PAL sees P1.8-B loss for fiscal year

Philippine Airlines (PAL) expects to post a net loss of up to P1.8 billion in the current year to March due to the impact of terrorism fears, the flag carrier’s president said yesterday.

"We think that we will end up the year (with a loss of) somewhere between P1.6 P1.8 billion," PAL president Avelino Zapanta told AFP-owned financial news service AFX-Asia.

In the previous year, the airline made a net profit of P436.5 million.

Reduced passenger traffic following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, as well as travel warnings about the Philippines issued in some major tourist markets, would push PAL into the red, he added.

Zapanta stressed that the expected loss would be significantly lower than the airline’s worst-case prediction late last year of a P2.7-billion net loss.

PAL incurred a net loss of P2.1 billion between September and November last year, he said.

"Starting December, things started to change for the better so we think that we will not get anywhere near that worst case scenario," he said.

"What made things worse is the negative travel advisory by Japan, which influenced other countries such as Britain, France, US and Canada. It influenced to a great degree the rest of the world." – AFP