PAL Test Baguio Airport

 28 November 2022

DOTr To Open NMIA in 2027

Will have MNL as IATA Designation 

19 November 2022

The P735 Billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA) located in Bulacan will carry the MNL IATA designation when it opens to the public in 2027, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said NMIA will be the largest airport in the Philippines and will replace NAIA as International Gateway to Manila.

It will also carry the MNL IATA designation replacing Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which will have a new IATA designation. It did not disclosed the new NAIA designation. It did not also disclosed the four letter ICAO designation and whether it was also transferred.

DOTr said NMIA land development is gaining headway in its civil works reaching 42 percent completion as transport officials inspected the civil works undertaken by San Miguel Aerocity Inc. (SMAI), a subsidiary of San Miguel Holdings Corp., the infrastructure arm of San Miguel Corporation, the country's biggest conglomerate.

The DOTr said SMAI expects to finish the land development works for the 1,693-hectare site by the end of 2024 and intends to proceed with the construction of the airport airside and landside developments with the goal of opening the airport to the public by 2027.

According to airport terminal designs submitted to DOTr this year, NMIA can accommodate at least 35 million passengers per year at its opening date, and is expected to create more than one million jobs in Central Luzon.

NMIA is owned by the National Government. It awarded a 50-year concession agreement to SMAI which will bankroll, design, construct, complete, test, commission, operate and maintain the NMIA.

After SMC’s franchise expires, airport terminal operations will be taken over by the government.

The airport project has a design capacity of up to 100 million passengers annually, which will decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the country’s current main aviation gateway.

 

PAL COO Pilots PR1

18 November 2022

Philippine Airlines (PAL) President and Chief Operating Officer Stanley Ng was back in the cockpit last week as he flew President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to Cambodia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) Summit on board PR1.

Ng was also the pilot who flew the Airbus A321neo (RP-C9933) plane that Marcos and his entourage rode back to Manila from Cambodia.

Ng who is married to Lilybeth Tan, one of the daughters of PAL owner Lucio Tan, rose from the ranks of the company, first as ground staff in 2003 before being promoted to second officer in 2008 upon earning his stripes. 

The COO served as PAL’s Senior Vice President for Airline Operations during the incumbency of former PAL President and COO Gilbert Sta. Maria before his appointment as president and COO for the airline January last year. 

 

PAL Expands Clark Airport Operations

Launches Flights to Korea, Hong Kong Next!

10 November 2022

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is set to expand its hub at Clark International airport by launching multiple international flights to South Korea and Hong Kong before the end of the year.

PAL said Clark-Korea services have started on November 10 with four weekly flights from Clark to Busan and regular daily flights from Clark to Seoul (Incheon) is starting on November 11.

Hong Kong will join PAL’s Clark network in December, with the flag carrier mounting a thrice weekly seasonal service from Clark to Hong Kong commencing on December 9.

“Clark is on the rise, as Philippine Airlines forges new connections to the business and tourist markets of Hong Kong and Korea,” said Capt. Stanley Ng, PAL president and chief operating officer.

Ng said additional domestic and international destinations will be added to its Clark hub next year without elaborating the routes.

 

PAL Downgrades Flight Services Between Cotabato And Tawi-Tawi

Adds Cotabato-Cebu Beginning December 1 

8 November 2022

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is downgrading flight services between Cotabato's Awang Airport and Tawi-Tawi's Sanga Airport from 180 seater Airbus A320 to 86 seater DHC-Q400 aircraft beginning December 1 according to PAL Vice President for Sales Bud Britanico.

The airline will also starts direct flights between Cebu and Cotabato City all the way to Tawi-Tawi from the same date on the same twice weekly schedule every Monday and Thursday.

Cotabato to Tawi-Tawi and vice versa is currently flown with twice a week Airbus A320 service using aircraft from Manila operated by low cost subsidiary Air Philippines Corporation.

Britanico said they have rationalized the route by introducing Cebu-Cotabato-Bongao and vice versa link to increase passenger traffic between these destinations within the BARMM Region with flight connections to Cebu City.

The service is the latest addition to the flag carrier’s expanding network of inter-island hopping which ended in 1997.

PAL previously connected Cebu-Dipolog-Zamboanga-Jolo/Bongao, and Cebu-Pagadian-Zamboanga-Jolo/Bongao routes in the past.

“We hope to contribute positively to the economic development of Cotabato City and the Bangsamoro region by launching this new link to Cotabato City,” says Britanico.

“Philippine Airlines is offering more flights out of Cebu soon to serve travelers living in the Central Visayas and Southern Mindanao regions,” he added.

It recently added Cebu-Baguio route and vice versa to its growing Cebu hub effective December 16.

PR 2223 Cebu-Cotabato flies every Monday and Thursday, departing at 05:20 AM, arriving in Cotabato’s Awang Airport at 06:35 AM. It will then proceed to Sanga-Sanga Airport at 07:05 AM arriving at 08:30 AM. Passengers can depart from Tawi-Tawi at 09:00 AM with brief stop in Cotabato after arriving at 10:30 AM.

PR 2224 Cotabato-Cebu flies every Monday and Thursday, departing at 11:00 AM, arriving in Mactan-Cebu International Airport at 12:15 PM.

Passengers can thereafter conveniently connect Boracay, Coron, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Clark, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Siargao and Baguio (from Dec. 16) by connecting through PAL’s Cebu hub, rather than connecting via Manila.

PAL also flies Zamboanga to Bongao thrice a week.

  

 

CEB Takes Delivery of 4th A339

 11 November 2022

Low Cost Carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) took delivery of another A330-900 to its fleet Saturday updating its A339 fleet to four, as the airline keep its plans to transition to an all-neo Airbus fleet by 2028, its Chief Finance Officer said.

RP-C3903 powered by the same Rolls Royce Trent engines arrived in Manila from Toulouse, France, at 10:42am flying 13:49 hours non-stop, equivalent to 6,012nm trip, that traverses the Middle East instead of the Russian Airspace.

Mark Cezar said they still have another A320neo aircraft slated for delivery in December this year.

Cezar discloses that aircraft delivery will not result to growth as it replaces ageing planes to its fleet which returns to lessor at the end of their leases.

"As new A339 arrives, we let go of the old A330, so we are still operating 6 wide-bodies. That does not result to growth of fleet." says Cezar. 

Currently, CEB has 3 A330s and 4 A339s. 

The first A339 arrived in November 28 and the second in December last year, while the third frame arrived in May this year.

The airline said it is returning RP-C3345 this Month before activating the new A339, so they will still end up with 6 aircraft.

Earlier, the airline was forced to cancel reservations for thrice a week flight to Melbourne flights in November due to aircraft availability issues.

The CFO said the airline will have 8 A330-900 with 242t weight variant (wv901) by end of 2024.