Just came back in Holland with KLM after 6 weeks in Manila!
I think they fly to Manila daily , direct flight! It was very good and fast , great entertainment system ( you can choose out of around 100 movies on your own screen , start them whenever you want).
The price was not bad also , 700 euro including all taxes.



Great price, this is a return fare on economy?

sounds reasonable bustero,
but don´t you think that with the overall bigger capacity PAL would make more money with the A380 ? actually they considered buying 2 of them. read the article in orient aviation, issue october 04. you can google it.

My nephew told me about this rumour, and it probably has some sense in it. Perhaps some configuration will work with the 380 maybe. I agree with you that PR could easily fill this up though, but I guess the only thing is that if the cargo component ratio to passenger seat can be fit up properly. It would be nice to have some A380's though.

Wow!! It makes me forget the pollution in the city. Its teeming with greens!!

The last pic was OUTSIDE of Manila , going north somewhere.....

Great price, this is a return fare on economy?

Back and forth economy...

My nephew told me about this rumour, and it probably has some sense in it. Perhaps some configuration will work with the 380 maybe. I agree with you that PR could easily fill this up though, but I guess the only thing is that if the cargo component ratio to passenger seat can be fit up properly. It would be nice to have some A380's though.

yes, i suppose they will have to solve the cargo component before they consider getting 380´s. in my opinion the A380 is an impressive plane. i´ve seen it in frankfurt on it´s maiden flight there. it´s a beautiful elephant. certainly would be nice to see it dock at T3 in PAL colors.

OMG....that looks so real. Good job.

aUen,
can´t wait to see it done, grand work. you are very professional at it. congratulations !

^@champagn pics what bridges are those looks neat

^@champagn pics what bridges are those looks neat

I think its the road from Manila to Angeles but not sure.... maybe someone else knows.....

another awesome pic....look at the greenery

Just came back in Holland with KLM after 6 weeks in Manila!
I think they fly to Manila daily , direct flight! It was very good and fast , great entertainment system ( you can choose out of around 100 movies on your own screen , start them whenever you want).
The price was not bad also , 700 euro including all taxes.

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/7889/875kl8iz.jpg

I know this place! It's near our village! I think it's in Multinational Village immediately beside the NAIA 1... Am I right?

Friday, January 20, 2006
Arroyo says Laguindingan airport one of RP's biggest

THE Laguindingan International Airport Development Project is one of the most expensive and biggest projects in the Philippines, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told media practitioners in Cagayan de Oro City.

Her expression of support was issued after the President launched the project in Barangay Moog, Laguindingan town, Misamis Oriental, on January 11.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2/cyrusal/Laguindingan.jpg

Located between the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Lanao del Norte, the US$107.70M project is envisioned to boost the investment activities of the Cagayan de Oro-Iligan growth corridor.

Pre-construction activities of the project are scheduled to start in July, this year. It is projected for completion in August 2010.

In a media interaction at the Provincial Capitol with Governor Oscar S. Moreno, the President stressed the need to relocate the remaining 100 families still living within the project site.

President Arroyo said about P10 million will be taken from the initial release of P500 million for the project for the relocation of the affected families to a shoreline area not far from the site to enable them to continue their livelihood.

"They will be given free house and lots by the government, the President added.

The next step, the President continued, is the construction of the access road going to the international airport site. The road project will undergo a bidding process for qualified contractors.

"However, the winning bidder will be sent to Korea for final deliberation before formally starting the project," she further said.

Thereafter, the planning director of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will update the figures or project cost.

The President said the normal bidding process usually takes about three to four months, and another one month for the updating process.

To enable the country to pay the foreign loans for the airport project, the Philippine Infrastructure Corporation will package and develop for privatization the existing Lumbia airport in Cagayan de Oro City, she added.

President Arroyo said construction of international airports usually takes about four years to complete.

The Laguindingan international airport project is one of President Arroyo's flagship projects in Mindanao

It can't be worth $107 Billion!!!!! I believe there has been a misstatement.

It can't be worth $107 Billion!!!!! I believe there has been a misstatement.

I thought its only 107 million not billion.

I know this place! It's near our village! I think it's in Multinational Village immediately beside the NAIA 1... Am I right?

oo the junction you see in the bottem of the pic is multinational ave/Ninoy Aquino ave

It can't be worth $107 Billion!!!!! I believe there has been a misstatement.

yes...if the airport their building in Vietnam is worth only 4.5 billion dollars for 80 million pax a year....it's probably 107 million, no?

It can't be worth $107 Billion!!!!! I believe there has been a misstatement.

Yeah. I was also surprised. If that is really US$107B then we could as well pay off our debts. Our national debt is just US$56B...

Its definitely not $107B...Thats insane, no country will build an airport worth that much.

yup! it could be $107B, if the interior is furnished with pure gold :jk:
sorry for the misinfo, it is $107M :), i gut copied and pasted it from an email without any double checking :)

a passenger opinion courtesy of airlinequality.com

Philippine Airlines - by Paolo Lim

4 January 2006

There are a few issues that need to be addressed. First, the consistency with the inflight entertainment programmes, especially Boeing 747-400. MNL-HKG featured a real-time airshow and safety video but on the return flight, none of them were present - as for the latter feature, we had to resort to a live demonstration instead. There were short programmes on both sectors. The interesting thing with the return flight was that there were personal monitors in economy class but it only featured the mainscreen programmes (of course personal monitors are not a feature of PAL). Most of its Boeing 747-400s look different from each other - one has grey seats while the other has blue and green seats while a third has blue-purple seats. Flight attendants are friendly. Would I fly PAL again? It depends on the kind of aircraft, particularly if the Boeing 747-400 is scheduled to be used. I said that personal monitors are not a feature of PAL - that is in economy class as they usually feature mainscreen programmes and personal monitors are used in First and Mabuhay (Business) Class. Overall, I don't have much problems about riding PAL, most of them are OK journey.


>>wow, do pal really have personal monitors in their economy class seats?

yeh i read that...ow well could be a sign of things to come...i hope they equip the economy of A330 and A340...they would benefit from it......

PTVs are only available on First and Business class of A340s and B747s arent they?

how about their a330? i hope they are also equipped with ptv's even for the business class only... that article from arlinequality.com shocked me when i read that one of pal's 747 is equipped with ptv's.. i hope they use that in their transpacific routes...

Thats N754PR, That was already equipt with PTVs when they acquired it a few years ago. It is actually originally ordered for Kuwait Airways but when they decided not to acquire the aircraft, PAL took it up instead.

But good news, PAL's new A320s they ordered will have PTVs with AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) not sure if economy will have it but at least Mabuhay will have it. This is a sure sign in my mind that PAL will have PTVs when they order new Widebody aircraft

With air transport postings tending to focus on the latest technology and all, here's a flashback to over sixty years ago:

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c211/hawayano/patco.jpg

By the way, if you find an original decal like this, collectors are paying big $$$$ for it these days (and it's only like 3 inches square!).

yup! it could be $107B, if the interior is furnished with pure gold :jk:
sorry for the misinfo, it is $107M :), i gut copied and pasted it from an email without any double checking :)

"One hundred Billion Dollars" Austin Powes , hehe

just heard from a couple of workmates who who's tried to NorthWest...saying it sucks hehe...must be really bad..

told y'all.... f/a's aren't as young, fresh and accomodating as cx & pr...

well actually my tita in seattle prefer Pal goin to Manila rather than NW

Northwest is often called "Northworst". Unfortunately from the US east coast, NW is the only airline that is regularly discounted by Pinoy travel agencies. Lately, these agencies are starting to offer discounted tickets on Korean, which offers one stop service from D.C. to Manila. I'm hoping that Continental will one day offer one stop service to Manila. CO's service is excellent.

maybe NW is just confident and not caring much since they are the fourth biggest airline worldwide...i'd rather United start flying back to Manila than NW...or more Long haul Continental flights to Manila

Northwest is often called "Northworst". Unfortunately from the US east coast, NW is the only airline that is regularly discounted by Pinoy travel agencies. Lately, these agencies are starting to offer discounted tickets on Korean, which offers one stop service from D.C. to Manila. I'm hoping that Continental will one day offer one stop service to Manila. CO's service is excellent.


PAL is considering services to New York and Seattle in the near future...i hope it pushes through...

I don't like Northwest either but I have mileage points with them and I'm almost up for a free plane ticket so I might have to use them again soon. My faves are CX and JAL. They're cheap and reliable. And the last few times, I've been lucky to have the whole row to myself :)

ako naman Mabuhay Miles hehe....enough for a hongkong-Manila round trip....i have to use it soon befoere it expires

PAL is considering services to New York and Seattle in the near future...i hope it pushes through...

Back in the good old days... 1997 from airliners.net.

Check out PAL in Newark Airport with the World Trade Center in the background.
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/401570/M/

http://images.airliners.net/photos/photos/0/7/5/401570.jpg

^^ Wow!! I didn't know PAL used to have those Lockheeds!!

^I believe that's a McDonnel Douglas MD-11. Yung Lockheed Tristar, hinde magka-align yung exhaust at rear engine. Mas mababa yung exhaust

^I believe that's a McDonnel Douglas MD-11. Yung Lockheed Tristar, hinde magka-align yung exhaust at rear engine. Mas mababa yung exhaust


korek ka jan

ako naman Mabuhay Miles hehe....enough for a hongkong-Manila round trip....i have to use it soon befoere it expires

that's another thing. why do Mabuhay Miles expire? Do other airlines' mileage points expire too? Alam ko Northwest hinde

^I believe that's a McDonnel Douglas MD-11. Yung Lockheed Tristar, hinde magka-align yung exhaust at rear engine. Mas mababa yung exhaust


That my friend in that picture is PAL DC-10, I don't know why it is painted like the modern sunrise design in it when PAL's logo was changed during Madam Corey Aquino's administration. PAL never flew to NY unless that was a special charter flight by one of Madam Aquino's trip to the US during her tenure as the Philippine President.

DC -10 was built by McDonnel Douglas Corp which is now bought by a Japanese firm and started calling it's aircraft MD-83 or 80s...

DC-10's does look like the lockheed tristar back in the days, I believe it was built by either france or Russia, but I am leaning more towards Russia. I use to read alot about airplanes back when I was just 10 y/o and up to now, but I have other better things to do now as an adult.
I used to compare the 2 aircrafts. I know for a fact that they are both one of the noisiest aircraft ever made..LOL

That my friend in that picture is PAL DC-10, I don't know why it is painted like the modern sunrise design in it when PAL's logo was changed during Madam Corey Aquino's administration. PAL never flew to NY unless that was a special charter flight by one of Madam Aquino's trip to the US during her tenure as the Philippine President.

DC -10 was built by McDonnel Douglas Corp which is now bought by a Japanese firm and started calling it's aircraft MD-83 or 80s...

DC-10's does look like the lockheed tristar back in the days, I believe it was built by either france or Russia, but I am leaning more towards Russia. I use to read alot about airplanes back when I was just 10 y/o and up to now, but I have other better things to do now as an adult.
I used to compare the 2 aircrafts. I know for a fact that they are both one of the noisiest aircraft ever made..LOL

but it has those winglets. the DC10 didn't have those, did they? It was only the MD11's that did. Could be wrong of course.

1st Thats Actually a MD-11, it was leased from World Airways for a few years but it costed PAL a fortune. one of the many reasons they went bankrupt for awhile

2nd PAL used to fly to Newark 3x a week via Vancouver before the bankruptcy

3rd McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997

so i don't know were you got ur facts but i know they are wrong :?

1st Thats Actually a MD-11, it was leased from World Airways for a few years but it costed PAL a fortune. one of the many reasons they went bankrupt for awhile

2nd PAL used to fly to Newark 3x a week via Vancouver before the bankruptcy

3rd McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997

so i don't know were you got ur facts but i know they are wrong :?


Yes, as I remember their flights from EWR was short lived. I was looking forward to using PAL from EWR since I loved the old MD-11's, but they pulled the plug on these flights right away. I also recall that the FA's and pilots were World Airways crews.

that's another thing. why do Mabuhay Miles expire? Do other airlines' mileage points expire too? Alam ko Northwest hinde



dyan ako naiinis kung bakit na e expire.....i think for profitablility purposes

I don't like Northwest either but I have mileage points with them and I'm almost up for a free plane ticket so I might have to use them again soon. My faves are CX and JAL. They're cheap and reliable. And the last few times, I've been lucky to have the whole row to myself :)
that's the same reason why i am still flying with northwest.... my mom told me after i get my free ticket.... i'll switch to pal since i also have mabuhay miles :)

From Tripso.com forums posted by sardine:

The Top 15 Advertising Slogans for Northworst Air Lines:


We're public transit with wings.

Join our frequent near-miss program.

Ask about our out-of-court settlements.

Noisy engines? We'll turn 'em off!

Complimentary champagne in free-fall.

Enjoy the in-flight movie in the plane next to you.

The kids will love our inflatable slides.

You think it's so easy, get your own damm plane!

Our pilots are terminally ill and have nothing to lose.

We might be landing on your street!

Bring a bathing suit.

So that's what these buttons do!

A real man lands where he wants to.

We never make the same mistake three times.

Our flight attendants threaten to have our passengers
arrested ten times more often than our competitors!


http://www.tripso.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3590

Kalibo and caticlan airport together cater to 60 flights a day due to an article in MB today :
When improved as planned by Aklan leaders led by Rep. Joeben T. Miraflores, Gov. Lito S. Marquez, and Vice Gov. Kel Tolentino, the Kalibo airport will have direct flights from Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore.

another article i found about these airports caticlan&kalibo :
The New Airport The Kalibo Airport has undergone a facelift. More than 400 meters had been added to its runway, which used to be 1,830 meters long, allowing it to handle the Airbus 320 we're now using from Hong Kong. In early 2001, the Kalibo Airport was granted its own Area Approach Control, which means it could now accept regional charter flights from Japan, Hong Kong, Southern China, Singapore, and Taiwan. We landed together with an Airbus 320 from Osaka and a 737 flight from Manila. The new airport, which was designed like a country club, has since doubled its passenger handling capacity and is thus able to handle more than two full-load 737 flights at any one time. I looked at my watch: 8:30 p.m. Since the Simple Approach Lights and Instrument Landing System were installed last year, Kalibo Airport can now handle night landing in any weather. After getting our luggage, we went to the bus station. A group of bronzed Russian tourists filled the area with their souvenirs. In January 2001, a planeload of Siberians landed in Cebu and part of that group headed for Boracay via Kalibo. A couple of months later, 2 more flights arrived from Siberia. Today, there are regular flights to Aklan from Siberia. Russian tourists have joined the Korean honeymooners, young Japanese weekenders, and vacationers from Manila that make up Boracay's tourist profile. The Road to Caticlan We board the bus that would take us through the 70-kilometer stretch to Caticlan. Since the Caticlan Airport could not handle international flights such as ours, we had to land in Kalibo. The Caticlan Airport, also, has since been turned into a hub for shuttle flights going to Busuanga in Palawan, Ilo-ilo, Cebu, Bohol, San Jose in Antique, and other islands.

why dont they just make the caticlan airport an international airport?!? is the area too small for a long runway? people fly to aklan because of boracay, so why not make it more convenient. easier access means more tourists. hehe just a thought.

^I believe that's a McDonnel Douglas MD-11. Yung Lockheed Tristar, hinde magka-align yung exhaust at rear engine. Mas mababa yung exhaust

Mukhang pareho sila ng lockheed pala no sa plane design. Ic.

I also recall that the FA's and pilots were World Airways crews.
Indeed since PAL "wet-leased" the aircraft i.e. along w/ leasing the aircraft, the crew of the airline you leased the a/c from comes with it.

why dont they just make the caticlan airport an international airport?!? is the area too small for a long runway? people fly to aklan because of boracay, so why not make it more convenient. easier access means more tourists. hehe just a thought.

you are so right.
instead they are investing in 3 airports on panay island. iloilo will get the biggest one, kalibo will be upgraded to international standards too, and caticlan (the one with the fastest progress) will stay the smallest one. this is all about politics and airline business. if they prolong the caticlan runway, asian spirit will lose a lot of traffic to airlines using bigger aircraft : PAL,CEB,2P (3/4 of AS pax carried per annum is to caticlan !). it would probably kill the emerging airline overnight.

why dont they just make the caticlan airport an international airport?!? is the area too small for a long runway? people fly to aklan because of boracay, so why not make it more convenient. easier access means more tourists. hehe just a thought.

I agree with you...its so stupid. They should really build an international airport in Caticlan.

I agree with you...its so stupid. They should really build an international airport in Caticlan.

well, there will be some improvements. you can find an article in this thread (somewhere in the back pages) that the philippine McDonalds boss (forgto his name) got the entitle to upgrade the airport as first private airport-initiative in the phil. but what is going to change, to be upgraded i do not know.

does anyone have newer pictures of catictal or kalibo airports ?

Just wondering about PAL's recent move to discontinue flights to Riyadh and Kuala Lumpur, it makes you think about other its other routes (one route that comes to my mind is the Manila-Guam route, because PAL suspended it back in late 1993, along with Saipan), as well as the Manila-Okinawa route. I think the Las Vegas route is doing OK (with PAL behind other Asian peers such as SIA and Cathay, a Filipino aviation enthusiast should relish on the fact that PAL has successfully maintained the Manila-Las Vegas route unlike Singapore Airlines, who only flew the route for a year).

If I were the Minister of Transportation, I would be critical of these low-cost foreign carriers and Middle Eastern carriers coming in to Manila and Cebu. I understand that the country isn't that wealthy, but we should set the limit. The careless actions of the Philippine government of allowing foreign carriers more flights and sell tickets at a lower price would ultimately ruin Philippine carriers. Look what Emirates and Qatar Airways did; they're selling cheap tickets to Europe, thus hurting PAL's chances of flying back to London-Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Paris. I say NO to the Emirates/Qatar/Air Asia/Jetstar/Tiger invasion of RP skies!

PAL should take a risk by launching (or should I say resuming) flights to Chicago and New York as there are many Filipinos living in the East Coast, as well as Toronto. Europe? I think the Philippine government should make a stand (or noise) against the Middle Eastern carriers first before resuming flights to Europe.

I flew on PAL flight 105 from San Francisco to Manila v.v. last July 4 on Mabuhay Class. Their lounge in San Francisco is impressive, with good views of the mountains and the runways. The food onboard was pretty good (JAL and KAL have their ramen noodles, MAS has their satays, we have the beloved arroz caldo!). Inflight entertainment? PAL should seriously invest money in it. Cabin crew? They were polite and helpful, but yes, they should bring in younger crew. My only problem is Terminal 2...

Yeah, Tan's pretty corrupt. But don't forget other notable aviation figures of the past who were also dictatorial and had their way (Juan Trippe of Pan Am, Howard Hughes of TWA, and Bob Crandall of American Airlines).

Oh, and one more thing for my fellow Filipino aviation enthusiasts, seriously, won't you feel proud to see an airline with the name of your home country, rather than an airline with a city name at a foreign airport? And let's not forget that you don't see an airline that shuts down for 2 weeks and resumes operations.

MABUHAY ANG PAL!

amen to that

Honestly, is it necessary for the Philippines to build so many "international" airports? People, look at Japan! Take Osaka-Kansai, despite the early hype, it is still underused, and they're expanding it! Japan also opened a new airport in Nagoya and building a new one in Kobe, when these two cities aren't far from Osaka!

Use the land designated for airports or malls for more practical use, such as farmland or industrial projects! Not going off-topic, but the Philippines should take action to decrease the wide gap between the rich and the poor first before luring in more foreign tourists. By decreasing the poverty gap, it creates a large (and affluent) middle-class and promotes political stability for the country.

Is it possible that airline executives read aviation enthusiast forums?

Honestly, is it necessary for the Philippines to build so many "international" airports? People, look at Japan! Take Osaka-Kansai, despite the early hype, it is still underused, and they're expanding it! Japan also opened a new airport in Nagoya and building a new one in Kobe, when these two cities aren't far from Osaka!

Use the land designated for airports or malls for more practical use, such as farmland or industrial projects!


well, yeah.. you have a point. we only need international airports in major cities such as manila, cebu, and davao. hub-type airports that is. then other places need medium-size domestic airports. that would also help smaller domestic carriers. wouldnt it be nice to see airports with all-filipino-carriers?

true for being patriotic but tan is not pilipino btw. hes chinese, he bought the name and try to make a monopoly out of it, thats by making the airfare much higher than the rest of the competition which i think didnt deserve what the airlines hold. hes scaring the old and faithfull customer, these customer on the other hand ofcourse would try to bridge out for their better sake. wouldnt he lower the fare, then next we know, every pilipino will start using the country's name, and down the road be more profitable. but he insists, and starts cutting back route so he wont loss profit. its a business thats what you do, its an up and down, not everyone succeeds. i think they should make the airfare be reached then the country's name carrier will get the prestige back again.

if i was only richer than bill gates, id buy PAL and get all the airplanes' cabins a new look or even get new planes.. haha!!

well, yeah.. you have a point. we only need international airports in major cities such as manila, cebu, and davao. hub-type airports that is. then other places need medium-size domestic airports. that would also help smaller domestic carriers. wouldnt it be nice to see airports with all-filipino-carriers?

How many airlines are operating in the Philippines? You have Philippine Airlines, 5J, 2P, Asian Spirit, SEAir. Although I would to see PAL once again the sole airline of the country (hehe), the country, with its size and economic background could support only one or two more airlines. One airline competing with PAL in the trunk routes (MNL-CEB/DVO/CGY/Bacolod) and one airline that operates the missionary routes.

I'm not sure if the enthusiasts know about this but back in the 1960s, there was a brief experiment in airline deregulation in the Philippines. Airlines such as Filipinas Orient and Air Manila aggresivey competed against PAL in the domestic market. The problem was that FOA and AMI only flew the trunk routes, while PAL was flying both the trunk and missionary routes. The three were involved in cutthroat fare competition, like the jeepneys along Quezon Ave. Eventually FOA and AMI folded when Marcos made PAL the sole Philippine carrier, and the two carriers were in a precarious financial situation.

does anyone have newer pictures of catictal or kalibo airports ?

Caticlan Airport
i actually cant imagine how this airport operate.
© mark_denham - webshots
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a114/auen00/SSC2/65015674.jpg

heres the link to the picture of the interior of the "building" (terminal?!?! hehe). i wont hotlink it since its a pic of people i dont know.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/301104365/1301124481056708778ztiUzI

How many airlines are operating in the Philippines? You have Philippine Airlines, 5J, 2P, Asian Spirit, SEAir. Although I would to see PAL once again the sole airline of the country (hehe), the country, with its size and economic background could support only one or two more airlines. One airline competing with PAL in the trunk routes (MNL-CEB/DVO/CGY/Bacolod) and one airline that operates the missionary routes.

I'm not sure if the enthusiasts know about this but back in the 1960s, there was a brief experiment in airline deregulation in the Philippines. Airlines such as Filipinas Orient and Air Manila aggresivey competed against PAL in the domestic market. The problem was that FOA and AMI only flew the trunk routes, while PAL was flying both the trunk and missionary routes. The three were involved in cutthroat fare competition, like the jeepneys along Quezon Ave. Eventually FOA and AMI folded when Marcos made PAL the sole Philippine carrier, and the two carriers were in a precarious financial situation.

interesting.. i never knew such carriers existed. btw, what is 5J and 2P? hehe i always wondered.

true for being patriotic but tan is not pilipino btw. hes chinese, he bought the name and try to make a monopoly out of it, thats by making the airfare much higher than the rest of the competition which i think didnt deserve what the airlines hold. hes scaring the old and faithfull customer, these customer on the other hand ofcourse would try to bridge out for their better sake. wouldnt he lower the fare, then next we know, every pilipino will start using the country's name, and down the road be more profitable. but he insists, and starts cutting back route so he wont loss profit. its a business thats what you do, its an up and down, not everyone succeeds. i think they should make the airfare be reached then the country's name carrier will get the prestige back again.

I would say the only time PAL was under complete Filipino control was during the Marcos administration. Its founder Andres Soriano was a Spanish citizen; up until the 1960s, Pan American World Airways and Trans World Airlines had a stake on PAL; and KLM had a relationship with PAL (KLM helped PAL obtain the DC-8 and DC-10) until the late-1970s.

I understand that PAL isn't the cheapest option around, but with Middle Eastern and Asian carriers poaching on PAL's business, who are nonetheless protected by their respective governments, not only PAL, but Philippine business are at a disadvantage. Yes, we have to be more open to the world and all, but take the Japanese and the British. They are very protective of foreign carriers entering Narita and Heathrow airports, as they are very desirable destinations. Why can't the Filipinos fight for respect in the international community?!? If we keep on giving in to the latest Emirates or LCC request for slots at NAIA, the international community will view the Philippines in a negative way as those who easily give in to foreigners.

It's about damn time to give the hard-working Filipino people the respect they deserve...

5J: Cebu Pacific
2P: Air Philippines (a.k.a. PAL's low-cost carrier)

if i was only richer than bill gates, id buy PAL and get all the airplanes' cabins a new look or even get new planes.. haha!!

Same here. But I'd make PAL a premium low-cost carrier for Asian routes, bring back the Skybeds (OH YEAH!), and make PAL something the Filipino people can proudly talk about.

if i was only richer than bill gates, id buy PAL and get all the airplanes' cabins a new look or even get new planes.. haha!!
Dude...I've been imagining the same....:D

Just wondering, is Roman Cruz still alive? For those who don't know who he is, he was PAL's chairman from 1977 to 1986. Although a Marcos crony, he was known to be popular among PAL workers. Under his leadership, PAL received the A300 and the B747; resumed or launched services to Athens, London, Paris, Zurich, Dubai, Brisbane, Chicago, Ho Chi Minh City, Beijing, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Seoul, Bahrain, Kuwait, Cairo, Chicago, and Los Angeles. PAL even operated a Manila-Tokyo-Honolulu-San Francisco flight! It was during Cruz's tenure that PAL has seen rapid expansion. However, like Tan, PAL lost a lot of money (mostly because of Meldy's infamous junkets, thus screwing up the schedule and accumulated airport expenses), and it was so bad that PAL was about to suspend all international operations in 1983, but Marcos ordered Cruz to maintain the international schedule.

I'm not sure if the enthusiasts know about this but back in the 1960s, there was a brief experiment in airline deregulation in the Philippines. Airlines such as Filipinas Orient and Air Manila aggresivey competed against PAL in the domestic market. The problem was that FOA and AMI only flew the trunk routes, while PAL was flying both the trunk and missionary routes. The three were involved in cutthroat fare competition, like the jeepneys along Quezon Ave. Eventually FOA and AMI folded when Marcos made PAL the sole Philippine carrier, and the two carriers were in a precarious financial situation.

informative, never heard these airlines b4

I understand that PAL isn't the cheapest option around, but with Middle Eastern and Asian carriers poaching on PAL's business, who are nonetheless protected by their respective governments, not only PAL, but Philippine business are at a disadvantage. Yes, we have to be more open to the world and all, but take the Japanese and the British. They are very protective of foreign carriers entering Narita and Heathrow airports, as they are very desirable destinations. Why can't the Filipinos fight for respect in the international community?!? If we keep on giving in to the latest Emirates or LCC request for slots at NAIA, the international community will view the Philippines in a negative way as those who easily give in to foreigners.

theres probably a hidden agenda that we dont know, thats why large filipino OFW destination had to be closed, that is probably tan has been bought by the middle eastern countries tries to eliminate PAL out of their country. hence, there airlines can profit skyrocketed more. its just really peculiar that such big population of filipino in riyadh or wherever in saudi arabia and PAL has to be closed, this is very fishy :sly:

what kind of fish tigidig14? sad to say but i never trust mr. tan eversince.

^dilis i think

Air Manila photo from airlines.afriqonline.com

http://airlines.afriqonline.com/images/3pln2138.jpg

Old enough to admit that I rode on a similar PAL DC-3.

Just wondering about PAL's recent move to discontinue flights to Riyadh and Kuala Lumpur, it makes you think about other its other routes (one route that comes to my mind is the Manila-Guam route, because PAL suspended it back in late 1993, along with Saipan), as well as the Manila-Okinawa route. I think the Las Vegas route is doing OK (with PAL behind other Asian peers such as SIA and Cathay, a Filipino aviation enthusiast should relish on the fact that PAL has successfully maintained the Manila-Las Vegas route unlike Singapore Airlines, who only flew the route for a year).

If I were the Minister of Transportation, I would be critical of these low-cost foreign carriers and Middle Eastern carriers coming in to Manila and Cebu. I understand that the country isn't that wealthy, but we should set the limit. The careless actions of the Philippine government of allowing foreign carriers more flights and sell tickets at a lower price would ultimately ruin Philippine carriers. Look what Emirates and Qatar Airways did; they're selling cheap tickets to Europe, thus hurting PAL's chances of flying back to London-Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Paris. I say NO to the Emirates/Qatar/Air Asia/Jetstar/Tiger invasion of RP skies!

PAL should take a risk by launching (or should I say resuming) flights to Chicago and New York as there are many Filipinos living in the East Coast, as well as Toronto. Europe? I think the Philippine government should make a stand (or noise) against the Middle Eastern carriers first before resuming flights to Europe.

I flew on PAL flight 105 from San Francisco to Manila v.v. last July 4 on Mabuhay Class. Their lounge in San Francisco is impressive, with good views of the mountains and the runways. The food onboard was pretty good (JAL and KAL have their ramen noodles, MAS has their satays, we have the beloved arroz caldo!). Inflight entertainment? PAL should seriously invest money in it. Cabin crew? They were polite and helpful, but yes, they should bring in younger crew. My only problem is Terminal 2...

Yeah, Tan's pretty corrupt. But don't forget other notable aviation figures of the past who were also dictatorial and had their way (Juan Trippe of Pan Am, Howard Hughes of TWA, and Bob Crandall of American Airlines).

Oh, and one more thing for my fellow Filipino aviation enthusiasts, seriously, won't you feel proud to see an airline with the name of your home country, rather than an airline with a city name at a foreign airport? And let's not forget that you don't see an airline that shuts down for 2 weeks and resumes operations.

MABUHAY ANG PAL!

PAL at the moment is running a pretty tight ship. For the Riyadh flights, PAL needed to maximize the use of the A340. Instead of three money-losing trips a week to Riyadh where they have a difficult time selling first and business class tickets and cutthroat competition, they could make three extra trips to the United States where the demand is only growing and PAL has an advantage. PAL doesn't have money to buy planes that are just right for the middle eastern operation.

As for the LCCs, they have become a catalyst for growth in the region, and sealing ourselves up isn't going to do much good.

And as for Emirates... they only operate nine flights a week out of Manila, all of them on 777-300ERs with a high-density configuration of around 427 passengers. Are they exploiting PAL's small route network? Yes. However, they are doing so at a price. The MNL-DXB flights are a codeshare operation, and half of the frequencies that EK uses belong to PAL. Emirates actually pays PAL to fly here. PAL is fine with the status quo, because our government adamantly refuses to give Emirates any more frequencies (Which is probably why Etihad can't get through), and PAL doesn't have to bother wasting resources to compete with Emirates.

PAL as it is now is leaner and more well-managed than ever before. It may feel nice to see a PAL plane in some airport halfway across the world, but at least they're making money, something they haven't done in decades. You'd think decades of protectionism would have made PAL a wonderful airline with a far-reaching route network, but the opposite was achieved. Our ASEAN neighbors (specifically, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia), whose populations travel less than ours, had liberal skies and fought tooth and nail to make their airlines profitable.


Oh, and as for the LCCs, Jetstar/Tiger/Air Asia are the least of PAL's worries. If there's any airline that can seriously dent PAL's operation, that would be Cebu Pacific.

^very good insights Solblanc

I would love Cebu Pacific to go head on head with PAL on international flights in the near future and that would make them not just one but two flag carriers of the country. I also heard that Asian Spirit is planning for international flights as well.

I would love Cebu Pacific to go head on head with PAL on international flights in the near future and that would make them not just one but two flag carriers of the country. I also heard that Asian Spirit is planning for international flights as well.


AS : from davao to palau/march 06

PAL at the moment is running a pretty tight ship. For the Riyadh flights, PAL needed to maximize the use of the A340. Instead of three money-losing trips a week to Riyadh where they have a difficult time selling first and business class tickets and cutthroat competition, they could make three extra trips to the United States where the demand is only growing and PAL has an advantage. PAL doesn't have money to buy planes that are just right for the middle eastern operation.

As for the LCCs, they have become a catalyst for growth in the region, and sealing ourselves up isn't going to do much good.

And as for Emirates... they only operate nine flights a week out of Manila, all of them on 777-300ERs with a high-density configuration of around 427 passengers. Are they exploiting PAL's small route network? Yes. However, they are doing so at a price. The MNL-DXB flights are a codeshare operation, and half of the frequencies that EK uses belong to PAL. Emirates actually pays PAL to fly here. PAL is fine with the status quo, because our government adamantly refuses to give Emirates any more frequencies (Which is probably why Etihad can't get through), and PAL doesn't have to bother wasting resources to compete with Emirates.

PAL as it is now is leaner and more well-managed than ever before. It may feel nice to see a PAL plane in some airport halfway across the world, but at least they're making money, something they haven't done in decades. You'd think decades of protectionism would have made PAL a wonderful airline with a far-reaching route network, but the opposite was achieved. Our ASEAN neighbors (specifically, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia), whose populations travel less than ours, had liberal skies and fought tooth and nail to make their airlines profitable.


Oh, and as for the LCCs, Jetstar/Tiger/Air Asia are the least of PAL's worries. If there's any airline that can seriously dent PAL's operation, that would be Cebu Pacific.


niconepo, solblanc,

both of you have points there.
nevertheless, if an airline is not profitable, no future. PAL is doing well skipping non profitable routes for full loads per flight. 5 years from now this airline will have a complete new fleet with all the amneties of inflight entertainment and fuel saving aircraft. with 5 million tourists in 5 years there chould be enough room for PAL, CEB, 2P, AS, SEAIR etc. and then you will have a lot of new and renovated airports in the country. there is room for everyone. even for international direct flights to destinations like laoag, caticlan, kalibo, davao, puerto princessa, iloilo, bacolod, cebu, clark and manila. diversify, distribute, just like what they are planning to do with govemental institutions, spread them around the country. incomming tourist want to arrive in their destination within 1-2 hours after landing at the airport. i believe philippine aviation has huge, profitable potential for everyone. don´t forget you have 7107 beautiful islands to discover !

Air Manila photo from airlines.afriqonline.com

http://airlines.afriqonline.com/images/3pln2138.jpg

Old enough to admit that I rode on a similar PAL DC-3.

i recall flying in a PAL DC 3 sitting on wodden benches next to chickens in wooden boxes flying just above the jungle off mindanao heading to cebu from cotabato. that was something i never will forget, it was just marvelous !

Caticlan Airport
i actually cant imagine how this airport operate.
© mark_denham - webshots
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a114/auen00/SSC2/65015674.jpg

heres the link to the picture of the interior of the "building" (terminal?!?! hehe). i wont hotlink it since its a pic of people i dont know.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/301104365/1301124481056708778ztiUzI

wow, salamat aUen ! when did you take the pic, how old is this shot ? btw, i like pictogramme you picked next to your name with the PAL tails next to each other.

wow, salamat aUen ! when did you take the pic, how old is this shot ? btw, i like pictogramme you picked next to your name with the PAL tails next to each other.

i didnt take it, i found it in webshots. i actually thought at first that the pic was recently taken. hehe i just found out that it was taken in june 2001 but the interior pic was taken in 2005.

about my avatar, thanks! i thought my last avatar was boring so i changed it. :D

1st Thats Actually a MD-11, it was leased from World Airways for a few years but it costed PAL a fortune. one of the many reasons they went bankrupt for awhile

2nd PAL used to fly to Newark 3x a week via Vancouver before the bankruptcy

3rd McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997

so i don't know were you got ur facts but i know they are wrong :?

I don't know. Where did you get your facts? MD-11 is such a tiny aircraft, that's an older smaller version of the MD80's. It could have not possibly made it through with a 12 hour flight directly to Vancouver.

I'm not totally aware of that PAL route from MNL to Vancouver & on towards Newark NJ, I am only aware that PAL used to have flight to Chicago.

The picture that was shown above was obviously not in Newark, NJ because if you look at the background, you would see the old World Trade Center Building still erected.

I personally have never flown with PAL International. I've tried PAL domestic once on my last visit there in the Philippines where I went to Cebu for the 1st time.

I'm not sure about the winglet in that PAL on that DC 10, my dad flown with PAL a few times when I was younger from San Francisco to MNL, I was little then but I knew at the time, PAL used to only have DC-10 for all the US route because they do not have 747 back in the days.

If you have a better article about what you know ewh1, please by all means feel free to share the links, it would be nice for everybody to be enlightened with a new information or knowledge.

Thank you very much Sir.

Yep. im happy to share, ok here are some sources

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/401570/M/

The original link to the picture. On that link it clearly says its in Newark, Heres another picture of how it looks today
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/262856/L/

Regarding MD-80 and MD-11, MD-80 was the updated version of the DC-9 that was started in the 60s and the MD-11 was the updated version of the DC-10

http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/md-80md-90.htm
http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/md-11.htm

and finally the application from PAL to operate the MNL-YVR-EWR route from the Canadian Transport Agency
http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/rulings-decisions/decisions/1997/A/25-A-1997_e.html

Hope this clears things up :)

just a question.... ilan ba ang gates meron and davao intl airport?

The last time I was there it's 8 yata.

8? thats nice.. i like davao international airport's design. the interior couldve looked better though.

edit: double post

id just like to rant here.. so please excuse me..

my friends and i are going to bohol this coming february on cebu pacific.. we were going on the 7am friday flight and leaving on the 440pm flight on sunday giving us about 2 days of stay in bohol.. but just this weekend, cebu pacific called up my friend and said that they are removing the 440pm flight back to manila so we would be bumped into the 9am sunday flight back.. what a load of crap.. our vacation was cut short to about 1 1/2 days! im so pissed at cebu pacific right now.. they said we could refund the cost of the one-way trip back only after we were able to avail of the flight from manila-tagbilaran..

we cant find any alternative cheap modes of transportation back from tagbiliran to manila.. what a way to screw up somebodys plans..

Just wondering, is Roman Cruz still alive? For those who don't know who he is, he was PAL's chairman from 1977 to 1986. Although a Marcos crony, he was known to be popular among PAL workers. Under his leadership, PAL received the A300 and the B747; resumed or launched services to Athens, London, Paris, Zurich, Dubai, Brisbane, Chicago, Ho Chi Minh City, Beijing, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Seoul, Bahrain, Kuwait, Cairo, Chicago, and Los Angeles. PAL even operated a Manila-Tokyo-Honolulu-San Francisco flight! It was during Cruz's tenure that PAL has seen rapid expansion. However, like Tan, PAL lost a lot of money (mostly because of Meldy's infamous junkets, thus screwing up the schedule and accumulated airport expenses), and it was so bad that PAL was about to suspend all international operations in 1983, but Marcos ordered Cruz to maintain the international schedule.

Nope, he's dead. He was my classmate's dad. I think he died in 2000 (or was it 1999?).

id just like to rant here.. so please excuse me..

my friends and i are going to bohol this coming february on cebu pacific.. we were going on the 7am friday flight and leaving on the 440pm flight on sunday giving us about 2 days of stay in bohol.. but just this weekend, cebu pacific called up my friend and said that they are removing the 440pm flight back to manila so we would be bumped into the 9am sunday flight back.. what a load of crap.. our vacation was cut short to about 1 1/2 days! im so pissed at cebu pacific right now.. they said we could refund the cost of the one-way trip back only after we were able to avail of the flight from manila-tagbilaran..

we cant find any alternative cheap modes of transportation back from tagbiliran to manila.. what a way to screw up somebodys plans..

how about flying to Cebu, instead? Then taking the fast ferry (supercat) to Bohol). Imo, its a much better experience.

@greyx, we considered that option but due to limited funds i dont think that could push thru.. but we'll try it again.. thanks

how about flying to Cebu, instead? Then taking the fast ferry (supercat) to Bohol). Imo, its a much better experience.
a bit off of topic...

meron pa bang supercat papuntang bohol? as far as i remember.... tatlo na lang ang routes ng supercat..... isa sa luzon, bacolod-iloilo, at cebu ormoc nalang.... kasasakay ko lang ng supercat this month... pero ala eh.... weesam nalang yata ang fastcraft papuntang cebu

Philippine Gov't Urged to Liberalize Air Policy
Link to the article (http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060124/4/2ekaj.html)

DAVAO CITY, Jan 24 Asia Pulse - The regional approach to tourism by the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a wake up call for the Philippine government to consider liberalizing air policy.

Tourism Undersecretary Oscar Palabyab said compared to other countries in the ASEAN, the Philippine policy is still more on protecting the market for local airlines that prevent other airlines to come in.

Palabyab said in tourism, open access is important to the market.

Davao City, for example, has a world-class airport where passengers and cargoes are transported to Manila and from that point to different destinations in the world.

"It already has the facilities and a great potential for tourism," Palabyab said.

He also said when tourism develop, it will open up investments, noting that they are hopeful the Asean Tourism Forum 2006 in Davao City would bring in big things for Davao and Mindanao.
I AM:
I'M SEEKING:
With photo:

The tourism official said the initiative of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is also developing a market in the south.

Meanwhile, Palabyab said the ultimate gain of tourism is also the opening up of new investments in the area and to complement the ATF gathering here, it is a must that they get to see the products of Mindanao.

He said the Department of Trade and Industry facilitated trade exhibits for this purpose and the Mindanao Trade Exhibit (MTE) at SM City Davao.

The exhibit showcases products that have gained recognition for Mindanao in the international market with unique craftsmanship endowed with the richness and diversity of the culture of Mindanao.

(PNA)

a bit off of topic...

meron pa bang supercat papuntang bohol? as far as i remember.... tatlo na lang ang routes ng supercat..... isa sa luzon, bacolod-iloilo, at cebu ormoc nalang.... kasasakay ko lang ng supercat this month... pero ala eh.... weesam nalang yata ang fastcraft papuntang cebu


wala ng supercat papuntang bohol. they diverted it to cebu-bacolod and cebu-iloilo.

Monday, January 30, 2006
DOTC repairs Zambo airport

ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews) — The Department of Transportation and Communications is now undertaking repair work for the rehabilitation of a 200-meter stretch of the runway at the Zamboanga International Airport.
This came about after local Air Transportation Office Manager Celso Bayabos appealed several times for the repair of the airport’s dilapidated runway 27.

Bayabos said the repair work started last Sunday and that it is being done in the evening since no plane departs or lands there at night time.

Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air and Air Philippines make daily regular flights to this city from major cities like Manila, Cebu and Davao.

The airport also serves SeaAir and Asian Spirit, two smaller airline firms that fly from this city to the provinces of Jolo, Tawi-Tawi and Cotabato and to Sandakan in Sabah, Malaysia.

Bayabos lamented, however, that 900 meters not just 200 meters of the runway needs repair work.

He said the P2-million budget allocation for the repair of the 200 meters had been allocated more than two years ago, but for unknown reasons the fund was only released this month.

The runway has a total length of 2.6 kilometers including runway 09 which stretches from Barangay San Roque to Barangay Sta. Maria where the Edwin Andrews Air Base is located

wala ng supercat papuntang bohol. they diverted it to cebu-bacolod and cebu-iloilo.

Sayang. That was always a nice alternative if the Tagbilaran flights were full.

Does Oceanjet still service this route? Last time I used them they were as good or better than Supercat. A check to their website shows a daily schedule to Cebu - Tagbilaran. http://www.oceanjet.net/schedcebutagbilaran.htm

Medyong off-topic, pero...

http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/2561091/6/#ID2561091

Japan Airlines is planning to cut more routes, this time the Tokyo-Las Vegas route are among the routes being considered!

However, it makes me wonder, how PAL's Manila-Vancouver-Las Vegas flight is doing. PAL claims they're doing OK with the route (is it because that they have Vancouver-Las Vegas traffic rights that they are able to tap Canadian tourists), but any additional news will help!

P.S. This is a big surprise! I didn't know that back in 2003 PAL was set to resume flights to Saipan, but backed out at the last minute!

http://saipantribune.com/archives/newsstoryarch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=24146&archdte=11/22/2002%2012:00:00%20AM

PAL's YVR-LAS route is making money because of Canadian tourists that go to Las Vegas to gamble and see the sights in Sin City. To say that the route is turning a profit because of the Pinoy pax originating in MNL just isn't completely true.

that's weird. i see so many Japanese tourists in Las Vegas. Would have thought that they all rode JAL. Or maybe they were Korean.... :dunno:

PAL's YVR-LAS route is making money because of Canadian tourists that go to Las Vegas to gamble and see the sights in Sin City. To say that the route is turning a profit because of the Pinoy pax originating in MNL just isn't completely true.
Amen, I've (well more like had since I rarely visit LAS nowadays due to my current location...) been following up on the progress of the LAS-YVR run and the last time I checked, the majority of passengers that checked in were Canadian with the rest being a handful of Filipinos w/ the traditional set of balikbayan boxes. It's still making money for PAL but it's a unique route for the airline in terms of passengers using just the LAS-YVR segment. Would be nice if PR were to push a bit on the promotion of travel to the Philippines to these tourists through this segment though since this does seem like an ample oppotunity to do so...

PAL's YVR-LAS route is making money because of Canadian tourists that go to Las Vegas to gamble and see the sights in Sin City. To say that the route is turning a profit because of the Pinoy pax originating in MNL just isn't completely true.

I think it's not a bad idea at all, if the PAL has been flying Canadian tourist to Vegas, it brings profit to PAL and at the same time, it carries the Philippine flag carriers and if they have brochures and videos bout the Philippines on flight, all these tourist the Canadians, Americans and the likes would have an idea on places to visit the Philippines, it will just trigger their curiousities and be intrigued that they would consider the Philippines on their next leasure trip or stop. After all, it is a whole different idea of leasure from Vegas which are mostly for gambling, shows and sex.

I guess I am in the same page with skyblade on this one, I just read his post again and I felt like i've just repeated his words, it's just on a different manner of delivery.

^so maybe if PAL will be flying to NYC or CHicago again, they can do it from Vancouver too and do the same thing?

^^ That's a most likely plan if there ever was one, besides I don't think PAL can fly direct to JFK or ORD fromMNL, they would have to have a layover somewhere and YVR is best suited for it.

Back when PAL flew to Chicago, I do believe they stopped at either Los Angeles or San Francisco. I don't think they had traffic rights between the two cities.

Inis lang...since Manila has seen a significant cut of international air services since 1998, here's a list of airlines that used to fly to Manila:

Aeroflot
Air France
Alitalia
British Airways
SABENA Belgian World Airlines
Scandinavian Airlines System
Swiss (and Swissair)
Egyptair
Pakistan International Airlines
Vietnam Airlines
Garuda Indonesia
Air Nauru
Pan Am
United Airlines
Canadian Airlines
Palau Micronesia Air

Am I missing an airline?

I think TWA used to fly into Manila in the 1950s and 60s.

:eek2: Aeroflot seriously when?

I think TWA used to fly into Manila in the 1950s and 60s.

Yes. From 1955 route map. Check the stopovers!

http://www.airchive.com/Timetables%20and%20Maps/TWA%20Compressed/TWmap5510.jpg

Back in the day TWA also had a shareholding of PAL along w/ Pan Am.

I think Aeroflot flew into Manila back in 1999 or 2000. It didn't last long.

I didnt know Sabena used to fly to Manila.

I didnt know Sabena used to fly to Manila.

From 1970 up until the mid-1980s. Probably 1987 or 1988. When I was young, I saw a SABENA 747 in NAIA.

Japan Airlines Might Drop Las Vegas
By Chris Jones 6 February 2006

Las Vegas could lose its only nonstop air service from Asia next year.

But local tourism officials say the effects of Japan Airlines' likely exodus are minimal and that Asian demand to visit this city will remain strong with or without the carrier's three direct weekly flights from Tokyo.

JAL representatives have informed McCarran International Airport that they could cancel their Las Vegas service by late summer or early fall. A decision is expected early next week.

The airline is losing money systemwide and may retire some of its older jets, including those used on its Las Vegas route, Clark County Aviation Director Randall Walker said Thursday.

JAL President Toshiyuki Shinmachi told Bloomberg News last month that the carrier will reduce capacity on international flights by 7 percent and retire its Boeing 747 aircraft in favor of smaller 777 or 787 models that burn less fuel.

A Los Angeles-based JAL spokesman confirmed Thursday that the company is studying changes to its international service for the coming fiscal year, which begins April 1.

She could not address Las Vegas specifically, though she added every route will be evaluated.

"If I were a betting man, I would bet that they're going to pull the service," Walker said.

Local tourism leaders have targeted Japan as a key growth market as the city seeks to host more foreign travelers.

Still, JAL's pullout would not greatly affect the city's Asian marketing efforts, which began years before direct flights were available.

"It's disappointing for the destination because our goal is to get as much direct service as possible. But at the end of the day, (Japan Airlines) is not the only way for foreign travelers to get here," Terry Jicinsky, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's senior vice president of marketing, said Thursday.

Last year's international visitor statistics for Las Vegas won't be available for several months.

But airport data showed Japan Airlines last year carried 86,468 arriving and departing passengers through this city last year, up 5.3 percent.

In 2004, the carrier's approximately 41,000 arrivals likely accounted for 19 percent of the city's 217,000 Japanese visitors reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce and convention authority.

Japan's peak year for Las Vegas visitation came in 2000, when 511,000 Japanese came here.

Should Japan Airlines exit, Japanese travelers could still reach the city via car, bus or domestic connection after entering the United States elsewhere.

Airlines such as American, Northwest and United offer widespread trans-Pacific service through Los Angeles and San Francisco, as do several Asian carriers.

"If United adds segments from San Francisco because of additional demand, then we haven't lost much," Walker said. "But we won't know that until we see what happens."

Travelers in southern Asia can reach McCarran via Philippine Airlines, which runs four weekly round-trips from Manila by way of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Singapore Airlines briefly offered direct service from its homeland via Hong Kong. But poor ticket sales forced it from McCarran in April 2003, less than nine months after its local debut.

:(

This makes PAL the only Asian airline to operate in LAS. Sad to see JAL's 744 disappear from McCarran though...:(

This makes PAL the only Asian airline to operate in LAS. Sad to see JAL's 744 disappear from McCarran though...:(

Might be a good break to pick up Japan to Vegas route and get all Japanese tourists to use PAL on their vacation to Vegas, then at the same time, promote the Philippines in their inflight entertainments.

^^ A great idea but PAL and the Philippine Government will have to go through much legal wrangling to obtain flight rights to service routes between Japan and the US.

^^ A great idea but PAL and the Philippine Government will have to go through much legal wrangling to obtain flight rights to service routes between Japan and the US.


Well, you are right about these but hey, no pain no gain so to speak...

^^ A great idea but PAL and the Philippine Government will have to go through much legal wrangling to obtain flight rights to service routes between Japan and the US.
Indeed, obtaining 5th freedom rights definitely isn't an overnight thing and would a rerouting through Japan guarantee decent loads of Japanese tourists? (judging that what's keeping the -LAS extension of PR106/107 going is Canadian gamblers taking up the seats on top of Filipinos from the Las Vegas valley and those connecting from other parts of the country as well ). It's a great idea nevertheless and is definitely something to try out, but with the current fleet and it's high utilization, it'd be more convenient and efficient for it to be an extension to MNL-YVR. Of course, since the RUH route is being axed, a A340 could be free on some days and utilized for another route or something new for a change such as pulling off MNL-NRT-LAS while the MNL-YVR flight would be extended to the east coast of the US or something...unless they have that A340 set on going for the possible CEB-ICN-LAX route.

^^ I hope to see a MNL-YVR-ORD / JFK (or EWR) / IAD (or DCA) route someday! :okay:

Or maybe even add MIA,TPA, MCO and JAX too! :lol:

Indeed, obtaining 5th freedom rights definitely isn't an overnight thing and would a rerouting through Japan guarantee decent loads of Japanese tourists? (judging that what's keeping the -LAS extension of PR106/107 going is Canadian gamblers taking up the seats on top of Filipinos from the Las Vegas valley and those connecting from other parts of the country as well ). It's a great idea nevertheless and is definitely something to try out, but with the current fleet and it's high utilization, it'd be more convenient and efficient for it to be an extension to MNL-YVR. Of course, since the RUH route is being axed, a A340 could be free on some days and utilized for another route or something new for a change such as pulling off MNL-NRT-LAS while the MNL-YVR flight would be extended to the east coast of the US or something...unless they have that A340 set on going for the possible CEB-ICN-LAX route.

Rights aren't the problem. Its a slot issue, really. As it is, PAL has no more NRT slots left, and I don't think that PAL is willing to axe CEB-NRT in favor of extending its MNL-NRT services into transpacs. The same applies to the other Japanese airports, as PAL distributed their coefficients between the other Japanese cities already. Besides, Japan's airports are ridiculously expensive to operate from, and the cost of setting up such a route in any Japanese airport would be prohibitive.

Gov't sets privatization of Legazpi Airport
by MS Arguelles

POLANGUI, Albay (8 February) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday told Bicolanos that the present Legazpi City airport will be privatized to pave the way for its conversion to an international airport as part of the government's tourism and economic development program for Bicolandia.

Speaking at the launching of key infrastructure projects in Bicol, the Chief Executive said the upgrading of the Legazpi City airport will bolster foreign and domestic tourism and the overall economy of the Bicol region.

The upgrading and modernization of the Legazpi airport to meet international standards is estimated to cost P5 billion. "What we will do is privatize the present Legazpi Airport so we'll have the new Legazpi International Airport in Barangay Alobo in Daraga , Albay that would speed up the development not only of Albay, Sorsogon but of the entire Bicol region," she said.

The President said that she had discussed the privatization plan with Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza. At the same time, she has ordered the facilitation of the approval of the financing scheme for the project under the Official Development Assistance (ODA) package.

With the President during the simple program were Albay Governor Fernando Gonzalez, Albay 3rd District Representative Joey Salceda, and Polangui Mayor Jesus Salceda.

Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) general-manager Robert Dean Barbers said the airport privatization plan will not only attract more tourists to Region V but help the overall development of the entire Bicol region.

In 2005, Bicol posted a 19 percent increase in foreign and 6 percent local tourist arrivals for an estimated P35 million contribution to the Philippine economy.

Prior to the Polangui interaction President Arroyo inaugurated two major bridges in Albay province with a combined cost of P90.52 million.

The two bridges are the P65.88 million Basud Bridge in Sto. Domingo town in the outskirts of Legazpi City, and the P24.64 million Quinale bridge in the municipality of Polangui.

With the President during the inaugural drive through the Basud bridge were Albay Governor Fernando Gonzalez, Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman, Sto. Domingo Mayor Herbie Aguas and British Charge d'Affaires and Chief of Mission Robert Fitchett.

The longest span built under the British-assisted President's Bridge Program, the 96-meter Basud bridge forms part of the eastern backbone of the Albay road network. It is a vital link between the northeast Bicol municipalities, including Sto. Domingo, and the province of Camarines Sur.

From Basud Bridge, the President motored to Polangui, Albay to inaugurate the Quinale Bridge, also a British government-assisted project, which is a vital link between the municipalities Polangui, and Libon to the national highway.

The 66-meter and two-lane, single span steel-truss bridge plays a big role in the promotion and development of industries and agricultural activities in the area.

The President said that she will be back in Bicol in March this year to inspect the on-going construction of the Ligao-Pio-Duran road in the province of Albay.

In an interaction with local media, President Arroyo said that "we are bold in the pursuit of infrastructure projects because we have the revenues. The road to progress is paved with the good intentions of honest taxpayers".

She stressed that public infrastructure is dependent on taxes. "Tax evaders as well as smugglers must go."

UAE nat’l airline Etihad Airways to fly to Manila





Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will inaugurate a new route to Manila.

The new destination follows Etihad Airways ambitious plans to link Abu Dhabi to the worlds most important commercial and cultural centers, and will provide a major service to the 200,000 plus Filipino nationals based in the UAE, as well as the thousands of other nationalities in demand of air service to that market.

"The UAE and the Philippines have enjoyed a tremendous bilateral relationship for many years, and this new Etihad service enables the close bond to develop further. Guests will be offered a frequent and flexible service, giving business and leisure travellers the opportunity to relax and enjoy Etihads hospitality," said Charles Phelps-Penry, Regional General Manager — Asia Pacific, Etihad Airways.

The inaugural Etihad Airways EY 427 flight to Manila will depart from Abu Dhabi International Airport at 01:30 hours on 13 February 2006, arriving at 14:05 hours (2:05pm, Manila Time) on the same day. The return EY 428 flight will then depart Manila at 15:50 (3:50pm, Manila Time) on the same day, arriving at Abu Dhabi at 20:45 hours (8:45pm, Manila Time).

The Manila route, which will operate every Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, is just one of several new international destinations for the Abu Dhabi-based luxury carrier in 2006.

"The Philippines route is a vital commercial and travel route. As well as enabling Filipino families to visit one another, the new route also opens up new travel opportunities for many of the UAE and Gulf residents who wish to visit some of the beautiful Filipino islands," concluded Phelps-Penry.

There is already extensive trade between the two nations, with the Philippines looking to increase its major exports including electrical machinery, clothing and timber products.

Manila is the capital of the Philippines which consist of more than 7,100 islands, with the majority of the population living on just 11 of them. The geography and history of the Philippines have produced a multiplicity of languages with some 80 dialects in total.

The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world, and has a rich history combining Asian, European, and American influences.

^^ Great news! Nice to see another foreign carrier making a mark on our native land! :okay:

what aircraft are they going to use?

A330-200

ok na :)

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e103/asbusinos/0997143.jpg
:drunk: COOL

^^ A great idea but PAL and the Philippine Government will have to go through much legal wrangling to obtain flight rights to service routes between Japan and the US.



PAL actually flew Manila-Tokyo-Honolulu-San Francisco back in 1983 which allows them to pick up passengers in Tokyo (and the 1950s but probably used Tokyo as a technical stop, I'm not sure if they had traffic rights). Since the 1960s, PAL wanted traffic rights to the US through Japan, like Northwest Orient. I don't know when did they suspend the route, but PAL launched their Cebu-Tokyo flights in 1988, so PAL (and the Philippines) maximized their allocated slots since then.

Thai used to operate Tokyo or Osaka- Los Angeles flights, but suspended them in favor of nonstop services. Plus, the Tokyo-US route has too many airlines (United, American, Northwest, Delta, Continental, JAL, ANA, KAL), so I doubt PAL will risk a lot of money in competing with these carriers who are already established in the trans-Pacific route.

Rather than focus on Japanese tourists, PAL should aggresively advertise its Las Vegas service to the Chinese/Southeast Asia market. I checked the OAGflights website, and many airlines actually serve the Vancouver-Las Vegas route (Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, America West Airlines, a couple of Canadian carriers). PAL is probably the only airline among the group to fly a widebody, and serve a hot meal.

In my opinion, PAL should focus in launching nonstop flights to the US. Back in 1997, I flew on PAL's Manila-Seoul-Los Angeles route. I recall that there were a lot of Korean passengers. It's good that PAL is considering a Cebu-US flight, but like I said earlier, PAL should focus on direct flights from the RP.

It's also good to hear that another airline is going to serve Manila. But I hope that Etihad Airways doesn't poach passengers to Europe (which would dampen any chances of PAL flying back to Europe).

MABUHAY ANG PAL!

It's also good to hear that another airline is going to serve Manila. But I hope that Etihad Airways doesn't poach passengers to Europe (which would dampen any chances of PAL flying back to Europe).

MABUHAY ANG PAL!


its nice to hear that another airline will land in philippine soil. Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait airlines offer quite cheap airfares from the middle east and in europe. it's not far that the introduction of Etihad airways and especially if they offer cheap airfares to and from europe and middle east will attrack more filipino ofw to fly with the said airline. Emirates still the number one airline of choice of filipino from uk, because of cheap airfare and bigger luggage allowance.

still, i'm hopefull to see PAL flies again in europe.

I have question. forgive me if it seems to be dumb one. PAL only stopped flights to Europe because of the crisis they went through right? Were they making money on those routes though prior to that?

It's also good to hear that another airline is going to serve Manila. But I hope that Etihad Airways doesn't poach passengers to Europe (which would dampen any chances of PAL flying back to Europe).

MABUHAY ANG PAL!

PAL can play that same game if they wanted to. Launch services to a Middle Eastern air hub with onwards service to destinations in Europe. That would stiffen competition between the Middle Eastern carriers and the nation's flagship for the loyal patronage of OFWs in that part of the world.

Another idea is to launch services to India (an emerging travel hub as well) then proceed to the Middle East and/or Europe, pax loads from India to the Middle East and Europe are almost always at capacity.

I have question. forgive me if it seems to be dumb one. PAL only stopped flights to Europe because of the crisis they went through right? Were they making money on those routes though prior to that?

I think that they were on the losing end on that back then. Maybe now with more OFWs in Europe (particularly the UK, Germany and Italy), the market can sustain the need for PAL to service these destinations again.

^Thanks Kimber. Yeah I was thinking why they don't start a flight to Rome. There are so many Filipinos over there. Does Alitalia still fly to the Phils?

Alitalia = Bankrupt

Alitalia = Bankrupt

really?! wow! i'm so behind the news already. thanks Normand!

UAE nat’l airline Etihad Airways to fly to Manila

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will inaugurate a new route to Manila.


The new destination follows Etihad Airways ambitious plans to link Abu Dhabi to the worlds most important commercial and cultural centers, and will provide a major service to the 200,000 plus Filipino nationals based in the UAE, as well as the thousands of other nationalities in demand of air service to that market.

"The UAE and the Philippines have enjoyed a tremendous bilateral relationship for many years, and this new Etihad service enables the close bond to develop further. Guests will be offered a frequent and flexible service, giving business and leisure travellers the opportunity to relax and enjoy Etihads hospitality," said Charles Phelps-Penry, Regional General Manager — Asia Pacific, Etihad Airways.

The inaugural Etihad Airways EY 427 flight to Manila will depart from Abu Dhabi International Airport at 01:30 hours on 13 February 2006, arriving at 14:05 hours (2:05pm, Manila Time) on the same day. The return EY 428 flight will then depart Manila at 15:50 (3:50pm, Manila Time) on the same day, arriving at Abu Dhabi at 20:45 hours (8:45pm, Manila Time).

The Manila route, which will operate every Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, is just one of several new international destinations for the Abu Dhabi-based luxury carrier in 2006.

"The Philippines route is a vital commercial and travel route. As well as enabling Filipino families to visit one another, the new route also opens up new travel opportunities for many of the UAE and Gulf residents who wish to visit some of the beautiful Filipino islands," concluded Phelps-Penry.

There is already extensive trade between the two nations, with the Philippines looking to increase its major exports including electrical machinery, clothing and timber products.

Manila is the capital of the Philippines which consist of more than 7,100 islands, with the majority of the population living on just 11 of them. The geography and history of the Philippines have produced a multiplicity of languages with some 80 dialects in total.

The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world, and has a rich history combining Asian, European, and American influences.

A330-200

actually, I think they're going to use the 777-300ER

How on earth did Etihad get the rights to fly here!? I thought Emirates and PAL controlled all the frequencies. Do Abu Dhabi and Dubai have separate ASAs with us?

actually, I think they're going to use the 777-300ER

How on earth did Etihad get the rights to fly here!? I thought Emirates and PAL controlled all the frequencies. Do Abu Dhabi and Dubai have separate ASAs with us?

we will be needing more airlines to operate in manila if we are going to open the naia-3 ;), both have different emir and and are different emirates, I guess both have separate agreements with us.

How on earth did Etihad get the rights to fly here!? I thought Emirates and PAL controlled all the frequencies. Do Abu Dhabi and Dubai have separate ASAs with us?

we will be needing more airlines to operate in manila if we are going to open the naia-3 ;), both have different emir and and are different emirates, I guess both have separate agreements with us.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country comprised of seven emirates each with their own Head-of-State (the Emirs) and their own individual government. But all form a federal state that is the UAE.

Emirates Airways is owned by the emirate of Dubai and Etihad is from the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Maybe both cities/emirates are treated separately instead of lumping them both into one. By the way, did PAL ever fly to Dubai or Abu Dhabi before?

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country comprised of seven emirates each with their own Head-of-State (the Emirs) and their own individual government. But all form a federal state that is the UAE.

Emirates Airways is owned by the emirate of Dubai and Etihad is from the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Maybe both cities/emirates are treated separately instead of lumping them both into one. By the way, did PAL ever fly to Dubai or Abu Dhabi before?

Etihad brands itself as the official airline of the United Arab Emirates, not just the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. I find it difficult to believe that they would grant Etihad rights to fly here when they refused Emirates any more frequencies.

Emirates Airways is owned by the emirate of Dubai and Etihad is from the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Maybe both cities/emirates are treated separately instead of lumping them both into one. By the way, did PAL ever fly to Dubai or Abu Dhabi before?

PAL used to fly to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. PAL suspended Abu Dhabi operations in the mid-1990s (1995 or 1996) while Dubai was suspended on April 1998, way before the strike.

Haay nako. I just heard that PAL is going to suspend Laoag services. :sleepy:

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES: PAL suspends Laoag flights
http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=145037&src=0

"/noticias.info/ Philippine Airlines will suspend flights to Laoag effective 13 February 2006 due to the lack of staff willing to serve at Laoag International Airport (LIA).

Passengers holding tickets for flights beyond 13 February are advised that their tickets may be refunded at any PAL ticket office or at their travel agent without penalties and surcharges.

Since April 2004, when PAL resumed regular service to Laoag, the flag carrier's ground-handling operations at the LIA have been handled by a local company.

PAL, however, still oversees all activities by periodically assigning regular staff from its head office to Laoag.

PAL flies four times weekly to the Ilocos Norte capital using 150-seater Airbus A320 aircraft."

Any news on this unfortunate development?

^ lack of staff?! Is that really an excuse to stop service to a city? Then place staff there!

Etihad brands itself as the official airline of the United Arab Emirates, not just the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. I find it difficult to believe that they would grant Etihad rights to fly here when they refused Emirates any more frequencies.

Perhaps they allowed it because of the lack of seats that PAL's pullout brought about. And to keep Emirates from having a complete monopoly over the route, they granted Etihad the rights to fly to Manila just so there is still competition thus preventing Emirates from increasing fares too much. Just a guess :dunno:

3 routes in less than a month, hmmmmm!!!! Might be trimming off excess fat

3 routes in less than a month, hmmmmm!!!! Might be trimming off excess fat

Is there really a need for flights from Manila to other points in Luzon (i.e. Laoag, Legazpi)? PAL just suspended flights to Laoag, and just wondering if they make money or not...

^^ PAL's Laoag service coincides with it's HNL-MNL flights and serves as an extension of it for the pax (mainly Ilocanos from Hawaii) covenience with its interconnectivity between the international and domestic legs.

Rights aren't the problem. Its a slot issue, really.
Gah, I forgot about the slots. :bash:

As for the axing of the Laoag route...anyone know what was the average load factor for the flights?

^ lack of staff?! Is that really an excuse to stop service to a city? Then place staff there!

right, ramvingar. i´ve never heard such a stupid excuse.

the funniest part is that while routes are being axed, more planes are coming in. PAL now has 8 A320s as well as 7 737s, increasing the narrowbody fleet to 15 from 12 just last year. I wonder what PAL is gonna do with these extra narrowbodies, as well as the extra A340.

^ perhaps increase frequencies on the more profitable routes. Or maybe they are planning to open up more destinations in China

A FORMER mayor allegedly bullied a Philippine Airlines (PAL) employee prompting the country's flag carrier to indefinitely suspend its Manila-Laoag-Manila flights starting Feb. 13.

Two sources who were privy to the incident narrated to the Inquirer the traumatic experience of a PAL customer relations officer (CRO) on Feb. 3 in the hands of former Laoag Mayor Roger Fariñas who belongs to the politically influential Fariñas clan.

The sources requested anonymity, citing the sensitive nature of their positions in the aviation industry.

One of them said that PAL owner and president, Lucio Tan, was so angry over Fariñas' bullying of the PAL employee, the business tycoon had ordered the indefinite suspension of the flights.

The other source said that after other PAL employees learned of their colleague's harrowing experience, nobody wanted to serve at the Laoag International Airport (LIA) anymore, leaving the airline with no choice but to suspend its operations there.

In a statement released last Thursday, PAL said that it would suspend flights to Laoag effective Feb. 13 "due to lack of staff willing to serve at the LIA."

According to Inquirer sources, this was how the incident on the night of Feb. 3 played out:

Fariñas' wife and secretary were checking in for the PAL flight to Manila when at the counter, the CRO noticed that their plane tickets were under the names of the former mayor's daughters.

Talk to my husband

The CRO, who had only pitched in for a sick supervisor, told them this was against airline regulations, and they would not be able to take the flight.

"Pero ang sagot ni Mrs. Fariñas, 'Kausapin mo ang asawa ko' (But Mrs. Fariñas replied, 'Talk to my husband')," one of the sources said.

The source said the CRO "tried to be helpful" by finding ways how the tickets could be re-issued in the names of Fariñas’ wife and secretary.

It didn't work out, however, the source said, because the travel agency said it could not refund tickets at the airport.

And so the source said, the CRO "was forced to talk to the (former) mayor," referring to Fariñas who was at the airport.

Troublemaker

Farinas started to yell at the CRO, the source said. Ruben Ablan, the airport ground handler, stepped in and said, "Akin na ito. Manggugulo 'yan (Leave him to me. He's a troublemaker)," referring to the former mayor.

"The flight was supposed to take off; passengers had boarded. The CRO didn't really want to let the wife and the secretary board the plane, but the CRO was so scared. The two were finally allowed to board the flight," the source said.

"That was, actually, a violation," the source added.

After the two boarded, Fariñas, who was still at the airport, confronted the CRO.

Who're you gonna tell?

"Nakita talaga niya (CRO) ang galit sa mukha ni Fariñas. Babanatan na siya (She saw the anger in Fariñas' face. He was going to hit her)," the source said.

Allegedly, Fariñas was about to take out what looked like a gun from his back pocket. The sources, however, could not confirm this.

But both sources quoted Fariñas as saying: "Magsusumbong ka?! Kanino ka magsusumbong dito?! (You're going to tell on me? Who're you going to tell?!)"

Threat

Ablan again tried to pacify the former mayor but not before Fariñas threatened the CRO in Ilocano, which was later translated to "Baka kung ano ang mangyari sa iyo sa Laoag (Something might happen to you in Laoag)!" one of the sources said.

The source said the CRO was so terrified, knowing the influence of the Farinas clan in the province, that PAL supervisors were immediately alerted. They, in turn, told the employee to return to Manila.

"PAL had a good passenger load on its Laoag flights," the source said, citing the business sacrifice the airline had to make because of the incident.

"It will remain suspended until further notice," the source added.

Mayor asks PAL to reconsider

In Laoag City, Mayor Michael Fariñas has asked officials of the departments of tourism and transportation to intercede on his behalf and ask PAL to reconsider suspending its Manila-Laoag-Manila flights.

The decision to cancel the flights was contained in a Feb. 9 letter sent by Francisco Ingente, PAL's vice president for airport services department, to the Laoag International Airport ground handling service department.

The letter did not say why PAL decided to suspend its flights indefinitely.

Ronald Estabillo, Laoag airport manager, said he had yet to receive an official report about what transpired on Feb. 3. Estabillo declined to confirm whether the suspension was a result of a "confrontation" between the former mayor and PAL employees here.

The former mayor is the uncle of Mayor Fariñas.

http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=65779

^O my! I actually believe that incident happening. The Farinas clan is quite notorious for that sort of behaviour. But on the flipside, it is not right for Lucio Tan to suspend flights just because of that incident. The ones who will suffer from this are the innocent travellers. Why punish them for the fault of one. And in a business perspective, it;s not very wise and professional either. He himself is resorting to "bullying"tactics.

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES will suspend flights to Laoag City effective Feb. 13 due to the lack of staff willing to serve at Laoag International Airport (LIA), the airline announced Thursday.

Passengers holding tickets for flights beyond Feb. 13 are advised that their tickets may be refunded at any PAL ticket office or at their travel agent without penalties and surcharges, the PAL statement said.

Since April 2004, when PAL resumed regular service to Laoag, the flag carrier’s ground-handling operations at the LIA have been handled by a local company.

PAL, however, still oversees all activities by periodically assigning regular staff from its head office to Laoag.

PAL flies four times weekly to the Ilocos Norte capital using 150-seater Airbus A320 aircraft.

http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=2&story_id=65709

Which international carriers fly to LIA?

So that's the cause of the axing the Laoag flight? Indeed the people that are going to hurt the most are the travellers. Such a shame to see the route go...

That's good. We should give credit to Lucio Tan for protecting the PAL employees. People like Fariñas makes me puke. Bakit hindi na lang sila ihinulog ng piloto at mga stewardess noong lumilipad yong eroplano sa ere. bad trip.

so where is PAL going to send their idle capacity to now ? as far as i know flights to kuala lumpur and laoag were B 737 aircraft. possibly to china and korea ?

Asian Spirit aims to double size of BAe 146 fleet and extend reach

Philippine regional carrier Asian Spirit plans to launch international services using its BAe 146 fleet, which will double in size during 2006 despite the loss of an aircraft late last year.

Asian Spirit says its first international route will connect the southern Philippine city of Davao with Palau in Micronesia from March. The carrier will use one of its two 83-seat 146-100s on the service, which will originate in Manila. Asian Spirit now mainly uses the regional jet to connect Manila with small island destinations, but it is looking at launching several international routes, including to greater China.


Asian Spirit

Asian Spirit took delivery of its first 146 early last year and initially operated one -100 and one 100-seat -200. But industry sources say the -200 has been written off after the nose was damaged in November during landing at Catarman Island.

Sources say the 146-200, a former National Jet aircraft that was registered in Australia as VH-NJW before moving to the Philippines as RP-C2995, overran the runway and ended up in a rice field. There were no serious injuries, but it would be too difficult to recover the aircraft from the remote location to make a repair worthwhile.

Asian Spirit took delivery of its second 146-100 last month and is scheduled to receive another 146-200 later this month. It will take a second 146-200 around mid-year. Originally, Asian Spirit was committed to leasing five 146s from BAE Systems, but as a result of the hull loss it is now only committed to leasing four with options on another three.

President Antonio Buendia says the carrier also looked at acquiring two 146s from Bhutan’s Druk Air, but prefers to enter into lease-purchase deals with BAE Systems that include maintenance and pilot training.

“So many offer cheap 146s, but we don’t know how much they will cost to fix,” Buendia says. The carrier also operates four de Havilland Canada Dash 7s, one BAe ATP, two Indonesian Aerospace ?CN-235s and two Let L-410s. It also wet-leases two 60-seat NAMC YS-11s from Philippine carrier Aboidiz and Buendia says it has agreed to wet-lease a third from March.

BRENDAN SOBIE/SINGAPORE

That's good. We should give credit to Lucio Tan for protecting the PAL employees. People like Fariñas makes me puke. Bakit hindi na lang sila ihinulog ng piloto at mga stewardess noong lumilipad yong eroplano sa ere. bad trip.

True, it doesn't mean that they get preferential treatment over the others just because they are government officials!! Screw them!! They better brush up their acts and should feel ashame for themselves. These are the leeches elected by people that need to be eradicated. They deserved that treatment. haha, without the planes going to their city, they have a lot to lose. Anyway, Laoag passengers can opt to take the airport in Tuguegarao cagayan anytime.

That's good. We should give credit to Lucio Tan for protecting the PAL employees. People like Fariñas makes me puke. Bakit hindi na lang sila ihinulog ng piloto at mga stewardess noong lumilipad yong eroplano sa ere. bad trip.

:lol:

ASide from PAL,what other airlines fly to Laoag? Cebu Pacific ba?

i checked all the filipino carriers. only pal fly to laoag. are there international carriers that fly to laoag?

china southern airlines and cr airlines..... according to wikipedia

Asian Spirit has such a wide range of aircraft. In this age of aircraft commonality to make maintenance and flight operations efficient, I've no idea how they lower their operating cost. hehe I hope not by saving on the maintenance.

i wonder why asian spirit does not plan to acquire boeing or airbus jets.... or even MD's...... hmmmmmm.... i mean, they are the largest airline that fly to caticlan, they could use a little bigger plane.... hehehehe ;)

Asian Spirit has such a wide range of aircraft. In this age of aircraft commonality to make maintenance and flight operations efficient, I've no idea how they lower their operating cost. hehe I hope not by saving on the maintenance.

By increasing their fares. :lol:

they cant use bigger small aircrafts. i dont think small aircrafts like B737s and A320s can land in caticlan. if such aircrafts can, PAL and cebu pacific would definitely have regular flights to caticlan. nobody wont fly asian spirit since airbus and boeing aircrafts are way more comfortable than asian spirit's fleet. acquiring more BAe 146 is asian spirit's best option if commonality and destinations are the issues.

does anyone know the runway dimensions of caticlan airport?

the funniest part is that while routes are being axed, more planes are coming in. PAL now has 8 A320s as well as 7 737s, increasing the narrowbody fleet to 15 from 12 just last year. I wonder what PAL is gonna do with these extra narrowbodies, as well as the extra A340.


they have 5 A340´s now ???

they cant use bigger small aircrafts. i dont think small aircrafts like B737s and A320s can land in caticlan. if such aircrafts can, PAL and cebu pacific would definitely have regular flights to caticlan. nobody wont fly asian spirit since airbus and boeing aircrafts are way more comfortable than asian spirit's fleet. acquiring more BAe 146 is asian spirit's best option if commonality and destinations are the issues.

does anyone know the runway dimensions of caticlan airport?

a little less than 1000 meters.

Asian Spirit is looking to reduce different aircarft types they utilize. the 146 was a first approach. but then they had this incident of the aircraft overshooting the runway. many secondary airports still do not have concreted and long enough runways. as AS found it´s niche in missionary routes, it needs to serve these "uncomfortable" airstrips. maybe in future they can reduce types and do better then. as far as i know they are very profitable, more than any other airline in the country. check the threads back, there was an article stating that there somewhere.

they have 5 A340´s now ???
I believe solblanc was referring to the A340 freed up on certain days from the Riyadh run. One can imagine if it were for the possible CEB-ICN-LAX, an increase in US west coast frequency (2x A340s a week at LAX is not enough for me :nuts: ) or maybe a new long haul route? Anyhow...

Don't blame PAL pullout on me, says ex-Laoag exec
First posted 11:08am (Mla time) Feb 12, 2006
By Cristina Arzadon
Inquirer
Link (http://news.inq7.net/common/print.php?index=2&story_id=65914&site_id=19)

LAOAG CITY--FORMER mayor Roger Fariñas is outraged the suspension of Philippine Airlines' Manila-Laoag-Manila flights was being blamed on him. He said the company should review its procedures and adopt corrective measures in handling passenger reservations.

Fariñas took exception to an Inquirer report on Saturday that Lucio Tan, PAL owner and president, was so infuriated over Fariñas alleged bullying of an airline employee that he ordered the suspension of flights to and from Laoag starting Feb. 13.

"Why am I being blamed for the cancellation? This [confrontation] was a trivial matter that was blown out of proportion," Fariñas told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

The former three-term Laoag mayor denied berating or threatening to pull a gun on a PAL customer relations officer (CRO) while he was at the Laoag International Airport on Feb. 3 to see off his wife, Asuncion, and her secretary who were bound for Manila.

Fariñas said he would ask for a meeting with PAL officials on Monday to set the record straight.

Because of the incident, other PAL employees reportedly refused to work at the Laoag airport, causing the airline to issue a statement that it would suspend flights to and from Laoag "due to lack of staff willing to serve" at the airport.

"PAL should explain the real reason for its pullout. It should not lay the blame on me, instead, it must address its chaotic handling of the passengers' seat reservations," Fariñas said.

Recounting his version of the incident, Fariñas said his wife and her secretary were waiting at the pre-departure area when they were told that they could not get on the flight as their boarding passes bore different names.

The CRO (a man, according to Fariñas, and not a woman as the report said) advised Mrs. Fariñas to buy another ticket and request a refund from her travel agency.

It was at this point that Fariñas said he stepped in and asked why they were being made to buy new tickets.

Fariñas said he asked for Ruben Ablan, the airport's ground handler, to clear up the matter as the CRO claimed it was Ablan who had issued instructions that no passengers would be allowed to board if there were discrepancies in their passes.

"I asked Ablan why we needed to buy another ticket and to ask for a refund when the tickets we bought were under the name of Fariñas anyway. Why not change the names instead?" he said.

Ablan told him he had spoken to the CRO and everything had been ironed out and that his wife could take the flight, Fariñas said.

According to him, Ablan sounded apologetic. "Ignore the incident, mayor. He is a Tagalog; he does not recognize you," Fariñas quoted Ablan as telling him.

Don't blame PAL pullout on me, says ex-Laoag exec
First posted 11:08am (Mla time) Feb 12, 2006
By Cristina Arzadon
Inquirer
Link (http://news.inq7.net/common/print.php?index=2&story_id=65914&site_id=19)

LAOAG CITY--FORMER mayor Roger Fariñas is outraged the suspension of Philippine Airlines' Manila-Laoag-Manila flights was being blamed on him. He said the company should review its procedures and adopt corrective measures in handling passenger reservations.

Fariñas took exception to an Inquirer report on Saturday that Lucio Tan, PAL owner and president, was so infuriated over Fariñas alleged bullying of an airline employee that he ordered the suspension of flights to and from Laoag starting Feb. 13.

"Why am I being blamed for the cancellation? This [confrontation] was a trivial matter that was blown out of proportion," Fariñas told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

The former three-term Laoag mayor denied berating or threatening to pull a gun on a PAL customer relations officer (CRO) while he was at the Laoag International Airport on Feb. 3 to see off his wife, Asuncion, and her secretary who were bound for Manila.

Fariñas said he would ask for a meeting with PAL officials on Monday to set the record straight.

Because of the incident, other PAL employees reportedly refused to work at the Laoag airport, causing the airline to issue a statement that it would suspend flights to and from Laoag "due to lack of staff willing to serve" at the airport.

"PAL should explain the real reason for its pullout. It should not lay the blame on me, instead, it must address its chaotic handling of the passengers' seat reservations," Fariñas said.

Recounting his version of the incident, Fariñas said his wife and her secretary were waiting at the pre-departure area when they were told that they could not get on the flight as their boarding passes bore different names.

The CRO (a man, according to Fariñas, and not a woman as the report said) advised Mrs. Fariñas to buy another ticket and request a refund from her travel agency.

It was at this point that Fariñas said he stepped in and asked why they were being made to buy new tickets.

Fariñas said he asked for Ruben Ablan, the airport's ground handler, to clear up the matter as the CRO claimed it was Ablan who had issued instructions that no passengers would be allowed to board if there were discrepancies in their passes.

"I asked Ablan why we needed to buy another ticket and to ask for a refund when the tickets we bought were under the name of Fariñas anyway. Why not change the names instead?" he said.

Ablan told him he had spoken to the CRO and everything had been ironed out and that his wife could take the flight, Fariñas said.

According to him, Ablan sounded apologetic. "Ignore the incident, mayor. He is a Tagalog; he does not recognize you," Fariñas quoted Ablan as telling him.

Only in the Philippines...

politician have their way of making things what they what it to be, but not enough will to open the new terminal.

"I asked Ablan why we needed to buy another ticket and to ask for a refund when the tickets we bought were under the name of Fariñas anyway. Why not change the names instead?" he said.

According to him, Ablan sounded apologetic. "Ignore the incident, mayor. He is a Tagalog; he does not recognize you," Fariñas quoted Ablan as telling him.

Early signs of dementia???? :bash:

politician have their way of making things what they what it to be, but not enough will to open the new terminal.

a keen observation. :)

^^ thank you ramvinger.

How come Romeo Jalosjos, Antonio Sanchez and Al Capone were put in jail. Couldn't they nail him down. He's really been too much of a problem. No wonder, Laoag with its International Airport for several years now, has not been making much economic progress. He is the disincentive to economic progress for that region. Why couldn't he follow Bingbong.

How come Romeo Jalosjos, Antonio Sanchez and Al Capone were put in jail. Couldn't they nail him down. He's really been too much of a problem. No wonder, Laoag with its International Airport for several years now, has not been making much economic progress. He is the disincentive to economic progress for that region. Why couldn't he follow Bingbong.

As i have said earlier, the pilot and the stewardess should have throw these couple out of the plane (It is a 1 in a million chances and they let it pass :D).

"I asked Ablan why we needed to buy another ticket and to ask for a refund when the tickets we bought were under the name of Fariñas anyway. Why not change the names instead?" he said.

A stupid explanation coming from a stupid person. First Class citizen wannabe. Ang mga Ayala, Lopez, Soriano, Gokongwei at Sy kahit kailan hindi natin nabalitaan na umasta ng akala mo kung sino. Pero yong mag-asawang Fariñas na yan nagkaroon lang ng konting pero at kapangyarihan dinaig pa ang presidente ng Pilipinas. Halatang kulang sa breeding. Kawawa naman ang mga taga-Laoag pero kasalanan nyo yan kasi kaya ang bumuto at nagpalaki ng ulo sa pamilya na yan.

typical politicians who expect people to give them preferential treatment.. they should realize that the world doesnt owe them anything.. somebody should shoot these people so the world would be a better place

While this drama at Laoag is pretty appalling, its also pretty funny :D

Oh, I finally found the answer to why Etihad got the rights to fly here. Apparently, Gulf Air will stop flying the MNL-AUH route because Abu Dhabi took the rights away from Gulf Air and gave it to Etihad.

I feel kinda sorry for Gulf Air now. They're applying for more frequencies from Bahrain to regain their lost flights, but it doesn't look like it'll be granted because of the entire PAL pulling out of Riyadh saga.

Also, (saw it in the Inquirer earlier) PAL told the government that they will retain the Riyadh flights if the government will secure 5th freedom from DXB to make a MNL-DXB-RUH route. I say fat chance. Dubai may be very liberal with its air rights, but we cannot afford to reciprocate by giving Emirates 5th freedom from Manila. That's a scary thought.

I've got a question to any of you guys. Does PAL codeshare with any other airlines or if they are a member of a certain group like for instance the "skyteam" (which is a part of NWA scheme where Cebu Pacific is a member)?

I was just curious because those passengers that usually fly into Manila from other countries like Australia, Middle East, HK or from Europe for instance but their final destinations in the Philippines would be elsewhere other than Manila. When they arrive in Manila, do they have to stay in Manila and buy a ticket themselves or they can reserve a ticket with connecting flights to any domestic destinations? Because flying in from North America, the travel agents can book their prospective customers in a flight with NWA along with CebPac so a passenger can just transfer to domestic flights.

^^ PAL has interline agreements with American Airlines which is an alliance member of OneWorld with British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qantas Airways, etc.

^^ PAL has interline agreements with American Airlines which is an alliance member of OneWorld with British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qantas Airways, etc.


So, a travel agent overseas can book a flight let's say with BA or Qantas with PAL for domestic transfer then. Thanks for the info Kiratoce.

Also, (saw it in the Inquirer earlier) PAL told the government that they will retain the Riyadh flights if the government will secure 5th freedom from DXB to make a MNL-DXB-RUH route. I say fat chance. Dubai may be very liberal with its air rights, but we cannot afford to reciprocate by giving Emirates 5th freedom from Manila. That's a scary thought.

I hope it works for the best for PAL...

Gleaned from Manila Standard Today....

The issue to be discussed on Feb. 16-17 in Clark between the government air panel with its counterparts from Bahrain, a tiny Arab sheikdom with grand ambitions in aviation, can be boiled down simply to a choice by government to save the Saudi air route urgently, and beyond that to expand aviation relations with Saudi Arabia.

The discussions is even beyond the possibility of the Philippine panel again to sell out Philippine interests as what happened several times — with the US in 1996 with the infamous lopsided “open skies” policy, with Taiwan in 1999, Korea in 2001, Singapore in 2001, and with the United Arab Emirates in 2001. In all these air talks, the country ended up with the raw end of the deal.

Note that there are about a million OFWs in Saudi Arabia, while Bahrain has only about 30,000, and produces less than 1,800 tourists to the Philippines annually. Yet, Bahrain, a tiny island, smaller than Quezon City, already deploys 61,000 seats per year to Manila and now wants to increase this to 107,000 seats per year, which would make the Bahrain airline have additional six flights a week for a total 10 weekly flights. It also has existing rights to fly to Cebu and Clark twice weekly each but have never exercised these rights.

So, why would the Philippine air panel bother about Bahrain, unless, of course, there are other million reasons we don’t know.

***

What the government panel should be concentrating on is the Saudi route after Philippine Airlines announced the suspension of flights between Manila and Riyadh since PAL had been losing continuously because of cutthroat competition and oversupply of airlines seats in the market.

The suspension of PAL flights to Riyadh has been a cause of shock, and even outrage among the almost million OFWs there.

It’s because of the clamor of OFWs in Saudi that PAL is rethinking its position, and submitted last week an urgent request to the Department of Transportation and Communications for DoTC to conduct urgent talks with Saudi authorities with a novel proposal on the table — a network Manila-Dubai-Saudi Arabia (Jeddah or Riyadh) PAL service, with commercial traffic flights between Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

According to PAL, such rerouting would give PAL a fresh revenue stream (from the Dubai-Saudi sector) and thereby, a fighting chance to bring down losses on the overall Manila-Saudi route to a more manageable level, while addressing the needs of OFWs in Saudi Arabia and even Dubai. “This is perhaps the last chance to save our flag carrier’s direct air link to the OFWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” wrote PAL president Jimmy Bautista in a letter to DoTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

This means that the Philippine government must now prioritize air talks with the Saudi government. Fortunately enough, the Saudis are open to the idea, which is a rarity for the conservative Saudis.

***

Thus, instead of the government panel wasting time in talking to the Bahrainis, our air negotiators should now pursue the initiative of prioritizing the Manila-Saudi air route with PAL rethinking its position on a new route to the Middle East.

The choice of the Philippine government is very clear. It’s a choice between saving the critical Saudi Arabia air route or giving in to the demand of Bahrain for even more seats, far in excess of its needs.

The government must also consider that Saudi Arabia has extensive investments in the country and above all, it is the chief supplier of oil to the country, making direct air links of vital strategic importance. Coming right down to it, the choice between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain is clear. It’s Saudi Arabia anytime, all the time.

CONCESSION SOUGHT FROM ARROYO GOV'T: PAL may continue servicing Riyadh route
By Clarissa S. Batino

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES may continue flying to Saudi Arabia if the Arroyo administration secures a deal for PAL to include Dubai as a passenger pick up and drop off point as part of its Riyadh or Jeddah route, the airline's top official said.

"We believe that a small window of opportunity exists to save PAL's RP-KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) flights, if we are able to secure the necessary rights to operate a Manila-Dubai-KSA," said PAL president Jaime Bautista in his letter to Transport Secretary Leandro Mendoza and the country's air panel.

Bautista said a fifth freedom right to Dubai would give PAL "a fighting chance to bring down losses to a more manageable level." Fifth freedom is a right given to a country's airline to drop off and pick up passengers from a middle point before proceeding to the actual destination.

"We urgently appeal to the government, through the DOTC and the RP Air Panel to assist us in pursuing this opportunity with KSA authorities as it is perhaps the last chance to save our flag carrier's direct air links to the OFWs in KSA," the PAL president told Mendoza.

Bautista said PAL had discussed with Saudi Airlines a plan to do the Dubai stopover.

But the fifth freedom right must be negotiated on a government level, he explained.

"We will exert all efforts to maintain our flag carrier's direct link with Saudi Arabia," said Tomas Ma-alac, executive director of the Civil Aeronautics Board.

PAL is scheduled to suspend its thrice-weekly flights to Riyadh by March 2 and thrice-weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur by Wednesday, Feb. 15.

The airline said it had been sustaining huge losses from the two routes, more so with the Manila-Riyadh where it had been losing $10 million (roughly P540 million) a year.

PAL's yield from the Riyadh route was eaten up by high fuel costs and its inability to compete with Gulf carriers that have been offering cheaper fares.

The flag carrier's decision to stop serving its last Middle East route was strongly criticized as it would cut the direct link of more than one million Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia.

"We were trying to maintain Riyadh to give our OFWs the seats but since the Middle Eastern carriers have been serving the route well, then we can suspend operations," said Bautista in an earlier interview.

Saudi Airlines flies nine times a week to the Philippines from Riyadh and Jeddah.

PAL said that six Middle Eastern carriers already operate 43 flights weekly between Manila, Cebu and nine points in the region. On top of that, five East Asian carriers serve the Gulf market from the Philippines with 33 flights weekly.

Since 2002, the Philippines had granted 800,000 annual capacity entitlements to Gulf carriers.

Bautista said PAL had kept the Riyadh flights as long as it could.

Cebu Pacific to deploy rescue flight to Laoag
by Cristina Arzadon

LAOAG CITY (13 February) -- Cebu Pacific will start deploying "rescue flights" to service passengers from Manila to this city and vice versa starting tomorrow (Tuesday) following a management decision by Philippine Airlines to temporarily suspend its route today (Monday).

Lito Gorospe, spokesman of Ilocos Norte Gov. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., said the governor instructed him by telephone to announce that the airlines owned by the Gokongweis have agreed to field rescue flights to service hundreds of balikbayans from Hawaii and mainland in the United States that have been previously booked to Laoag by PAL.

Laoag Mayor Michael Fariñas started initiating talks with the Gokongweis since Saturday following the scheduled pull out by PAL.

Fariñas said he informed Jimmy Bautista, a PAL executive, of his action to request an alternative airline to service passengers to and from Laoag noting the problem that the absence of flights will create to tourists coming to the city.

Details as to the passenger load booked by PAL could not be obtained. But reports said visitors and balikbayans amount to hundreds because the city government is in the thick of fiesta celebrations while the Ilocos Norte National High School began its foundation day coinciding with its centennial celebrations last Saturday. Both events are traditionally graced by balikbayans.

According to Gorospe, the governor has also asked the Air Transportation Office to install security cameras at the Laoag airport to monitor all activities and any untoward incidents that may crop up similar to what transpired between former Laoag Mayor Roger Fariñas and a PAL customer relations officer.

Lucio Tan, PAL owner and president, was reportedly infuriated over Fariñas' alleged bullying of the airline employee that he ordered the indefinite suspension of flights to and from Laoag.

The former Laoag mayor has denied bullying the employee.

"We want to forestall anymore incident like this (confrontation between Fariñas and employee) and (in the process) we could readily have a means to review the facts with the presence of security cameras," Gorospe quoting the governor, said.

Gorospe said the governor, who is in Manila, negotiated with Bong Mojica of Cebu Pacific management over the weekend.

The airline has also reportedly indicated its willingness to take over the Manila-Laoag-Manila route should PAL decide to abandon it permanently.

The country's flag carrier flies to and from Laoag four times weekly with a heavy passenger load.

Etihad Airways Opens New Philippines Route
By Al-Bawaba

February 13, 2002 -- Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has today launched its inaugural flight to the Philippines’ capital Manila, continuing its tremendous growth into 2006.

Senior Filipino dignitaries and Etihad Airways executives attended a special ribbon-cutting ceremony at Abu Dhabi International Airport to celebrate the launch of the new Manila route.

Commenting on the new development, Geert Boven, Etihad Airways vice president -- commercial, said, "The UAE and the Philippines have enjoyed a tremendous bilateral relationship for many years, and this new Etihad service enables the close bond to develop even further. Guests will be offered a frequent and flexible service, giving business and leisure travellers the opportunity to relax and enjoy Etihad’s hospitality."

The new destination follows Etihad Airways’ ambitious plans to link Abu Dhabi to the world’s most important commercial and cultural centres, and will provide a major service to the 200,000 Filipino nationals based in the UAE, as well as the thousands of other nationalities in demand of air service to that market.

The inaugural Etihad Airways EY 427 flight to Manila departed from Abu Dhabi International Airport at 01:30 hours this morning (on 13 February 2006), and will arrive at 14:05 hours on the same day. The return EY 428 flight will then depart Manila at 15:50 on the same day, arriving back in Abu Dhabi at 20:45 hours.

The Manila route, which will operate every Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, is just one of several new international destinations for the Abu Dhabi-based luxury carrier in 2006.

"The Philippines route is a vital commercial and travel route. As well as enabling Filipino families to visit one another, the new route also opens up new travel opportunities for many of the UAE and Gulf residents who wish to visit some of the beautiful Filipino islands," concluded Boven.

There is already extensive trade between the two nations, with the Philippines looking to increase its major exports including electrical machinery, clothing and timber products.

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. The country consists of more than 7,000 islands, with the majority of the population living on just 11 of them. The geography and history of the Philippines have produced a multiplicity of languages with some 80 dialects in total.

The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world, and has a rich history combining Asian, European, and American influences.

As i have said earlier, the pilot and the stewardess should have throw these couple out of the plane (It is a 1 in a million chances and they let it pass :D).

"I asked Ablan why we needed to buy another ticket and to ask for a refund when the tickets we bought were under the name of Fariñas anyway. Why not change the names instead?" he said.

A stupid explanation coming from a stupid person. First Class citizen wannabe. Ang mga Ayala, Lopez, Soriano, Gokongwei at Sy kahit kailan hindi natin nabalitaan na umasta ng akala mo kung sino. Pero yong mag-asawang Fariñas na yan nagkaroon lang ng konting pero at kapangyarihan dinaig pa ang presidente ng Pilipinas. Halatang kulang sa breeding. Kawawa naman ang mga taga-Laoag pero kasalanan nyo yan kasi kaya ang bumuto at nagpalaki ng ulo sa pamilya na yan.


Sinabi mo! I was on a flight to Cebu (or was it Bacolod) once and the flight was delayed for almost an hour! Yun pala, inantay lang namin si Sen Ramon Revilla! Ay sus ginoo! Sarap talaga kaladkarin sa kalsada at pagbabarilin!

^^ PAL has interline agreements with American Airlines which is an alliance member of OneWorld with British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Qantas Airways, etc.

But they don't have mileage point sharing beteen PAL and Oneworld, right?

Etihad Airways flies to RP
The Philippine Star 02/14/2006

Another Middle East Asian carrier, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – Etihad Airways – started flying into the country with its inaugural flight landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport yesterday afternoon.

Etihad Airways’ inaugural flight to Manila, EY 427, landed at the NAIA runway at 2:05 p.m. with top airport and government aviation officials from the Manila International Airport (MIAA) and the Air Transportation Office (ATO), and Etihad officials, welcoming the almost fully-booked flight’s passengers.

The flight’s chief pilot, turned out to be a Filipino, Jose "Joey" Quimpo, who had worked for five years with Philippine Airlines (PAL) as chief pilot captain and then two years with GrandAir also as flight captain. Five of the flight’s attendants were also Filipinos.

Quimpo told The STAR that he was hired by Etihad last August, having applied with the airline through the Internet.

He said that he was filled with pride that he, a Filipino, had piloted the major airline’s inaugural flight to his homeland.

Charles Phelps-Penry, Eithad regional manager for the Asia Pacific, said in a press conference that they have great expectations on their opening of the new route.

"It’s a market that we have long wanted to serve for quite some time. We believe that this new route will open up new travel opportunities with the resident of the United Arab Emirates who want to see what Manila has to offer," Penry said.

The Arab carrier seeks to take a share of the estimated 200,000 Filipino nationals based in the UAE who go back to Manila, as well as the thousands of other nationalities in demand of air service to Manila to Abu Dhabi and vice versa. Etihad Airways is trumpeted to be one of the world’s fastest growing airlines and currently flies to 20 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America and Asia. – Rainier Allan Ronda

there's so many career opportunities for filipinos pilot /cabin crew alike on foriegn carriers....its nice to know....

Im sure Pal is probably ok to work for....but because its so competative...more likely filipino's will work for foriegn carriers...so many filipinos working for Qantas Airways....

Emirates also has a very aggresive recruiting procedure and thats why they're competitive....i sure hope Pal mget up among them within the next few years though

But they don't have mileage point sharing beteen PAL and Oneworld, right?
If they did, I would have dedicated my flying in AA in a heartbeat. :D

Sad to hear GF leave MNL...man I'm really going to miss their Airbuses...:(

Asian Spirit fills Laoag void
Philippine Daily Inquirer February 14, 2006

ASIAN SPIRIT is jumping into the void left by the Philippine Airlines cancellation of Laoag flights.

The countrys third biggest carrier will start fielding a four-times-a-week flight to the Ilocos Norte capital starting Tuesday, Feb. 21, said Asian Spirit chair Noel Onate.

Asian Spirit is also undercutting PAL, charging P6,400 for the Manila-Laoag roundtrip, instead of the P6,900 the Lucio Tan carrier used to charge before abruptly stopping flights last Monday.

Asian Spirit will be using its new BAe 146, a 100-seater jet. PAL used the 150-seater Airbus A320. PAL cancelled its Laoag flights when its ground crew balked at reporting for work after a staff member was allegedly bullied by former Mayor Rodolfo Farinas. The mayor has denied this.

Asian Spirits new sales agent and franchisee for the Laoag route happens to be Bonito Singson, a younger brother of Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis Chavit Singson.

The Singsons are political allies of Ilocos Norte Gov. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is opposed to Farinas. Asian Spirits Laoag flight leaves the Manila domestic airport at 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Mondays, and turns around for Manila at 11:30 a.m. on the same days.

Get our aviation priorities straight
By DAN MARIANO

In land area, Bahrain is smaller than Quezon City. While about 30,000 overseas Filipinos work there, the sheikdom sends less than 1,800 tourists to the Philippines yearly.

Despite of sparse figures, Bahrain’s flag carrier somehow managed to wangle rights to 61,000 airline seats every year to Manila. Now it wants to raise its allocation to 107,000 seats. On Thursday and Friday at Clark Field in Pampanga, the Philippine air panel is to begin talks with its Bahraini counterpart.

An aviation industry source expressed fears that the Philippine government "is prepared to give Bahrain all it is asking for—at the expense of OFWs, local business and industry and our national aviation policy."

Bilateral air talks have become the venue for selling out our national interests, recalled the source. "It happened several times in the last decade—with the United States via the infamously lopsided ‘open-skies’ agreement in 1995, with Taiwan in 1999, with South Korea in 2001, with Singapore also in 2001 and with the United Arab Emirates in 2003."

Question: Are the air talks with Bahrain necessary in the first place?

The Manila-Bahrain route is now adequately served with four weekly flights—but the Bahrainis are demanding an additional six flights per week, for a total of 10 weekly flights. Strangely, they already have existing rights to fly to Cebu and Clark twice weekly but have never exercised them.

"Clearly, this huge air capacity is not being devoted to expanding Bahraini tourist traffic to the Philippines," said Rolando Estabillo, senior vice president for communications of Philippine Airlines (PAL). "It is being diverted somewhere else—to the larger Philippine-Saudi market next door."

Saudi Arabia is the Philippines’ chief trading, economic and strategic partner in the Middle East. "But the air links between the Saudis and us do not reflect the importance of the relationship," Estabillo said. "They are under threat by the massive dumping of excess capacity by Saudi Arabia’s neighbor, Bahrain."

Last month PAL announced the suspension of its flights between Manila and Riyadh starting March 2. It said it was forced to do so because of the glut of airline seats in the Middle East market, which has caused the flag carrier yearly losses.

The announcement drew an outcry from representatives of the one million or so Filipinos—ranging from diplomats to contract workers—who work in Saudi Arabia.

One of the most impassioned reactions came from Rhoel Mendoza, founder of the Philippines to the World Entertainment Foundation, an organization of Saudi-based OFWs. "I am angered by PAL’s impending cessation of its Saudi operations," wrote Mendoza, who has launched an e-mail campaign to urge the flag carrier to rescind its decision.

"The government must not let PAL abandon its Saudi routes. Doing so will not only demoralize our hundreds of thousands of kababayan in the region," added Mendoza "Making PAL stay in Saudi [Arabia] is not only necessary, it is of paramount importance. It is not only about profits, it is also about national pride."

Mercifully, PAL has rethought its position and has submitted an urgent request to the Department of Transportation and Communications. The flag carrier asked DOTC to conduct talks with Saudi authorities, with a novel proposal on the table—a new Manila-Dubai-Saudi Arabia (Jeddah or Riyadh) PAL service, with commercial traffic rights between Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

The new routing would give PAL what it called "a fresh revenue stream" from the Dubai-Saudi sector and thus a fighting chance to bring down losses on the overall Manila-Saudi route to a more manageable level, while still addressing the needs of overseas Filipinos in Saudi Arabia and even Dubai.

"[This] is perhaps the last chance to save our flag carrier’s direct air links to the OFWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," wrote PAL president Jaime J. Bautista in a letter to DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

For this last-ditch effort to succeed the Philippine government must give top priority to the Saudi air talks, PAL officials said. It must secure the necessary rights for PAL to fly to Saudi Arabia via Dubai.

The Saudis themselves are reportedly open to PAL’s proposal, and all that our negotiators need to do is to pursue the initiative.

Above all, the government must not aggravate matters by holding talks with other Gulf countries, specifically Bahrain—whose airline is reportedly among the most aggressive in poaching RP-Saudi traffic.

By dumping on other Philippine-Middle East—and even Philippine-Europe—air markets, Bahrain has worsened an already ruinous oversupply of airline seats. This was precisely why PAL had contemplated suspending its Saudi services.

Even the giant Saudi Arabian Airlines has felt the Bahraini pinch. It has reduced frequency to Manila from 10 flights weekly in years past to eight now.

The Philippine air panel can either save the critical Saudi Arabia air route or give in to the demand of Bahrain for even more seats—far in excess of its needs.

For Philippine officials who claim to have the national interest at heart the choice is clear—or, at least, it should be.

Ilocos leaders request PAL to resume flights in Laoag
Wednesday, February 15, 2006

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte -- Following the suspension of Philippine Airline’s domestic and international flights at the Laoag International Airport Monday, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan asked the Air Transportation Office to investigate the PAL decision and to ask the flag carrier to resume business.

In a privileged speech, provincial board member Michael Keon, chairman of the committee on tourism, said he did not believe PAL’s cancellation was due to lack of staff.

“I was very surprised by the abrupt decision of Philippine Airlines to cancel its flights to Ilocos Norte. The cancellation will severely affect the inflow of tourists and will affect the occupancy of hotels like Fort Ilocandia,” Keon said.

On Thursday the Philippine Airlines suddenly announced it was suspending its flights in Laoag.

Reacting to rumors that ex-mayor Roger Fariñas bullied a PAL employee, Keon said that story is hearsay until PAL makes an official statement about what happened.

Farinas has denied intimidating any PAL employee at the airport.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte met yesterday with officials of Cebu Pacific owned by the Gokongweis to formalize agreement on the deployment of “rescue flights.”

Cebu Pacific will take over at the Laoag airport to fill in the gap created by PAL’s sudden cancellation.

The governor also asked the Air Transportation Office to install security cameras at the airport to monitor all activities and untoward incidents.

Sad to hear GF leave MNL...man I'm really going to miss their Airbuses...:(

What's GF?

Gulf Air

^ Oh thanks...they stopped flying to MNL? why?

EDIT: nevermind, i read solblanc's post:D

The debate about airrights is interesting. Do you protectect the National Carrier which carries the flag but makes the richest man in the Philippines richer and gives him more power to meddle in many issues like NAIA3 or do you let non Philippine Airlines like Etihad,Emirates, Qatar, Gulf, Saudia make the money but the average filipino enjoys better service and lower fares, specially lower fares!!! Well you can tell how I would vote.

Gulf Air didn't stop flying here... their frequencies just got cut in half.

As for the air rights thing, the poster-children promoting liberal air rights would be Singapore and Thailand. Their carriers are fine, even though they've whored out their skies to the world.

The debate about airrights is interesting. Do you protectect the National Carrier which carries the flag but makes the richest man in the Philippines richer and gives him more power to meddle in many issues like NAIA3 or do you let non Philippine Airlines like Etihad,Emirates, Qatar, Gulf, Saudia make the money but the average filipino enjoys better service and lower fares, specially lower fares!!! Well you can tell how I would vote.

My vote goes to the latter. Another advantage is that it creates competition and encourages PAL to improve their services and facilities. It will also keep PAL and other local carriers from increasing their fares.

@ Solblanc - the reason why Thai and SQ are doing so well is because they have excellent service. This was "forced" upon them through the increaseed competition from open skies.

an airline must make profit. if PAL does not demolish their unprofitable routes (Saudi, malaysia) they will not be exisistant in 2010. they are trying to improve (ordering 18 new jets), paying their debts. it makes no sence to fly and loose money just to wave the flag.

Gulf Air didn't stop flying here... their frequencies just got cut in half.

Sorry, didn't read your original post properly. Forgot about their presence in Bahrain... Seriously this hasn't been my week for Philippine aviation. :\

I understand though that gulf air itself has been cut in half with the rise of etihad and it taking the abu dhabi hub while gulf air keeps bahrain alone that's why their air rights have also been halved.

Too many middle eastern airlines though. They'll end up consolidating.

Etihad Airways seeks more flights
By FIL C. SIONIL

Etihad Airways, the state airline of United Arab Emirates (UAE), is considering increasing its Manila flights frequency to daily from the current four times weekly to service the growing demand for non-stop service from here to Abu Dhabi.

"We are not disturbed with political issues. I don’t think it will affect our operations. There is a market (here in Manila) and growing," assured Etihad visiting Manager Geoff Rhodes, in a press briefing.

He believed Etihad’s operations in the Philippines could pave the way for enhanced trade relations between the two economies. The country could increase its major exports, including electrical machinery, clothing and timber products.

In fact, Rhodes disclosed that, this early, the airline firm is already thinking of expanding its frequency not only to improve the aircraft’s rate of utilization but also to "service the tremendous demand."

"For now, we have four services a week. We want to go daily in the near future because of the tremendous demand for a full service flight," Rhodes said, adding that Etihad is allocating some billion for its expansion program.

The Manila route operates every Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday using Airbus 330.

To complement its expansion service, Rhodes disclosed Etihad, already, placed orders for 20 Airbus 380 and five Boeing 777s. At present, Etihad is using aircrafts under lease arrangement.

The airline firm is also cashing-in on the huge base of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stationed in Abu Dhabi, including Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states, as its captive market with the impending suspension of PAL flights in the Middle East.

The Philippines route is a vital commercial and travel route. It, too, is expected to open-up new travel opportunities for many UAE and Gulf residents that wish to visit the country.

Rhodes said that the "near future" could be between now and the remainder of the year as bilateral negotiations with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB)Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) Department of Foreign Affairs have yet to commence.

The decision to service the Manila-Abu Dhabi route, Etihad’s second foreign destination, stemmed from the excellent bilateral relations of the two countries over the years, Rhodes said.

Etihad, which is the first foreign airline firm to enter the domestic aeronautics market in five years, first took a step offshore by servicing the Abu Dhabi-Bangkok route in 2005.

"We place Manila as our second destination in the Far East (because) the Philippine is a tourist destination," Rhodes explained.

^^tourist destination my ass. These are ofw's they just want to justify their routes.

^^ :lol: calm down, we love heading to the deserted arabic foreign place :lol:

bustero, may tama ka!

:drunk: :gaah: :crazy2: :weird: :jippo: :hammer: :dunno: :cheer: :goodbye:

^^tourist destination my ass. These are ofw's they just want to justify their routes.

karamihan siguro ng pinoy don tourist visa ang hawak tapos pag may trabaho na papapalit ng working visa :D

^^ That is tried and tested already. Ano pa ba ang bago?

^^tourist destination my ass. These are ofw's they just want to justify their routes.

Amen pare.

karamihan siguro ng pinoy don tourist visa ang hawak tapos pag may trabaho na papapalit ng working visa :D
mga tourist sila, pero talbog ka sa kanila, Anti-social yata ang dating

To be taken with a ton of salt as always!


Engulfed in subterfuge
Posted: 0:45 AM | Feb. 17, 2006

Victor Agustin
Inquirer

(Published on Page B3 of the February 17, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

THREATENED by the spectacular inroads of the state-subsidized Arab competition not only in the Philippines but also in the region, Philippine Airlines (PAL) has cranked up its considerable media lobby to oppose this weekend's air talks in Clark Field, north of Manila, between the government and Bahrain.

The PAL spin is this: Gulf Air president James Hogan met with PAL chairman Lucio Tan in October and shook hands on an agreement on a code-sharing alliance rather have their respective governments go through with bilateral negotiations.

Between then and now, Gulf Air apparently changed its mind, and now through Bahrain wants its government to seek flight entitlements, which would then accrue to Gulf Air as lone flag carrier.

Before these rounds of negotiations, Gulf Air had merely borrowed the United Arab Emirates' entitlements, now withdrawn, to fly to Manila.

Indeed, why code-share when Gulf Air can have the entire pie to itself? PAL, ironically, does not fly to Bahrain now and will not in the foreseeable future.

PAL had thought the Bahrain-Philippines talks had been rescheduled for April, when PAL shall have forged an agreement with Saudi Arabia to save its flights to Riyadh, its remaining Middle East destination.

That hoped-for agreement with Saudi Arabia would allow the Philippine flag carrier to stop over and pick up passengers in Dubai and, with the additional traffic, it is hoped, turn around its losing, and much-shrunken, Middle East segment.

But with Bahrain and the Philippines meeting ahead and likely to reach an agreement, PAL thinks Saudi Arabia would no longer have an incentive to allow PAL the Dubai stop.

Raising the ante, PAL even preempted the Clark meetings, and now it has no choice but to stop altogether the Saudi Arabian flights effective next month, thus leaving the Middle East market -- and the Filipino contract workers -- entirely to the Arab airlines.

Departure Activity At Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport Tomorrow (http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/SACL/Flight+Info/International+Departures/intDepartures.asp?d=18%2F02%2F2006&c=&g=1000&x=20&y=10)

its shows two direct flight to Manila one from Pal and One from Qantas....most other carriers such as Singapore, Cathay Or Malaysia Have Stopovers...i wish Manila's Airport had this kind of Website...i found it usefull and its cool :)

is it true that AA is planning to fly to manila? nabasa ko kasi sa pex

^^ I don't think so, maybe it's a PAL flight with an AA flight number tagged to it. AA and PAL have interline agreements with each other and their flight schedules are in sync to assure the pax of a smooth transition from one carrier to the other.

ok.... di talaga reliable ung mga taga pex

maganda itong nakita kong video.... japan airlines na nagttake-off sa naia... ewan ko lang kun napanood nakayo nito... anyways, here it is....makikita nyo ung a340 at
b747-400 ng pal njoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpJyjT1O1TM&search=philippine%20airlines

Departure Activity At Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport Tomorrow (http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/SACL/Flight+Info/International+Departures/intDepartures.asp?d=18%2F02%2F2006&c=&g=1000&x=20&y=10)

its shows two direct flight to Manila one from Pal and One from Qantas....most other carriers such as Singapore, Cathay Or Malaysia Have Stopovers...i wish Manila's Airport had this kind of Website...i found it usefull and its cool :)

Thats a great website. Indeed its useful. Lots of airlines stopover at Bangkok before proceding to Europe. I wish it was the same for the Philippines for airlines going to North America:D

maganda itong nakita kong video.... japan airlines na nagttake-off sa naia... ewan ko lang kun napanood nakayo nito... anyways, here it is....makikita nyo ung a340 at
b747-400 ng pal njoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpJyjT1O1TM&search=philippine%20airlines

I'm always said whenever i look at the window and taking off from Manila. Makes me wanna stay longer.:D Anyways, even from that video you can see how much bigger NAIA 3 is compared to the other two terminals. Its further away, but still bigger.

Thanks for the video Carlos. T1 looks so empty though. I think I only saw two planes parked at the gates.

^^ I don't think so, maybe it's a PAL flight with an AA flight number tagged to it. AA and PAL have interline agreements with each other and their flight schedules are in sync to assure the pax of a smooth transition from one carrier to the other.
Wouldn't that be a codeshare? Would be nice if they did some extra agreements of some sort though...

Local tourism is all sold out!
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco
The Philippine Star 02/20/2006
Gulf war
A Gulf War of sorts is now raging over air rights in the Middle East-Philippines route. Over the weekend, air talks were held at Clark upon the initiative of Bahrain, a small sheikdom in the Arabian Gulf. The Bahrainis are demanding additional six flights per week, for a total of 10 weekly flights (they also have existing rights to fly to Cebu and Clark twice weekly each but have never exercised these rights).

On the surface, more flights to and from the country should be welcome. In fact, POEA officials have complained late last year that there are not enough flights to bring our workers to the countries that contracted them. This claim was however disputed by Rollie Estabillo, VP of Philippine Airlines. And this is the problem at the crux of the Bahraini demand for additional flights.

PAL claims there is now an overcapacity of seats, which is the reason why they want to stop their flights to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Even the powerful Saudi flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines has felt the pinch - it has reduced frequency to Manila from 10 flights weekly in previous years to eight.

According to Estabillo, PAL’s load factor in their Riyadh flights averages about 65 percent year round and they are generally full only during the Christmas peak. Sixth freedom operators offer more than twice the capacity of PAL’s offering and therefore have already more seats.

PAL announcement of their suspension of their Riyadh flights raised a furor among our OFWs in Saudi Arabia. Many of our OFWs want PAL to stay, to provide an important presence in a country where there about a million of them. National pride was cited as one reason for the airline to stay. But PAL is not a government company and granted that it is a flag carrier, it must also operate profitably, specially now that it is still in financial rehab mode. It has lost money on this route for 10 years now.

Apparently, PAL has thought out a plan that would enable them to keep their Middle East flights. They have also sounded out the Middle Eastern governments involved. That’s why PAL sent an urgent request to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to conduct urgent talks with Saudi authorities, for a new Manila-Dubai-Saudi Arabia (Jeddah or Riyadh) PAL service, with commercial traffic rights between Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

According to PAL such a routing would give PAL a fresh revenue stream (from the Dubai-Saudi sector) and thereby a fighting chance to bring down losses on the overall Manila-Saudi route to a more manageable level, while still addressing the needs of OFWs in Saudi Arabia and even Dubai. That sounds reasonable, from a national interest perspective.

But DOTC prioritized talks not with Saudi Arabia but with Bahrain for additional flights on the same route that effectively torpedoes the PAL proposal with Saudi Arabia. And this is puzzling. For background, Bahrain is a tiny island, smaller than Quezon City, hosts only about 30,000 OFWs. It is the place people there go to whenever they want to have some fun, you know… the stuff banned in strict Saudi Arabia.

One wonders why Bahrain has such strong support in the bureaucracy here. Even now, its flag carrier deploys 61,000 seats per year to Manila. If they got their way in Clark, this would increase this to 107,000 seats per year! Since there are less than 2,000 tourists from this country who visit ours, this huge air capacity is clearly designed to be diverted to the larger RP-Saudi Arabia market next door.

It should be interesting to see who prevails in this Gulf War between equally influential businessmen, given that the Bahrainis are being reportedly supported by an administration favorite who carries the title of Ambassador at large. Hopefully, the national interest wins too.

This is interesting news!

Posted: 3:08 PM | Feb. 19, 2006

Victor C. Agustin
Inquirer
Money-go-round
Asian Spirit is awaiting regulatory approval from Hong Kong authorities to begin charter flights from the Chinese territory to Boracay and Puerto Princesa.

(Email: cocktales_pdi@pldtdsl.net or cocktales_pdi@yahoo.com)

Departure Activity At Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport Tomorrow (http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/SACL/Flight+Info/International+Departures/intDepartures.asp?d=18%2F02%2F2006&c=&g=1000&x=20&y=10)

its shows two direct flight to Manila one from Pal and One from Qantas....most other carriers such as Singapore, Cathay Or Malaysia Have Stopovers...i wish Manila's Airport had this kind of Website...i found it usefull and its cool :)

I think MIAA website have Flight Info. and Schedule. Check this out:
http://203.160.183.226/miaa/FLIGHTSCHED/index.asp

Saudi Arabia, not Bahrain, is priority

The Philippines and that small island state of Bahrain, no larger than Quezon City which hosts only about 30,000 OFWs and produces less than 1,800 RP-bound tourists, ended four days of tortuous air negotiations last Sunday with a compromise agreement that increases the Arab state’s flight entitlements, but leaves reciprocal commercial accord with Philippine carriers hanging.

According to sources, the deal was simply a face-saving way to bring the marathon talks to conclusion after Bahrain took a hardline stance by threatening to cut off humanitarian assistance and downgrading ties with the Philippines if its demand for more flights was not met. If this is not blackmail, I don’t know what it is. And it seemed that Bahrain got what it wanted with Bahrain’s Gulf Air getting two new frequencies to Manila, rising its total of six flights weekly.

What is problematical about the deal is that the new rights of Gulf Air are contingent on both Gulf Air and PAL reaching an agreement on code sharing within 21 days. If this contingency is not met, it’s back to square one for both the RP and Bahrain panels.

But, the blackmail resorted to by Bahrain wasn’t as bad as reported efforts of DoTC Undersecretary Edward Pagunsan, who headed the RP panel, and special envoy to the Gulf Amable Aguiluz V to push for the interests of Bahrain against that of the Philippines.

When Pagunsan could not make the RP panel accede to Bahrain’s demands, he announced his resignation as RP panel chair effective Feb. 20. He reportedly was embarrassed when the rest of the panel member rejected his lead and stood firm on ironclad guarantees for Philippine carriers.

Worse was when Aguiluz, an envoy, but who runs an AMA computer school in Bahrain, openly took the position of the Gulf state. He also fielded a team of AMA consultants to provide legal, clerical and communications assistance to the Bahrain panel. Whom is Aguiluz working for anyway?

* * *

That Bahrain resorted to blackmail and had a panel chief and a GMA envoy on its side was bad enough. This should be a matter to look into by both Malacañang and Congress. It’s national interest at stake and reports that a DoTC official and an envoy took the side of Bahrain against Philippine interests should be investigated.

The fact that the RP panel was forced to accept a flawed air deal with Bahrain, which resorted to blackmail and even had Filipino officials on its side during the negotiation, is not really the main issue.

The crux of the issue is whether or not PAL can still resume its flights to Saudi Arabia where almost a million OFWs are. With the threat of Gulf Air to dump its excess seats on Philippine soil, will the Saudi government still accede to PAL resuming its suspended flights to Riyadh and Jeddah? Already the Filipinos working in Saudi are clamoring for PAL’s resumption of flights there.

Moved by the clamor, PAL has rethought its position and last week, submitted an urgent request to the DoTC that government should conduct urgent talks with Saudi authorities, with a novel proposal on the table—a Manila-Dubai-Saudi Arabia (Jeddah or Riyadh) PAL service, with commercial traffic rights between Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

According to PAL, such a routing would give PAL a fresh revenue stream (from the Dubai-Saudi sector) and thereby, a fighting chance to bring down losses on the overall Manila-Saudi route to a more manageable level, which still addresses the needs of one million OFWs in Saudi and even Dubai.

* * *

The priority of government, therefore, is the resumption of Saudi flights by PAL, not of Bahrain. What the RP air panel did in giving more frequency flights to Gulf Air was to imperil the RP-Middle East (and even RP-Europe) air market in an already ruinous oversupply situation.

This oversupply is the very reason why PAL suspended the Middle East route. So, why exacerbate the problem by engaging in other Arabian Gulf countries talks, specifically Bahrain, which is only out to poach on the RP-Saudi traffic? Even the powerful Saudi flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines has felt the pinch by reducing its frequency to Manila from 10 flights weekly in previous years to eight currently.

It’s thus surprising why the Philippine air panel is talking to Bahrain when there’s no comparison with Saudi Arabia, which employs close to a million OFWs as against Bahrain’s 30,000. Just to please Aquiluz who has a computer school in Bahrain? And why was the head of the RP panel pushing for Bahrain interests?

Saudi Arabia is certainly a priority with its extensive investments in the country, and is the chief supplier of oil to the Philippines, making direct air links of vital strategic importance. National interests dictate that the Philippine government must prioritize air talks with Saudi Arabia, and let Gulf Air go hang.

The fact that Bahrain had the temerity to blackmail the Philippines should convince Malacañang that Bahrain, which produces little oil and does miniscule trade with the Philippines, isn’t worth talking to. The annoying distraction of Bahrain when it involves national interest is the last thing the country needs.

Aerial Shots from PAL Flight 300 MNL-HKG
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/IMG_03461.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/IMG_03551.jpg

At HKG Gate - PAL 300
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e289/sikatuna/IMG_03571.jpg

Great shots terrapin. Especially the reflective shot of PALs 747! :okay:

The way I interpret the first picture, the two rivers are the Marikina River going up and the Pasig River going to the right? The second picture features a lagoon. That must have been the Malabon-Navotas area and the rest of the second picture is Caloocan?

@terrapin...wow :eek2: ganda ng pics
ano kayang bundok dun sa background :)

that is Mt. Samat in Bataan...

taken from philstar.com..

DOTC takes over Panglao airport project
By Peter Dejaresco
The Philippine Star 02/23/2006

TAGBILARAN CITY — The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is assuming direct supervision over the construction of the proposed P3.2-billion Panglao airport here to fast-track the project.

Gov. Erico Aumentado has received the go-signal from President Arroyo to transfer the management of the Panglao Tourism Special Infrastructure Program (PTSIP) to the DOTC, instead of the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA).

Prior to his departure for the United States last Thursday, Aumentado presided over a coordination meeting on the project with Rep. Edgar Chatto, chairman of the House committee on tourism; Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, National Economic Development Authority head Romulo Neri, top officials of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and PTA, and TCGI consultant and hotelier Anos Fonacier.

The President ordered the project to be fast-tracked under Executive Order 194-A, authorizing the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), headed by general manager Alfonso Cusi, to find the funding source for the Panglao airport project.

Mendoza and Neri agreed to develop the Panglao airport into an international one so it can qualify for funding from the MIAA.

Aumentado said that under its charter, the MIAA has jurisdiction over all international airports all over the country.

Under EO 194-A, the DOTC, PTA, DOT and the Department of Budget and Management, and even the Philippine Ports Authority are required to support the funding requirements of the Panglao International Airport project.

Aumentado earlier talked to the President and Cusi on the need to tap the resources of the MIAA for the Panglao airport project.

As agreed upon during the coordination meeting, the provincial government will shoulder the cost of social preparations for the PTSIP.

Cebu Pacific execs given tour of NAIA Terminal 3 facilities
By Rainier Allan Ronda
The Philippine Star 02/23/2006

Top executives of Cebu Pacific Airways led by its president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei were given a tour of the mothballed Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal III by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

MIAA said that "ocular inspection" was in preparation for its planned "technical run and rolling out operation" of NAIA Terminal III at the end of the first quarter of this year "if there will be no legal impediments."

During the walk-through tour, MIAA turned on the mechanical and electrical systems of the facility, providing an opportunity for the authorities and other parties to check the systems’ condition.

It was learned that Cebu Pacific Airways was the first airline with international flights to agree to use the NAIA Terminal III for a test run when MIAA decides to conduct one in the coming months.

The test run, MIAA said, will be the start of the gradual increase in operations of the new terminal.

Alfonso Cusi, MIAA general manager, reiterated its optimism on completing the requirements to fully operate the said terminal.

"We are looking forward to the full operation of the terminal within the year as soon as all the legal impediments have been resolved," Cusi said in a MIAA press statement.

MIAA said the opening of the NAIA Terminal III was necessary to provide the riding public the convenience of a modern airport with world-class facilities, since NAIA Terminal I has exceeded its passenger capacity for several years now.

In recent weeks, long queues have been forming during peak hours at the NAIA Terminal I particularly during days when there are several international departing flights scheduled for a period of one or two hours greatly inconveniencing passengers.

Airport sources said that aside from the congestion problem, opening NAIA Terminal III will enable MIAA to use its sophisticated baggage and walkthrough X-rays which NAIA Terminal I does not have.

MIAA has recently announced its plan to impose an additional US$5 "security development fee" to allow it to go on a shopping spree for sophisticated X-ray equipment, a move questioned by executives of international airlines operating at the NAIA citing one reason the wisdom of buying the expensive security equipment for Terminal I when government had already announced its plan to open the NAIA III with the year.

MIAA said a new terminal with modern equipment and systems will increase the level of comfort and convenience, and it will further promote the country as a tourist destination.

So if the allocation is there why are not more people using it. I suppose the big bad wolf is trying to protect itself from the little lambs.


Stranded at Home
By Carmela Fonbuena
Newsbreak Staff Writer



President Arroyo’s goal of one million overseas jobs in 2005 fell short by about 20,000. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) processed enough contracts to meet the target—a total of 1.16 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were supposed to leave in 2005—but 175,661 of them were, unfortunately, not deployed.

The problem is as simple as not getting seats on flights to their job destinations, said Eduardo Mahiya, president of Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (FAME). Economy seats are always full, and contract workers cannot afford the business and first-class seats. As they wait for the next available flights, they face the risk of losing their job contracts.

Recruitment agencies are knocking on government doors for help. In the past, plane seats became a problem only during the holiday seasons when many OFWs come home for vacation. Now, “it’s February and it’s still difficult to book flights. Jobs are affected,” said Jackson Gan of Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan Inc. (PILMAT).

The top OFW destinations, according to POEA statistics, are Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, and Japan. Flights to these destinations are always full, Mahiya said.

Some Filipinos contracted to work in Taiwan but who cannot be accommodated on direct flights have to take the longer route via Hong Kong, said Gan. It’s more expensive and inconvenient, especially because Hong Kong is a tourist hub. In some cases, the POEA uses chartered planes to deploy Filipino workers.

OFWs are competing with tourists and businessmen for air seats. Only 46,714 OFWs, less than the number with job contracts, left for Taiwan in 2005. According to PILMAT statistics, about 5,000 Filipinos with contracts in Taiwan are still waiting for plane accommodations.

“We need to renegotiate the air service agreement to allow more flights,” said Mila Abad, president of Freedom to Fly Coalition (FFC), a non-government organization advocating the liberalization of the aviation industry. A number of applications are pending in the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), Gan said.

CAB Deputy Director Carmelo Arcilla said, however, that there was no need for additional flights. “It is not true that there is a lack of seats. We have a healthy ratio.” The country is only using 7 million of its 15 million total entitlements (allowable air seats), he said.

Additional flights are generally approved by the CAB. Hong Kong is one exception. Somehow in ’90s, a “trigger mechanism” for more flights was provided for in the air service agreement with Hong Kong. When an airline’s average capacity is 70 percent full, it can have additional flights without having to get CAB’s approval. FFC suggests that the same trigger mechanism be applied to other flights. “Renegotiations are expensive and time-consuming,” said Narzalina Lim, general manager of Macau Government Tourist Office in the Philippines and a member of FFC.

There is “apparent unavailability” because “airlines are not offering all the entitled seats,” Arcilla said. Carriers going to Taiwan also go to the US. Sometimes they give priority to US-bound passengers because flights to the US have a higher yield, he said. “Airlines are a market-driven industry, they will only offer seats that are viable.” According to CAB statistics, flights from Manila to various cities in Taiwan only use an average of 8,679 seats out of the 13,900 seats allotted weekly.

The entry of budget airlines—Tiger Airways and Air Asia—last year offered an indirect solution to the problem of deployment. Budget carriers cater to tourists and vacationing OFWs. The more of them taking the budget carriers, the less air-seat competition there is in regular airlines. Recruitment agencies go for the regular airlines because budget airlines cannot offer flexible and transferable tickets.

Industry players are worried about the capability of the budget airlines to ensure plane accommodations for contract workers. Tiger Airways and Air Asia are only given temporary permits renewable every month. “How can you promote if you don’t know if they have a flight after 28 days?” said Lim. In early January, Tiger Airways’ Singapore-Macau-Clark flight was cancelled for allegedly violating CAB rules. It left hundreds of passengers stranded in Macau for about a week until Tiger Airways was allowed to operate temporarily.

“What we are worried about is that these low-cost carriers, which have done so well in other countries, might just give up because of the difficulty of doing business in this country,” Abad said.

“The prospects are very good,” Arcilla assured. “Even if [the permit renewal] is monthly, it will be automatic pending [issuance of] the permanent permit. The board is the first party that wants it expedited. I don’t see any problems anymore.”

POEA, CAB, and labor deployment groups are holding dialogues to address the issues. The solution may lie with the airlines themselves.

Send us your feedback: letters@newsbreak.com.ph

more open skies for other destinations, I must admit though only cebu is worth anything, subic is too near clark, and davao needs a lot of work to build traffic

Vol. XIX, No. 154
Monday, February 27, 2006 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES

The Economy
‘Open skies’ mulled for Subic, Cebu, Davao

The government should consider declaring an "open skies" policy for Subic, Cebu, and Davao international airports in order to boost tourism and encourage competition in the airline industry, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo L. Neri said the government should liberalize airline operations in these major airports for the benefit of customers. "Increased competition would result in cheaper fares, which in turn would encourage people to travel more, thus increasing tourism earnings in these areas," Mr. Neri told reporters.

This after the President issued Executive Order (EO) 500 last January 27, allowing foreign carriers -- particularly budget airlines -- to use the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, Pampanga with minimal restrictions. The government is positioning Clark to serve as a logistics hub in Southeast Asia.

EO 500 particularly directed the Philippine air negotiating panel, chaired by the Transportation department and which is set to start talks with counterparts from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Korea on the use of Clark -- "to formalize their special charter permits granted by the [Civil Aeronautics Board, or CAB] into permanent air entitlements." These entitlements are formally known as air service agreements, under which other countries and the Philippines designate the carriers that can operate the routes between them.

EO 500 states that carriers covered by these agreements, hence, allowed to operate cargo and passenger services to and from Clark, can "apply for the waiver of any restriction or limitation on capacity, type of aircraft or non-cabotage traffic rights."

Tourist arrivals for the 10 months to October 2005 grew 13.6% to 2.11 million from the same period the previous year. Tourist arrivals for the entire 2004 was at 2.2 million. The Tourism department expects more than 2.5 million tourists to troop to the country this year.

NEDA earlier said the influx of tourists should help fuel the services sector growth this year. The services sector grew 6.3% last year, contributing 2.98 percentage points to the 5.1% economic growth for the entire 2005. The government aims to grow the services sector by 6.7% this year, in order to hit the government’s full-year economic growth target of 5.7% to 6.3% for 2006.

Meanwhile, the Philippines will discuss with Russia next month proposals to obtain flying rights to Manila and vice-versa, a ranking official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. In an interview, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Administration Franklin M. Ebdalin said the air talks panels have scheduled talks for next month.

"They want to fly to Manila. We will negotiate for flying rights for both sides. It’s not open skies," Mr. Ebdalin clarified.

Mr. Ebdalin said the Philippines continues to target additional markets in China, Japan, South Korea, Canada and the United States since they are big sources of tourists. He said Canada and Japan had declined to negotiate more flights, but the government will "keep on pushing."

Manila has flying rights to 50 countries, including member states of the European Union, Mr. Ebdalin said. -- J. O. Valisno and B. S. Sto. Domingo

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/jef7/DSC00343.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/jef7/DSC00342.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/jef7/DSC00345.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/jef7/DSC00344.jpg

Arroz Caldo with real calamansi. Yum! :)

^^ Nice photos you have there! :okay: Welcome to SSC-Philippines jef7! Congratulations on your first ever post too! :colgate:

^^ Nice photos you have there! :okay: Welcome to SSC-Philippines jef7! Congratulations on your first ever post too! :colgate:

Hey, thank you so much. You have no idea how excited I am to bump into these forums. What a wealth of information about the Philippines. From people who seem to care about this great country no less!

Glad to have you here! Feel free to browse among the numerous sections/threads we have here in the SSC-Philippines forum. Hope you'll enjoy your time here.

By the way, my name is Kimber. :hi:

^^^^@jef7
Feel the warmth of the Filipino Hospitality :grouphug:

Welcome Jef!:) nice pics of the lounge... even there at the first class lounge, you can see that NAIA T1 is really ageing, as its not up to par with other airport lounges.

Again many thanks for the warm welcome.

GreyX, I agree with you. Still, SQ's lounge in MNL is fine, in fact better than their lounge at LAX for example. I was quite surprised though the last time I was in MNL. The place seemed much better organized and it looked much better than in the past. I suspect it was part of the country's SEA Games preparation. If they can keep it constantly like that, Terminal 1 isn't bad at all.

^^ t1 isnt really bad only that their baggage claim is way outdated and the immigration takes forever... however, IMO, i felt welcome upon arriving the airport from detroir last december, there are people singing and i felt the christmas spirit... btw their first class lounge looks comfy and classy and i dont think it reflects the terminalsage... IMO

nice pics jeff, your pinoi, right?

that is Mt. Samat in Bataan...
ah okey, salamat

nice pics jeff, your pinoi, right?

Pinoy na pinoy.

:cheers1:

ah neat stuff, libre rin ba lahat ng pagkain...