Philiippine Airlines chief eyes growth after successful restructuring
Philippine Airlines is enjoying the fruits of a major restructuring exercise during the coronavirus pandemic, with a reduced cost base helping the carrier to profitability. PAL president and COO Stanley Ng is upbeat about the airline’s prospects, stating a long-term ambition to add services to support the Philippines’ global diaspora, and the potential long-term addition of Europe routes. “Last year was a very good year actually and for this year we’re quite optimistic,” says Ng. “It could even be better than last year.” A post-pandemic travel boom helped PAL swing to an operating profit of $298m in 2022, its first positive performance since 2019. He spoke with FlightGlobal at the recent IATA World Safety & Operations Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam. Ng says that the carrier’s restructuring has had a major impact on the company’s ability to compete profitability with low-cost rivals. “The restructuring did its part to reduce to reduce lots of liabilities, and we were able to restructure a lot of loans, which we are still paying today,” he says. “However, operating costs have come down and he impact to Philippine Airlines is really significant. Because with the lower cost basis we have today, we are able to price our fares quite competitively with other carriers.” Another legacy of the restructuring is PAL’s ambition to build what Ng refers to as a “performance-linked culture”, in which employees enjoy bonuses when the carrier is profitable. The strong 2022 result saw staff receive a “significant bonus,” which goes some way to supporting morale at the airline. As for PAL’s fleet, Ng says 76 aircraft are in service, but supply chain issues and the problems facing the Pratt & Whitney PW1000 engine have grounded a trio of Airbus A321neos, nearly one half of the carrier’s eight-strong A321neo fleet. P&W engine issues could well see more of the carrier’s A321neos grounded. Ng adds that P&W has been supportive of the carrier, and that he tries to consider things from the manufacturer’s perspective. That said, he feels that any new engines should go to existing and not new customers, particularly since new customers are not yet paying lease payments on the aircraft.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-09-25/unaligned/philiippine-airlines-chief-eyes-growth-after-successful-restructuring
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
Philiippine Airlines chief eyes growth after successful restructuring
Philippine Airlines is enjoying the fruits of a major restructuring exercise during the coronavirus pandemic, with a reduced cost base helping the carrier to profitability. PAL president and COO Stanley Ng is upbeat about the airline’s prospects, stating a long-term ambition to add services to support the Philippines’ global diaspora, and the potential long-term addition of Europe routes. “Last year was a very good year actually and for this year we’re quite optimistic,” says Ng. “It could even be better than last year.” A post-pandemic travel boom helped PAL swing to an operating profit of $298m in 2022, its first positive performance since 2019. He spoke with FlightGlobal at the recent IATA World Safety & Operations Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam. Ng says that the carrier’s restructuring has had a major impact on the company’s ability to compete profitability with low-cost rivals. “The restructuring did its part to reduce to reduce lots of liabilities, and we were able to restructure a lot of loans, which we are still paying today,” he says. “However, operating costs have come down and he impact to Philippine Airlines is really significant. Because with the lower cost basis we have today, we are able to price our fares quite competitively with other carriers.” Another legacy of the restructuring is PAL’s ambition to build what Ng refers to as a “performance-linked culture”, in which employees enjoy bonuses when the carrier is profitable. The strong 2022 result saw staff receive a “significant bonus,” which goes some way to supporting morale at the airline. As for PAL’s fleet, Ng says 76 aircraft are in service, but supply chain issues and the problems facing the Pratt & Whitney PW1000 engine have grounded a trio of Airbus A321neos, nearly one half of the carrier’s eight-strong A321neo fleet. P&W engine issues could well see more of the carrier’s A321neos grounded. Ng adds that P&W has been supportive of the carrier, and that he tries to consider things from the manufacturer’s perspective. That said, he feels that any new engines should go to existing and not new customers, particularly since new customers are not yet paying lease payments on the aircraft.<br/>
