PAL Gets Ready for Europe

London by October 1 via Abu Dhabi

June 28, 2013

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is getting ready to fly back to Europe after getting positive feedbacks from Brussels this week.

The European Commission is expected to come out with the decision removing PAL from the blacklist by July.

PAL President and COO Ramon Ang said they have already secured four additional units of Airbus 340-300 in preparation for long haul flights to Europe.

“A PAL representative went with CAAP to the EU meetings in Brussels and we got good feedbacks from there.” said Ang.

PAL said they already applied for flights to London and recently established business office there. 

Codeshare flights with Etihad

The airline concluded agreement with Etihad Airlines for code share flights from London Heathrow to Manila beginning 1 October 2013 via Abu Dhabi. 

PAL will begin flight to Abu Dhabi also on the first day of October.

A mocked booking for London flights by Philippine Airlines on 1 December for two discloses flight departing London Heathrow on the following schedules.

Meanwhile, Airport operator Gatwick Airport Limited has confirmed slot application by Philippine Airlines to London Gatwick Airport in Sussex for direct flights to Manila. No further details were provided.


London Gatwick is the second busiest airport in the United Kingdom after London Heathtrow hosting regional and international passenger and cargo services for over 30 airlines such as Emirates, Air China, Korean Airlines, Vietnam Airlines and Garuda Indonesia which is expected to commence flight in November.

EU to Clear PH by July 10

PAL Prepares Flight to Europe

June 27, 2013

Brussels - The European Commission is expected to take Philippine Airlines initially off its aviation blacklist, citing safety improvements and compliance with ICAO Standards and practices.

Philippines got a positive impression at the EU's Air Safety Committee (ASC) in Belgium during its meeting this week for a final report as it advances application for selective lifting of ban on Philippine carriers to enter European airspace.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General William Hotchkiss is currently in Brussels for talks with the ASC bringing with him credentials for Philippine Airlines (PAL) and its pending application to fly three European destinations under the EC SAFA Programme (European Community Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft).

The Philippines is entering a working relationship with EASA to implement the EC SAFA programme where CAAP is obliged to perform SAFA Ramp Checks on the aircraft of PAL flying into the European Union.

Under the programme, all inspection results need to be communicated by the Philippine CAA which performed the inspections to the other EU Member States and to the European Commission. 

The Air Safety Committee meetings (ASC) are conducted by the European Commission (EC), EASA, the Member States and Eurocontrol twice a year every June and December, and is responsible for the lifting of bans for airlines to fly European Airspace.

The Decision of the European Commission on the faith of Philippine Airlines, and the Philippines in general will be release on 10 July 2013.

Dale Kidd, Press Officer for Transport at the EU, confirmed that decision on PAL will be announced by the European Commission in spring of 2013.

PAL has requested flight permission to the European Union, with plan scheduled flight to London Heathrow starting 1 October 2013 on a code share service with Etihad Airways. The propose service equipment are Airbus 330-300, A340-300 and Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft.

The application for selective lifting initially covers Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Zest Air until the last two carriers inhibited and withdrawn, respectively, from the application saying they have no intention of mounting flights to Europe.

Meanwhile, United States Federal Aviation Authority (US FAA) representatives will be in Manila for 10 days starting 7 July for monitoring purposes prelude to status upgrade of the country which is scheduled between months of November 2013 to February 2014.

Another OV-10 Down

June 25, 2013

The Air Force are still searching two of its pilots who went missing Sunday night after their OV-10 Bronco plane from the 15th Strike Wing went down while on a routine training flight off Puerto Princesa City.

PAF spokesman Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol said the distance from the runway of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan where it took off together with another OV10 at around 6:30 p.m. Sunday was only about five nautical miles.

“All our aircraft have tracking device that is why we will know exactly the location of the crash site. When the OV-10 went down last night, alam na natin yung (we already know the) location where. It’s just about five nautical miles from Runway 27,” he said.

The two pilots of the OV-10 Bronco plane that went missing Sunday evening did not issue a “mayday” or distress call before its communications totally went off, Okol added saying they were on “final approach.”

“Our search teams have already recovered parts of the plane but there is still no sight of the two pilots,” Okol said.

He refused to give the names of the two pilots in “accordance with new regulations.”

The crash is the latest in a string of deadly accidents involving old foreign aircraft acquired by the Philippine Air Force.

The Air Force’s fleet of 30 Broncos were acquired from the United States in 1991 and from Thailand in 2004. The latest crash reduced the fleet to eight operating units spread across the country.

6th PAL A340 arrives in Manila

June 22, 2013

Iberian Airlines A340-313X (CN 318) on delivery flight from Lourdes Airport in France to Manila arriving at 9:30 am.

Australia Wants Darwin Connection to Auckland

Philippines wants to connect NZ from Brisbane or Sydney

June 22, 2013

The Philippines and Australia  failed to reach consensus on new air deal this week to increase passenger traffic between them due to some “outstanding issues,” the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Thursday said. 

The outstanding issue is the fifth freedom rights requested by Philippine Airlines (PAL) to New Zealand as it intends to connect Brisbane or Sydney with Auckland but Australia would like PAL to use Darwin instead.

PAL currently uses A320 aircraft to Darwin, Brisbane and Perth. If granted air rights by the Australian government, the airline would embark on Brisbane/Sydney-Auckland flights to Manila using A330.

CAB said Cebu Pacific wants for more seats to Australia but may have to forego negotiations for a “few more months” its goal of doubling the current 6,000 seat entitlements a week, which translates to about 33 flights, CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said. 

CAB and its Australian counterpart held talks from June 18 to June 19.

PHL-Japan Air Row Erupts

June 21, 2013

By Recto Mercene

THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) has accused Japan of not treating the country as an equal and proposed the abrogation of the air service agreement (Asa) between the two countries to President Aquino.

This came about after Japan’s Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) refused to allow Philippine carriers such as Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific (CEB) to increase flight frequencies to more Japanese cities.

“They are not responsive to the Icao [International Civil Aviation Organization], which declared that all member-states are co-equal, and the impositions being made by the Japanese CAB do not indicate they are treating the Caap as a co-equal,” said Caap Deputy Director General John Andrews in an interview in his office in Pasay City.

The Icao recently gave the Caap a clean bill of health, saying the aviation body had met international standards, following a review of what it had done to address significant safety concerns during the last five years.

In 2008 the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgraded the Philippines to Category 2, meaning

Philippine carriers could no longer mount more destinations to the US, while the European Union disallowed Philippine air carriers from flying into any of its 27 member-countries.

The Icao finding paves the way for the Caap to ask the EU to remove the Philippines from the blacklist and the FAA to allow the same carriers to fly to more destinations on the US mainland.

Andrews said the EU is expected to remove the Philippines from its blacklist by the end of this month.

Despite this, however, Andrews said Japan refused to recognize the clearance that the  Icao awarded to the Philippines.

“They do not even want to have any air talks. They have made some previous requests…certain issues that we have complied with as early as two months ago and they are even demanding things that are not within their purview to ask.”

Asked to reveal what these demands are, Andrews said Japan wanted to know about the Caap’s plans and how much it was paying its employees.

“That is, I think, uncalled for, unless they feel that we should be subservient to them,” Andrews said.

He said even the President had made remarks in the past in dealing with some issues in the South China Sea that all countries must respect our sovereignty.

“We must exercise our sovereignty. We have at least gotten the respect of all major nations in the world as far as the Caap is concerned,” Andrews said.

He said a few weeks ago, Caap Director General William K. Hotchkiss, feeling insulted about Japan’s behavior, wrote President Aquino recommending the abrogation of the air treaty between the Philippines and Japan.

“The letter is now in Malacañang,” Andrews added.

Japan’s CAB cited that the Philippines remains on Category 2 as the reason for its refusal.

Asked if that was the reason for not allowing more Philippine carriers entry into more Japanese cities, Andrews said: “Well, they are not really stating that for a fact. But look at it this way, as soon as our low-cost airlines start going to Japan, that is going to derail the…you know what I mean.”

Asked if the reason is economic, Andrews said he does not see any other reason but economic.

PAL Chooses Thales for New Fleet Avionics

June 21, 2013

Paris Air Show - Philippine Airlines (PAL) have selected an extensive range of Thales Avionics equipment for their 44 A321s and 20 A330s.

The package includes the TopFlight FMS (Flight Management System) for which a new software version is being supplied for PAL’s new aircraft. Release 1A, certified on the Airbus A320 and A330 Family, provides new capabilities such as Required Navigation Performance with Authorization Required (RNP AR down to RNP 0.1) and GNSS Landing System (GLS) capabilities.

Other unique functionalities include the FMS Landing System (FLS), which provides a new way to fly non-precision approaches using ILS (Instrument Landing System)-like procedures, thus enhancing situational awareness and substantially reducing training time and cost through standardized procedures.

Existing features like the multi-revision temporary flight plan with undo function and an enhanced intuitive “What You See is What You Fly” display system remain unique to Thales Avionics technology on those aircraft families.

PAL have also selected Thales Avionics for the provision of their Low Range Radio Altimeter (LRRA), one of the most reliable Radio Altimeters on the market, boasting an average MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of 40,000 flight hours across the worldwide Airbus fleet.

The Integra Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT), a brand new product from Airbus market-leader THALES/KANAD, comprising unique features such as integrated GPS and antennas, will also to be installed on PAL’s new Airbus fleet.

“Once again, THALES has demonstrated their unwavering support and commitment in providing quality products and services to PAL. We are pleased to have THALES onboard our aircraft.” said PAL president and COO Ramon Ang.

“Thales Avionics is very excited about PAL’s decision to have Thales Avionics onboard their Single Aisle and Long Range aircraft. This selection is a testament to Thales Avionics products and also our commitment to support customers in Asia, where our current 60% market share on TopFlight FMS is growing thanks to the performance and the reliability of our products,” said Wee Boon Chong, Vice President and General Manager of Thales Avionics Asia. 

“Airline customers also have immense confidence in the long-term commitments of the Thales Avionics product support organization,” Wee adds.

PAL Selects Rolls Royce to power new A330

June 20, 2013

Paris Air Show - Rolls-Royce has been selected by Philippine Airlines to deliver Trent 700 engines, worth $1.4bn at list prices, to power 20 new generation Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

It is the first time that Philippine Airlines has decided to use Rolls-Royce's Trent engines. It has also taken out a long-term service support contract.

"After a thorough evaluation of our options, the Trent 700 is the best solution for our fleet expansion. The engine will provide market-leading environmental performance, with low emissions, noise and fuel burn." says Philippine Airlines President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang. 

The Trent 700 is the market leading engine for the Airbus A330, and has won 70% of new orders over the last four years. The engines will power aircraft that were announced by Airbus in 2012.

Eric Schulz, Rolls-Royce, President - Civil Large Engines, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Philippine Airlines into the family of Rolls-Royce engine operators We look forward to a long and successful relationship with Philippine Airlines as we deliver Trent 700s that will power its A330 fleet in the exciting and fast-growing Asia-Pacific market, supported with a comprehensive TotalCare package."

The Trent 700 is the only engine specifically designed for the Airbus A330. Rolls-Royce has more than 1,400 Trent 700 engines either in service or on order.