PAL Introduces "Pinnacle" Seats for 321 Refurb

25 November 2025

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is installing Pinnacle main cabin seat from Collins Aerospace Philippines, a subsidiary of Collins Aerospace.

The cabin refurbishment covers 18 of its existing A321ceo planes that should provide enhanced passenger comfort through its modern generation 3 in-flight entertainment system through modular design, balancing durability with optimized living space and modern passenger amenities to its existing fleet.

PAL old cabin seats were manufactured by Recaro which does not feature In-Flight Entertainment system.

“This collaboration between Collins Aerospace and Philippine Airlines represents a significant step forward for the Philippines’ aerospace industry. Expanding our main cabin seating production at our Philippines facility and installing these seats on the nation’s flag carrier demonstrates the world-class capabilities of our facility and the potential for growth in the local aerospace sector.” Mary DeStaffan, senior director of Operations at Collins Aerospace Philippines, said. 

“It is the first time that our locally-manufactured seating products will be used by the Philippine flag carrier. We are excited to continue growing our presence in the Philippines and contributing to the country’s position as a leading aerospace manufacturing hub,” she said.

Collins Philippines manufacturing facility began operation in 2012 and has produced a range of aircraft cabin interior products, including galleys, galley inserts, oxygen equipment, and lavatories. 

The refurbished cabins will put uniformity of amenities and product consistency to the airline's fleet of A321 to mirror its new variants of existing A321neos

PAL earlier perform  cabin modification for 15 aircraft covering 11 A320ceo, two A330-300ceo and two A350-900s. 

The cabin modification for 11 A320s covers the removal of existing business class seats and transform bi-class cabin into monoclass with seating capacity of 180 passengers.

The cabin modification for 2 A330s covers densification of fleet type getting additional 50 economy seats on 3-3-3 configuration from existing 2-4-2, to bring the total seat count to 359 intended for middle east flights and higher-density regional routes. 

The two remaining A350s also gain another two rows of economy by adding 18 seats for a total of 313 seats.

Meanwhile, PAL is extending its ‘Flight Hour Services’ (FHS) material programme with Airbus to cover its ageing fleet of A320 and A330 aircraft for additional 5 years lifespan, with  fleet technical management and full air-frame maintenance, as well as guaranteed parts availability to secure the operational reliability and efficiency of PAL’s widebody and narrowbody aircraft.

 

CEB Reinstates ILO-HKG

6 November 2024

Low Cost Carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) has resumed flights to Hong Kong from Iloilo Sunday evening last week as it flew  5J 242 taking off 11 p.m on Oct 27, 2024 with Airbus A320neo aircraft. The airline will fly four flights weekly from Iloilo to Hong Kong every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. The international flights were suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile CEB will also resume its direct flight to Singapore in November 25 as its second international destination.

 

 

PAF C-295 Breaks Nose Gear on Landing at BSO

 4 November 2024

Basco Airport was closed for traffic Friday after The Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-295 cargo transport aircraft with tail number 217 broke its nose landing gear and detached from plane while on landing roll on or about 3 p.m..

The aircraft delivered in 2023,  was conducting HADR (humanitarian assistance disaster relief) mission.

According to CAAP, the plane took off from Villamor Airbase around 2 p.m. bound for Basco Airport when its nose landing gear detached upon touchdown.

CAAP said the airport will be closed until November 3 after civil and military crash investigators complete their work on the cause of the gear separation, and the relocation of the plane to the apron for repair works by accredited maintenance provider contracted by Airbus Military as the new cargo plane is still on warranty.

PAL Bound To Pay For Every US Delayed, Re-routed Flight

 As US DOT Rules Becomes Effective October 28

1 November 2024 

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) habit of delaying flights to the United States and back to the Philippines on account of inadequate fleet is over as the U.S. Department of Transportation has worked through regulatory channels to implement stringent rules to strengthen consumer protection for U.S. air travelers, with the new rule taking effect on October 28th.

The DOT’s new rule (as published in the Federal Register) requires airlines to provide prompt, automatic refunds to passengers enduring “significant flight disruptions” and the rulebook also defines what that means.

This new requires airlines to compensate passengers when they cancel, delay or substantially change flights, requiring automatic refunds to be issued in cash (meaning check or wire), or to the original form of payment, within 20 days or less.

The Act was signed into law on May 16, 2024, after publication in the Federal Register of the Department's Final rule titled “Refunds and Other Consumer Protection.”

Even though carriers were able to make their own rules regarding when refunds are due until now, this era is over.

As per the DOT, when departure or arrival is delayed by three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights, passengers can request a cancellation and refund of the ticket without incurring any penalties.

Full refund, no more trip

I’d like to highlight that this doesn’t mean you can get a full refund and still take your flight. All this new rule mandates is that airlines no longer have the right to keep your money if they delay you and the passenger decides it’s no longer worth it to take the trip, also known as trip in vain.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement in April, when the agency first issued the new rule. “Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them — without headaches or haggling.”

“As soon as an affected passenger notifies the airline either through a representative at the airport, phone, or website data entry that due to delay, the trip is to be canceled and refunded, the refund process has to kick off. Without arguments or excuses.” Secretary Buttigieg added.

Buttigieg stressed that  “refunds have to be AUTOMATIC” after being told the passenger no longer wishes to travel due to the delay.

 

No more flight re-routing

There are also additional provisions for refunds in other disruptive circumstances, including departure or arrival from an airport different from the one booked (rerouting); connections at different airports or flights on planes that are not property mobility accessible to a person with a disability as well as an increase in the number of scheduled connections after a rebooking.

Passengers who pay for ancillary services such as inflight Wi-Fi or payable seat selection which become unavailable for any reason are due to be refunded.

Furthermore, Passengers with significantly delayed bags will also get checked baggage fees refunded.

Baggage Fee Refund
Under this provision, baggage fees for luggage delayed for more than 12 hours on a domestic flight or 15 hours on an international flight/itinerary have to be automatically refunded. However, passengers must first file a PIR (Property Irregularity Report), commonly known as a Mishandled & Lost Baggage Form. You would have to file such a report anyway to get your suitcases back in the first place.

This regulation applies to all carriers operating U.S.-connected itineraries.

Qantas Flies Back MNL from Brisbane

31 October 2024

Australian flag carrier Qantas has officially restarted its route from Brisbane to Manila after ending the flight in 2014.

Flight QF97 departed Brisbane at 21:46 local time on October 28, 2024, using 296 seater Airbus A330-300 aircraft, with registration VH-EBG, arriving Manila at approximately 3:00 AM local time on October 29, 2024. Return Flight departed Manila at 5:10 AM and arrived at Brisbane airport at 2:11 PM on Tuesday.

The route will operate four times per week every Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The route is expected to add more than 100,000 annual seats between Australia and the Philippines, and will also improve connectivity for passengers traveling to the Philippines from Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington in New Zealand.

The reinstated Brisbane service complements the Flying Kangaroo’s existing daily route from Sydney to Manila, and will add to what is already more than 300,000 Qantas seats to and from the Philippines every year.

Qantas will celebrate 75 years of passenger services between the two countries in 2025.

CEB Retakes 1Aviation

 30 October 2024

Low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) has taken back majority control of 1Aviation Groundhandling Services Corp. that provides ground handling services to the airline and its subsidiaries operating several airports across the country.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Cebu Pacific’s parent Cebu Air Inc. said it has entered into a debt-to-equity conversion with 1Aviation Groundhandling Services Corp. to recapitalize the company to handle the growing demands of the airline.

The swap will wipe out previous advances and loans issued by Cebu Air to 1Aviation, amounting to P113 million, by converting them into equity, as approved by shareholders.

Cebu Air will then raise its ownership stake in 1Aviation to 60 percent once the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves the conversion. 

Currently, Cebu Air owns 40 percent of 1Aviation, while Jefferson Cheng and the Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Inc. (PAGSS) owns 60 percent of the shares.

After recapitalization, Cheng and PAGSS will control the remaining 40 percent in 1Aviation in replacement of the P34.23 million owed to Cheng and P2.78 million borrowed from PAGSS.

 

The airline intends to integrate 1Aviation’s services into Cebu Pacific’s to cut operational costs and enhance service quality on ground handling and logistical support. 

1Aviation, founded in 2018, operates in 34 airports, including the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, through its 6,224 employees.

CEB Connects ILO-ZAM

29 October 2024

Low cost carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) has connected Panay Island to Zamboanga.

The flight will operate 3x weekly — on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

5J4871 departs from Iloilo City at 4:55pm arriving to Zamboanga City at 6:05pm CEB's while its return flight departs Zamboanga at 6:40pm arriving Iloilo at 7:50pm. 

The airline inaugural flight landed tonight at approximately 7:26PM. This is the first time the two cities have been connected by a commercial flight.

Aboitiz InfraCapital Signs Laguindingan Airport Contract

28 October 2024

The Philippine Transportation Department (DOTr) has signed  the 30 years ₱12.75 Billion Concession Agreement (Operations and Maintenance Contract) for Laguindingan airport with Aboitiz InfraCapital.

Aboitiz InfraCapital recently secured a “Notice of Award” for concession to upgrade, operate, and maintain the airport in Misamis Oriental from DOTr earlier this month. 

The contract was signed by Secretary Jaime J. Bautista and Sabin M. Aboitiz, witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Malacanang Palace.

The concession agreement calls for the building expansion of Laguindingan airport terminal to double the airport’s annual passenger capacity from 1.6 million to 3.9 million in the first phase of the concession, and 6.3 million by the end of the second phase, enhancing connectivity and supporting regional growth. 

The privatization will also see the expansion of Laguindingan airport’s facilities, upgrades of terminals, and more efficient delivery of services to passengers.

The concession agreement also involves the reconfiguration of existing terminal space to improve processing capacity, construction of new Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) as well as maintenance and repair.

DOTr Sec. Jaime Bautista noted that the privatization will open direct flights of other Asian carriers to Mindanao and vice versa, making Laguindingan airport an international aviation hub soon.

Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc manages Mactan-Cebu International Airport, and has also submitted an unsolicited proposal for similar concessions for airports in Bohol, Bicol, and Iloilo.