Philippine Airlines hopes for upgrade to expand in the US

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ premier carrier is hopeful the government succeeds in upgrading the country’s aviation safety status next year so it can continue its expansion in the United States. Philippine Airlines (PAL) President Jaime J. Bautista said the carrier wants to resume operations to New York and expand its operations to San Diego. Plans of PAL to expand in the US remains stalled unless the local aviation system is given a Category 1 ranking for safety. It may be recalled that the US Federal Aviation Authority downgraded the Philippines' safety rating in January. "We should be back to Category 1 by July 2009. That is the target. It is very important not only for PAL but for Philippine tourism," PAL President Jaime J Bautista told reporters on Tuesday. The airline is currently awaiting the delivery of two new Boeing 777 with a 376-seating capacity in September 2009. Both are geared for medium- and long-haul flights and are expected to be 20 percent more fuel efficient than PAL’s older aircraft. If the Philippines fails to secure a US rating upgrade, Bautista said PAL will just use the new aircraft for flights to regional destinations like Japan, Australia, and Korea. While waiting for the FAA's decision, PAL announced on Tuesday that it is increasing flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco in anticipation of a surge in passenger volume from the US in time for the Christmas season. “The trans-Pacific sector is PAL’s most important long-haul market and we are infusing extra capacity as well as upgraded service and equipment into it," Bautista said. On October 26, PAL will start flying nine flights a week from Manila to Los Angeles from the current frequency of seven weekly flights. Frequency for the same route will be hiked to 11 times a week from December 16, 2008 to January 15, 2009. For the Manila-San Francisco route, PAL is adding one flight weekly from December 21, 2008 to January 11, 2009. While PAL expects losses from the July to September period, Bautista said the airline should be able to book profits from October to December as more passengers are bound to travel during the Christmas season. - GMANews.TV