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PHILIPPINE Airlines expects profits to rise this
fiscal year as more aircraft would be delivered to serve the
increasing demand for domestic and international flights, its
president said Wednesday.
Jaime J. Bautista, PAL chief
operating officer, told reporters that the company wants to increase
profits by between 5 percent and 10 percent for fiscal year April
2007 to March 2008.
Bautista had said that net income
last fiscal year is likely to be flat owing to higher fuel costs.
For fiscal year 2005 to 2006, PAL
posted a net income of $28.7 million.
The company’s financial
performance for fiscal year 2006 to 2007 was unavailable as of press
time.
Bautista said the airline carried
7.2 million passengers for both international and domestic
operations during the previous fiscal year.
“For this fiscal year, we
expect to grow 5 percent,” he said.
During the Holy Week, PAL said it
posted an average of 130 to 140 flights for both the domestic and
international operations, higher than the off-season rate of 110
flights daily.
Bautista said the bulk of their
volume was registered in the domestic flights with 80, while
international flights had 60.
The United States, Japan and Hong
Kong remain the carrier’s “biggest revenue earners,” he said.
Bautista also said that seven
Airbus aircraft are expected to be delivered this year for the
company’s domestic and international flights. Of the seven planes,
four are expected to be in Manila between April and November and
would cost the company $250 million.
Bautista said 85 percent of the
$250 million was funded through borrowings and the remaining amount
was raised from internal cash.
The remaining three aircraft are
Airbus 319s that the company leased and would be delivered between
July and November.
He also said that the carrier
would increase flight frequency to Beijing and Xiamen from 5 times a
week to daily starting next year, and at Guam from 4 to 5 times a
week.
--Darwin G. Amojelar
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