Tuesday, May 20, 2008 PAL spends $150M for sub-brand
PHILIPPINE Airlines has invested about $150 million to enhance its existing operations with the launch of the Philippine Airlines Express (PAL Express) main hub in Cebu.
“The market is growing, and there are more flights needed,” said Jaime Bautista, PAL president, yesterday.
The multimillion-peso investment was spent on the acquisition of new turbo-propeller aircraft, facility upgrade for PAL Express, and training for pilots and crews.
PAL Express is the first sub-brand introduced by PAL in its 67-year history, a press statement said. It will serve domestic points and offer promotional fares year round as part of its program.
Bautista said that for its PAL Express fleet, the company will get Bombardier Q300 and Q400 turbo-propeller planes. He considered them “the fastest turbo-propeller aircraft to chart the region.”
Bautista added that the speed of the Q300 and the Q400 is close to the speed of an Airbus 320, as it flies 370 knots per hour.
“The (Q300 and Q400) also have more fuel-efficient engines,” he said, adding that since the planes are cheaper to operate, the company can then extend cheaper rates to the passengers.
“Q also stands for quiet,” Bautista said. The planes, according to an article prepared by the company, have a patented noise suppression system that reduces cabin noise and vibration levels.
Fleet
Initially, PAL Express will have a fleet of nine turbo-propeller aircraft—three Q300 and six Q400—all manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace of Canada.
This year, PAL Express is expecting the delivery of six more 76-seater Q400 planes and three 50-seater Q300 planes.
Flights from the Cebu hub started yesterday. Q400 planes will be flying out from Cebu to routes which can serve bigger planes, like General Santos, Tacloban and Bacolod cities.
Services from Cebu to Caticlan will utilize the Q300 since the airport in that area cannot handle the larger aircraft.
Other daily flights from Cebu are to Butuan, Davao, Iloilo and Puerto Princesa. By July, four new routes from Cebu will be opened—Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, Ozamis and Dipolog.
From its secondary hub in Manila, PAL Express flies daily to Boracay and Busuanga and will soon open new points in Calbayog, Legaspi, San Fernando, San Jose, Surigao and Virac.
Timely development
Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo, who was present during the program yesterday, considered PAL Express’ launch as a “timely development” since one of the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) projects is the upgrading of 15 airports in central Philippines.
The project includes the Bohol-Panglao Airport, which will be inaugurated today.
By October, Alburo said, Cebu will also host an international tourism forum. And since the activity will have pre- and post-event tours, the participating tourists can now be easily brought out from Cebu to other destinations.
The DOT also commended PAL for the launch of its low-fare brand. (DME)
