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PHILIPPINE Airlines is reviving its interisland
operations to give travellers what it believes may be a
better service between islands in island-studded
Philippines in view of the rising numbers of air
commuters.
The
company announced Thursday it will acquire this year up
to nine Canadian-made Bombardier Aerospace turbo-prop
aircraft that could total $150 million—three Q300 and
six Q400 aircraft delivered in the next four to six
months.
PAL said
the acquisition is a major move aimed at boosting
domestic trade, tourism, and aiding advance of local
economies especially in rural island-communities.
PAL said
a turbo-prop aircraft can operate in small island
airports that cannot handle jets, which can only operate
in larger provincial airports.
PAL
president Jaime Bautista said Thursday passengers from
and to these far-flung communities may now enjoy
seamless connections, being part of the PAL system of
extensive network of destinations throughout the
Philippines, and across Asia, Australia and North
America.
The
Bombardier aircraft that PAL is acquiring are among the
top-of-the-line turbo-prop aircraft of the firm, called
Q Series—(the Q standing for “quiet”)—featuring a
patented, noise-suppression system that reduces cabin
noise and vibration levels to nearly those of jetliners.
The
aircraft are equipped with two Pratt & Whitney
turbo-prop engines with maximum ranges of 1,819
kilometers for the Q300 and 2,826 kilometers for the
Q400.
PAL said
the airplanes have outstanding takeoff and landing
capabilities even on unprepared airstrips, making them
the ideal choice for PAL’s services to small provincial
airfields.
They are
also pressurized for more comfort. The Q300 is
configured with 50 seats and the slightly larger Q400
seats 76 passengers.
PAL also
said its low-cost partner carrier Air
Philippines—99-percent owned by the Lucio Tan Group—is
also going to purchase six Bombardier Q400s.
Air
Philippines announced in July last year that it had just
acquired six Bombardier Q300s to service the booming
Manila-Caticlan market, the quickest route to the resort
island of Boracay, with an option to acquire three more
of the 50-seater units.
Bautista
said the partnership of PAL and Air Philippines allowed
them to deliver “a superior product to passengers,”
noting that Air Philippines’ route to Caticlan is
“benefiting immensely as a feeder route of PAL’s
extensive domestic, regional, and international
services.” |
