PAL shifts to cargo flights amid crisis

29 June 2020

By Othel V. Campos

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines is shifting to more cargo flights to make up for the lull in passenger flights.

“We’ve become more and more of a cargo airline because, as we said, our airplanes could also be used to help preserve the critical supply chains, including carriage of PPEs, medicines, equipment and all the kinds of goods that are needed to keep communities thriving. At the same time, we’ve operated hundreds of charters, and we ration flights to bring not just foreign nationals back to their home countries bit also returning OFWs,” said PAL vice president for corporate communication Jose Enrique Perez de Tagle.

“We may have to operate more cargo flights. We have to repurpose some of our aircraft to fly cargo other than just passenger,” he said.

Perez de Tagle was one of the panelist in a webinar organized by the Asian Institute of Management on Monday. The e-forum presented a survey on Filipino travellers’ sentiment on the new normal.

CEB Cuts Fleet, Crews

Trims Flight and Cabin Crew

CEB carries cargo instead of passengers in its Airbus A330-300 to and from Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Osaka and Tokyo to survive.

24 June 2020

Low cost carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) is implementing a third wave of job cuts as it fights to survive its business amidst the new coronavirus pandemic.

Charo Logarta Lagamon, Cebu Pacific director for communications, disclosed the layoffs and voluntary separation could affect about 30 percent of the carrier’s 4,000 employees from flight, cabin and ground crew to be implemented by early next month.

“Cebu Pacific is rightsizing. We are fighting to survive,” says Lagamon.

The airline laid off an initial batch of 190 newly hired cabin crew members in March while its ground handling services lets go of more than 1,400 workers.

Lagamon said the airline's projected recovery for this month is far from real conditions on the ground as few passengers take the skies due to quarantine restrictions. Its international flight operations remains suspended until end of July.

“We expect travel recovery to happen over a longer period, with COVID-19 impacting the aviation industry,” she said.

The aviation industry's operations has been hampered by the limitation on the capacity of quarantine and medical facilities across the country. Airlines was also warned that their flight schedule is subject to day to day acceptance by different Local Government Units that has problems with inadequate quarantine facility.

The airline has implemented a sweeping review of its long-term expansion, which includes the acquisition of 61 next-generation planes until 2026. It is also pre-terminating leases on expiring contract to some of its Airbus A320 aircraft to be return to lessor earlier than expected due to excess capacity. Delivery of new aircraft are also put on hold.

The new approach will ensure the long-term sustainability of the business, given the expected changes in travel demand and consumer behavior, according to Lagamon.

PAL Lands in Africa

In Repatriation Flight

22 June 2020

Flag Carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) flew to Algeria and Tunisia yesterday to repatriate stranded Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) from Libya, Tunisia, and Algiers.

The chartered Boeing 777-300ER (RP-C7776) Flight 8160 carried 120 Algerian, Tunisian and Libyan Nationals to Algiers while Flight 8161 carried 230 Filipinos from Algiers and Tunis to Manila.

PR8130 arrived at Tunis Carthage International Airport early Sunday evening as part of a repatriation mission put together by @PhinLibya and @DFAPHL to bring home 287 Filipinos from Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria. @teddyboylocsin @dododulay pic.twitter.com/mDVgwwKwd8

— Elmer G Cato (@elmer_cato) June 22, 2020

According to Charge de Affairs in Libya Elmer G. Cato this is the first repatriation flight of OFWs in North Africa due to Covid19 pandemic. The last time DFA flew OFWs out of Tunis was in 2014 when it evacuated Filipinos who fled Libyan civil war.

Meanwhile, a separate charter flight 8660 was flown to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to fly 344 stranded OFWs on Airbus A330-300 yesterday. It will also bring home remains of 282 OFWs, 50 of which died on Covid19 related illnesses according to the Labor Department.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III disclosed Sunday that decision was made to bring them home as cremation is not allowed in Saudi Arabia.

Billo said they are planning to charter three more A330 flights from Philippine Airlines to bring stranded OFWs and other remains of OFWs home as they cannot be loaded all to the plane.

DOLE said they already appealed to Saudi Authorities to give them more time to bring home the dead.

“We already appealed through the labor attaché to give us more time to bring home the dead, except those who died of COVID-19, they will be transported Sunday” Bello added.

Tawi-Tawi Airport Turns Into Jungle After Months of Inactivity

Cleared for Resumption of Flight

20 June 2020


Tawi- Tawi Airport Runway- A JUNGLE NO MORE ❣️☺️👮

Tawi-Tawi Airport was cleared by personnel of Tawi- Tawi Provincial Police Office (PPO) in partnership with Department of Transportation- Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (DOT- CAAP) Friday.


PNP Provincial Director Pcol. Bonard Briton said the clearing activity was to prepare the airport for the resumption of scheduled flights.

"Clearing operations were made to reduce risks in conducting aircraft landing and take offs specifically where the PAPI Lights (Precision Approach Path Indicator) were located - a navigational aid to guide the aircraft for safe landing," says the PNP Provincial Director.

Cebu Pacific Airbus A320 and Philippine Airlines DHC-400NG fly this route prior to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Participating in the cleanup drive were PNP- Special Action Force, PNP Maritime Group 1st SOU, PNP- RMFB 14, and personnel from Tawi- Tawi Provincial Mobile Force Company, Bongao Mps and Panglima Sugala MPS.

CEB Axes 25% of Ground Crews

As Airline Grapples With Empty Seats

18 June 2020

Low Cost Carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) is letting go of another batch of its ground handling employees as the airline company subsidiary 1Aviation struggles to bounce back from the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The ground handling firm disclosed that it will lay off over 1,000 employees at the end of next month due to contraction of Cebu Pacific flights.

“We are left with no other recourse but to let go of 25% of our total workforce,” 1Aviation Ground handling Services Corp. said in a statement.

Cebu Pacific announced earlier that it will fly only 15% of its flight schedules, traveling to and from 20 domestic destinations by the end of June and plans to increase schedule to at least 50% by December as compared to last year's schedules.

The retrenched workers comprises almost 25% of the company’s almost 5,000-strong workforce that will need to be laid off after trimming over 400 probationary employees months earlier.

“Their last day as employees will be on July 20, 2020,” the company said.

“By the end of the month, we intend to be flying to about 20 domestic cities. We’ll start with that first then we’ll see how demand goes, but right now its not good.” JG Summit President and Chief Executive Officer Lance Y. Gokongwei said.

Currently, Cebu Pacific is reporting only 2% booking out of its seat capacity with most of its passengers coming from repatriation and chartered flights of the government.

Mr Gokongwei said they “have to demonstrate the capability to move with agility and force” to address the changing consumer and channel behaviors caused by the pandemic.

“I do expect that we should begin seeing recovery beginning third and fourth quarter. I don’t expect though [that] we would be back to January 2020 numbers until maybe… 2022,” he said.

“Over the past several months, COVID-19 has caused a decline in demand for travel, and the spread of the disease has prompted the imposition of quarantine and travel restrictions in the Philippines and many other countries worldwide. The travel restrictions in the Philippines caused a virtual halt to all commercial passenger flights for over two months,” 1Aviation said.

Cebu Pacific said their flight schedules remains low and irregular at this time as passenger numbers are still dependent on the capacity of quarantine facilities nationwide.

“We cannot mount the frequency we requested because of that limitation,” says Mr. Gokongwei.

“But even as passenger air travel has resumed with the easing of quarantine and travel restrictions in the country, current operations of all Philippine carriers is a far cry from where it was as of end-2019,” it added.

1Aviation is assuring laid of workers that they will be prioritized for hiring once the situation stabilizes and business picks up again,” the company add.

The ground handling firm was established by Cebu Pacific in 2018 and formed 1Aviation after the Manila International Airport Authority refused to renew the contract of MIASCOR Groundhandling Corp. due to incidents of baggage theft.

CebuPac later sold 60% of 1Aviation to Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions (PAGSS) of Jefferson Cheng.

Where You Can Fly Now

15 June 2020

Repatriation Flights Make You Proud To Be Filipino

PAL Flies Places You Don't Actually See Them Fly

12 June 2020

A350 flight PR 8102 from Manila-Los Angeles-Barbados

PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said flight PR8102 Manila-Los Angeles-Bridgetown was a flight to pick up Filipino seafarers in Barbados. Another flight PR8117 on B777 will fly Manila-Vancouver-Bridgetown.

Another A350-900 flight to Milan was send by DFA on PR8719 for repatriation flight to Manila.
Meanwhile, flight PR8728 Manila-Goa, India, was a repatriation flight for stranded Indian nationals. Returning flight PR8725 is a repatriation flight for stranded OFWs in India.

Arrival in Goa International Airport

Repatriation flight from Dhaka International Airport

And Airlines You Don't Normally See In PH

Neos and Evelop Airlines from Rome, Milan and Hamburg, respectively

SriLankan Airline flight UL1422 from Colombo to Manila to bring back the stranded Sri Lankan’s in Manila and stranded OFWs in Maldives.

WAMOS Air flight EB9411 from Madrid, Spain and Lisbon, Portugal

Condor Air B767-300ER Flight 8586 from Hamburg to Bangkok to Manila

Air India from New Delhi and Mumbai

Mongolian Airlines from Ulaanbaatar

Woes Continue Amidst Flight Cancellations

As LGU Quarantine Facilities Fills

12 June 2020

A Stranded Passenger bound to Davao shows confirmed Cebu Pacific ticket for 7am flight today but was denied entry by airport security authorities because of flight cancellation.

Cebu Pacific spokesperson Charo L. Lagamon said the airline is not the problem but the receiving LGU which cannot process more passengers to quarantine.

"We are doing our best to mount additional flights and we are working with the national and local government to mount additional flights because its the only way to fly these passengers," Lagamon said.

League of Provinces of the Philippines President Governor Presbitiro Velasco Jr. of Marinduque stated that  some receiving airports are already overwhelmed by arriving passengers that their quarantine facilities are already full.

"These LGUs are already looking for more quarantine facilities to process additional arriving passengers" Velasco said.

Cebu City processes 3,000 passengers a day while Angeles, Davao, Tacloban and Cagayan de Oro Cities processes 1,000 passengers a day. Meanwhile, Butuan and Dumaguete City process 500 passengers a day. However, for some LGUs like Zamboanga, Pagadian and Dipolog Cities processes 1,000 passengers per week. Naga is receiving 500 passengers a week.

Velasco stated that some of the places these passengers are going to are already covid19 free and they don't want them to enter their Cities without proper quarantine protocols.

The Governor said that some arriving passengers in Samar and Davao were found to be covid19 positive despite undergoing quarantine procedures in Manila prior to their respective flights.



Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) earlier announced Tuesday the cancellation of eight international flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, New York and Toronto originally scheduled for June 10-12, as the carrier was not given the arrival slots at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) because of unavoidable constraints in quarantine processing capacity in Manila.