FLAG CARRIER Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it expects passenger volume to rise by up to 20% this year.
“We are projecting about 10%-20% growth,” Stanley K. Ng, president and chief operating officer of PAL, said on the sidelines of the company’s media briefing last week.
Last year, the airline company carried a total of 14.7 million passengers, marking a 58% increase from the 9.3 million passengers recorded in 2022.
“We anticipate to again increase passenger carriage this year,” Cielo C. Villaluna, PAL spokesperson, said in a Viber message.
Data provided by the company showed that it managed to mount a total of 105,294 flights last year, 35.8% higher than the 77,533 total flights in 2022.
For this year, PAL is working to strengthen its global and local network, the company said, adding that it also plans to upgrade its existing aircraft and add more fleet in the next few years.
PAL operates a total of 78 aircraft and the company expects to add one more, operating a total of 79 aircraft by yearend.
The airline plans to buy at least 22 aircraft, which will be delivered between 2025 and 2029, the company’s General Counsel Carlos Luis L. Fernandez said.
PAL is also set to operate nonstop Manila-Seattle flights three times a week beginning Oct. 2.
Aside from Seattle, which the company considers a promising market, PAL is looking to explore more Asian and local destinations. However, some long-haul flights it plans to offer will be on hold for now until the arrival of its aircraft order.
Last year, PAL Holdings, Inc., the listed operator of PAL, saw its attributable net income more than double to P16.81 billion driven by heightened passenger volume and route expansions.
Its 2023 income is considered to be the company’s highest in history, PAL said in a previous media release.
The company’s passenger revenue increased by 37% to P160 billion in 2023 from P114 billion in 2022, boosting the company’s overall revenues. — Ashley Erika O. Jose