FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) hopes to continue the upward trend on its bottom line that started in the second quarter this year, aiming to end its two-year bleeding by the end of 2014.
Jaime J. Bautista, the general manager of the flag carrier, said PAL wants to end the year with profitability, as reflected during the April-to- June period this year.
He noted, however, that the company managed to book net profits in the second quarter owing to its seasonality.
“PAL reported profit for the second quarter, whose months fall to the peak season. The challenge for us now is when we enter the lean season, which has already started in September,” Bautista explained.
The executive said the airline’s new management is studying “very carefully” its strategy to remain profitable in the next quarters, despite being a lean season for airline operations.
“We are studying very carefully which routes would be added to our network, since winter season will start on October 26. We will see to it that we will mount flights that are required by the market, and we will not fly just because we want to fly, we have to consider the requirement of the market and our capacity to operate,” Bautista stressed.
PAL Chairman and CEO Lucio C. Tan, Bautista said, ordered the management team to make the airline more profitable.
“The marching order is to generate more revenues and reduce cost. We can do that if we maintain efficiency. Of course, we have to control the cost without sacrificing safety and customer service,” the executive noted.
“We hope we could be profitable this year,” Bautista, who is set to be reinstated as the airline’s president, stressed.
Bautista’s reentry in the management of the airline came after Tan bought back the shares held by San Miguel Corp. in the airline’s holding company.
PAL Holdings Inc., the operator of the flag carrier, successfully dished out an income backflip, after it posted a net profit of P1.49 billion in the second quarter of 2014, from a net loss of P1.08 billion in the same three-month period in 2013.
In the same comparative periods, revenues of the airline operator rose by 47.4 percent to P27.30 billion, from P18.52 billion; while operating expenses climbed by a slower P31 percent to P6.04 billion, from P19.47 billion.
The firm attributed the growth in earnings last quarter to the favorable passenger-revenue performance during the said period, driven mainly by the introduction of new routes, such as London, Abu Dhabi, Damman, Riyadh, Canton and Haneda in Japan.
As of end-June its fleet is composed of 85 aircraft, composed of six Boeing 777-300ER, four Boeing 747-400, five Bombardier DHC 8-400, four Bombardier DHC 8-300, 10 Airbus A340-300, 18 Airbus A330-300, 7 A321-231, 28 Airbus A320-200 and three Airbus A319-100.