PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) is reopening its hub in Cebu to house its nine Bombardier turbo-prop fleet.

The fleet will consist of three Q300 and six Q400 aircraft manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace of Canada. PAL will take delivery of all nine turbo-props within the next four to six months.

The aircraft carries a list price of $150 million. Acquisition cost, however, is usually just a little over half of the quoted price.

PAL said Monday it will base its soon-to-be-acquired turbo propeller fleet mainly in Cebu, in order to better serve the growing intraregional market in the Visayas and Mindanao.

While some turbo-prop flights will also operate out of Manila, especially in the initial phase, Cebu will be the focal point of turbo-prop operations as PAL reestablishes the city as its main hub in Southern Philippines.

PAL operated its Cebu hub for most of its 67-year history, when it was the sole airline mandated to provide air services to far flung rural communities. As such, turbo-props were an integral part of PAL’s fleet for decades.

When PAL entered receivership in 1999, however, its rehabilitation plan stipulated an all-jet fleet, forcing the airline to dispose of its then-turbo-prop type, the Fokker 50, and closed its Cebu hub.

With PAL’s successful emergence from rehabilitation late last year, resuming turbo-prop operations became a key priority in keeping with the national carrier’s historic mandate of serving outlying areas.

In this effort, the restored Cebu hub will play a central role, PAL added.

In a statement, the airline said its turbo-prop services are scheduled to take off on May 5, with eight flights daily from Manila to Caticlan, gateway to the famed resort island of Boracay. Fifty-seater Bombardier Q300 aircraft will be deployed on the route.

The operation kicks into high gear in the third week of May when services of varying daily frequencies between Cebu and five points—Caticlan, Bacolod, Tacloban, Butuan and General Santos—are launched.

In the same week, a daily flight between Manila and Busuanga in northern Palawan will also start, along with a ninth daily frequency to Caticlan.

In the last week of May, three more points will be added to the Cebu hub network: Davao, with thrice-daily flights; Iloilo, twice daily; and Puerto Princesa, a single flight every day.

A slightly larger turbo-prop model, the 76-seater Bombardier Q400, will operate most of the Cebu services.

More destinations in the Visayas and Mindanao will be served from Cebu, as well as from Manila, in the coming months as PAL takes delivery of more Q300 and Q400 turbo-props.

DAVAO CITY—At past lunchtime, rice retailer Rosario Perez knows that she would be in for another grueling day, a few hours actually, at the parish’s outlet for National Food Authority (NFA)-retailed rice imports in barangay Talomo in the southern part of this city.

AS THE prices of “hot pan de sal” and other bread products are expected to increase in the ensuing days because of the shortage in the supply of wheat, the search for alternative wheat and extenders has also intensified.

THE debilitating effect of the continued rise of fuel products in the world market has now affected the airline industry, forcing local and international air carriers to request for an upward revision of their fuel surcharges from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

PRESIDENT Arroyo on Monday appealed to the Senate to ratify the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) as without it, the country stands to lose as much as P365 billion in foreign direct investments  (FDIs) from Japan that may be channeled to other Philippine competitors in the region.

THE Philippines risks losing foreign direct investments (FDIs) due to international perception of worsening corruption in the country, Sen. Loren Legarda warned Monday.

A GERMAN trade mission informed President Arroyo on Monday that German businessmen are interested in investing in medical tourism, maritime personnel development and microfinance in the Philippines.

THE validity of the claim of publicly traded Oriental Peninsula Resources Group on two mining sites in Palawan is being questioned by the indigenous peoples residing in these areas, saying they have not given the company permission to conduct mining activities as required by law.

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) is reopening its hub in Cebu to house its nine Bombardier turbo-prop fleet.