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NATIONAL
flag-carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) mounted its
maiden flight to Chongqing on Thursday, with chairman
and chief executive officer Lucio Tan and his wife
Carmen, leading a delegation of leading Filipino and
Chinese officials.
Also
aboard flight PR356 were deputy chief executive Henry So
Uy, PAL president Jaime Baustista, Foreign Affairs
Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin, Tourism Secretary
Eduardo Jarque and members of the travel trade and
business community.
The
Airbus 320 took off at the
Ninoy
Aquino International
Airport’s Centennial 2 terminal at 10 a.m. for the
three-hour trip to Chongqing, famous for its sculptured
mountains, earning its right to be declared part of the
Unesco Heritage sites.
The
brand-new aircraft seats 12 in Mabuhay (Business) Class
and 144 in economy.
PAL is
the only airline from the Philippines to fly twice a
week to China’s westernmost city, a major inland trading
port at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing
rivers.
Its
attractions include a tour that features sailing up the
mighty Yangtze to view the Three Gorges Dam, the largest
in the world and a major source of China’s hydroelectric
power.
Bautista
said Chongqing has a population of 32 million, earning
it the title as the most populated city, engaged in
heavy industries, aircraft manufacture, agriculture and
tourism.
“It is
the fourth most advanced cities in China and the mayor
was here in the country last July to sign a sister-city
agreement with Manila,” Bautista said.
He added
that PAL is leading to exploit the tourism potential of
not only Chongqing but China as a whole because it has
about 100 million tourists now.
“China’s
middle class have increased its purchasing power and
there are about 100 million outbound tourists that the
Philippines should encourage [them] to come and visit
our shores,” he added.
Bautista
revealed that these Chinese tourists have poured into
major European cities, prompting European air carriers
to mount flights out of mainland China.
At the
moment, PAL mounts twice-weekly flights to Chongqing,
which could increase to thrice a week if the traffic
improves.
On
Tuesday, PAL will open a second destination in southwest
China with the inaugural flight to Chengdu, capital of
Sichuan province.
Bautista
said Chinese officials never discussed with them the
controversial issues concerning the NBN-ZTE broadband
deal, or the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking at the
Spratlys, saying these political issues were never mixed
with business concerns.
Overall,
with the addition of the two China points, PAL’s
international network expands to 25 destinations in 13
countries and territories. The airline also flies to 18
cities in the Philippines.
Over the
years, PAL has grown to become the country’s national
flag carrier and largest airline. It currently operates
a fleet of 34 aircraft, including five Boeing 747-400,
four Airbus A340-300s, eight Airbus A330-300s, 13 Airbus
A320 and four Airbus A319s. |
