Koala
25th July 2012, 03:34
PAL Sets New Western Destinations
Toronto, New York, Paris, Rome
By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
July 24, 2012, 5:36pm
MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will add direct flights to Toronto, Canada by end of this year and service New York, Paris, France, Rome and other destinations in Europe by February, 2013, declared new President Ramon S. Ang.
He made the announcement as he welcomed PAL’s third Boeing 777-300ER, the latest addition to the airline’s fleet, the other night (July 23, 2012) in Makati City.
In the months ahead, three more Boeing 777s, the aircraft of choice for long-haul flights worth around USD$300 million each, will be delivered to PAL, he added.
The first three were already delivered in November, 2009, January, 2012 and June, 2012. The 370-seater B777s currently fly to Vancouver, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and Japan (via Cebu).
While to date, PAL has no alloca-
tions for the Canadian, American and European destinations it targets to serve, Ang is confident. “The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will help us,” he said by way of explanation but declined to elaborate.
At present, “Our number one priority is to turn around PAL by tapping into the strengths of San Miguel Corporation (which recently took management control of the airline) and the Lucio Tan Group of Companies. As PAL President, I am committed to transforming our airline’s business operations.”
“Our growth strategy for Philippine Airlines is simple: modernization of its fleet, the expansion of its network, and improvements in passenger service,” the President enumerated.
“We operate in a very competitive environment, but one with a wealth of opportunity. The Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing market for air travel and we need to improve our competitiveness as an airline.”
Laying the ground for its re-fleeting and route expansion plans, PAL also launched major customer-oriented innovations resulting from its initial collaboration with SMC, such as Book & Buy ticketing kiosks to be installed at selected Petron gas stations, Apple inflight iPads for entertainment onboard trans-Pacific flights and new in-flight dishes from five top-rated guest chefs.
The "Book and Buy" ticketing kiosks at selected Petron gas stations will allow passengers on-the-go to book a PAL or AirPhil Express flight to any domestic destination. They operate using wireless accessibility powered by Wi-Tribe 4G technology and Eastern Communications.
Future system upgrades of the kiosks will enable motorists to buy regional and international tickets as well.
Each electronic kiosk has a touch-screen panel for easy browsing through the travel routes and dates. Passengers may opt to have their itinerary emailed directly to their personal email account or for printing on the spot. Ticket payment may be through credit card (Visa or MasterCard) or any automated teller machine (ATM).
Cash or credit card payments may also be made at the Petron San Miguel Food Avenue (SMFA) cashier.
The pilot kiosk were online starting yesterday (July 24) at Petron Bel-Air Square in Makati. Other Metro Manila Petron stations to have the kiosks are Connecticut Greenhills, C-5 McKinley and Filinvest. More will follow in the coming months.
Toronto, New York, Paris, Rome
By EMMIE V. ABADILLA
July 24, 2012, 5:36pm
MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will add direct flights to Toronto, Canada by end of this year and service New York, Paris, France, Rome and other destinations in Europe by February, 2013, declared new President Ramon S. Ang.
He made the announcement as he welcomed PAL’s third Boeing 777-300ER, the latest addition to the airline’s fleet, the other night (July 23, 2012) in Makati City.
In the months ahead, three more Boeing 777s, the aircraft of choice for long-haul flights worth around USD$300 million each, will be delivered to PAL, he added.
The first three were already delivered in November, 2009, January, 2012 and June, 2012. The 370-seater B777s currently fly to Vancouver, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and Japan (via Cebu).
While to date, PAL has no alloca-
tions for the Canadian, American and European destinations it targets to serve, Ang is confident. “The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will help us,” he said by way of explanation but declined to elaborate.
At present, “Our number one priority is to turn around PAL by tapping into the strengths of San Miguel Corporation (which recently took management control of the airline) and the Lucio Tan Group of Companies. As PAL President, I am committed to transforming our airline’s business operations.”
“Our growth strategy for Philippine Airlines is simple: modernization of its fleet, the expansion of its network, and improvements in passenger service,” the President enumerated.
“We operate in a very competitive environment, but one with a wealth of opportunity. The Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing market for air travel and we need to improve our competitiveness as an airline.”
Laying the ground for its re-fleeting and route expansion plans, PAL also launched major customer-oriented innovations resulting from its initial collaboration with SMC, such as Book & Buy ticketing kiosks to be installed at selected Petron gas stations, Apple inflight iPads for entertainment onboard trans-Pacific flights and new in-flight dishes from five top-rated guest chefs.
The "Book and Buy" ticketing kiosks at selected Petron gas stations will allow passengers on-the-go to book a PAL or AirPhil Express flight to any domestic destination. They operate using wireless accessibility powered by Wi-Tribe 4G technology and Eastern Communications.
Future system upgrades of the kiosks will enable motorists to buy regional and international tickets as well.
Each electronic kiosk has a touch-screen panel for easy browsing through the travel routes and dates. Passengers may opt to have their itinerary emailed directly to their personal email account or for printing on the spot. Ticket payment may be through credit card (Visa or MasterCard) or any automated teller machine (ATM).
Cash or credit card payments may also be made at the Petron San Miguel Food Avenue (SMFA) cashier.
The pilot kiosk were online starting yesterday (July 24) at Petron Bel-Air Square in Makati. Other Metro Manila Petron stations to have the kiosks are Connecticut Greenhills, C-5 McKinley and Filinvest. More will follow in the coming months.