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PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) wants the government to
grant the company tax and other perks for its billion-dollar
refleeting program.
Jaime J. Bautista, PAL president
and chief operating officer, said the company has applied for
incentives with the Board of Investments (BOI).
“We have [application] papers
in BOI,” Bautista said last week on the sidelines of the
inauguration of Lufthansa Philippines’ new facility.
The flag carrier’s refleeting
program will cost $1.4 billon. PAL is set to secure two Airbus 320
aircraft this year and another five next year.
In addition, a fleet of six
Boeing 777-300 Extended Range will be delivered between 2009 and
2011.
Earlier, the BOI granted pioneer
incentives to the P21.146-billion refleeting project of Gokongwei-owned
Cebu Pacific, involving the acquisition of 14 new Airbus aircraft
servicing local and international routes.
With its refleeting, PAL plans to
hire 100 pilots starting this year until the completion of its
program in 2012.
At present PAL has 450 pilots and
1, 300 cabin crew.
The carrier operates a mixed
fleet of 14 narrow-body aircraft, comprising seven A320s, four
Boeing 737-300s and three Boeing 737-400s. It also operates eight
A330s and four A340s for regional flights and long-range routes.
PAL flies to 43 destinations
including 18 domestic and 25 international points. It serves the
United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and the Middle East.
The airline had said it will use
the proceeds from the sale of 20 percent of Trustmark Holdings Corp.
shares as well as a commercial loan to finance its refleeting
program.
However, Trustmark has decided to
defer the sale of 1.56 billion shares because of unfavorable market
conditions. The company owns 97 percent of PAL Holdings Inc., the
owner of the country’s flag carrier.
Bautista said Trustmark may
consider selling its shares in the first quarter of next year.
PAL Holdings owns an 84.7-percent
stake in the flag carrier. It earlier acquired six holding companies
that collectively own 81.57 percent of PAL. Separately, PAL Holdings
also owns 3.1 percent of the airline through a subsidiary, PR
Holdings, Inc.
The Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) earlier approved PAL’s early exit from
rehabilitation. The airline earned a profit of $34.5 million in the
April to June period.
 --Darwin
G. Amojelar
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