PAL ready to resume flights to Vietnam

Philippine Airlines will resume flights to Vietnam on March 15 after almost three years of absence due to the flag carrier’s troubles before, the Philippine air panel announced yesterday.

The panel said the Manila-Ho Chi Minh flights are scheduled thrice a week and PAL would be fielding its advanced 278-seater Airbus A330 aircraft.

PAL stopped flying to Ho Chi Minh City in June of 1998 after a pilot’s strike and financial crisis that triggered a massive downsizing in the flag carrier’s operations and eventually led to its temporary closure and reopening under a Securities and Exchange Commission-supervised rehabilitation program.

The panel explained PAL’s planned operation to Vietnam was stipulated in the Philippines-Vietnam air transport agreement of 1988 and the May 1993 confidential memorandum of understanding providing for Philippine carriers to operate 1,000 seats per week between Manila and Ho Chi Minh City.

"Vietnam is now the only Asian country (except Brunei) to which PAL has not resumed services since its 1998 closure. It would be most unfortunate if PAL HCM flights are delayed or discontinued especially given the close relations between brother ASEAN states," PAL told the panel in seeking its help so the flight would push through.

PAL flies to Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand and beyond ASEAN, it serves Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

PAL told the Philippine air panel it was a pioneer among Asian carriers in opening up the Vietnam route to the region way back in the 1980s and that the flag carrier had a history of strong and cooperative relations with Vietnam Airlines (VN) dating back to days when it was still called Hang Khong Viet Nam and was operated as the aviation arm of the Vietnamese government.

PAL expressed hopes that on the basis of "this solid foundation of excellent relations," VN could extend similar support now that PAL is recovering.

PAL said Vietnam was securing rights for the Viet Nam Air Services Co. to operate all-cargo services between Ho Chi Minh and Subic or Clark and rights for VN to operate daily flights between Hong Kong and Manila with fifth freedom rights to carry Hong Kong-Manila and Manila-Hong Kong traffic.

"While the VASCO request is being considered positively by the panel, the bid for Hong Kong fifth freedom rights will be harmful to the national interest," PAL noted.

Aside from Vietnam, Canada, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Switzerland, Spain and Thailand also wanted more flights and passengers to Manila.