corp., North Star Flour Milling Corp., Cuisine of the Philippines Inc. (Seascape Village) and H2O Technologies Inc.

PAL Opens Cotabato To Tawi-Tawi Route

Flight Starts June 9

 26 May 2022

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines(PAL) will open a new hub in Cotabato with a new flight connecting ARMM Regional Center in Cotabato to Tawi-Tawi, and vice versa beginning June 9.

The route will be flown by Q400 aircraft every Monday and Thursday with PR 2487 departing at 7:30 a.m., and with return flight PR 2488 from Tawi-Tawi to Cotabato departing at 9:40 a.m.

PAL said it will initially deploy Airbus A320 aircraft on the pioneer route, offering a choice of Business Class and Economy seating on the nonstop flights across the Sulu Sea.

“We are honored to make history by operating the first flight within the new Bangsamoro region, giving us a new opportunity to serve its 4.9 million people,” said PAL’s president and chief operating officer Captain Stanley Ng.

“We look forward to contributing, in our own way, to the development of tourism and commerce in Bangsamoro through regular flights that help promote unity and economic activity in this dynamic region as well for the rest of Mindanao,” said Ng.

The airline also flies Zamboanga to Tawi-Tawi and vice versa, with PR 2485 departing Zamboanga every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:45 am., and return flight PR 2486 departing Bonggao at 10:30 a.m.