Asia's first airline goes full throttle

As the country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL) continues to introduce new and exciting innovations for its valued passengers — starting with the arrival of the latest addition to its fleet, Boeing 777-300ER, the largest twin-engine aircraft. PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang, who also heads diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC), led the PAL team in announcing other major air-travel enhancements: having new, third-generation Apple iPads, pre-loaded with options, onboard all trans-Pacific PAL flights for the in-flight entertainment of both business and economy class passengers; electronic “book and buy” ticketing kiosks at select Petron gas stations for both PAL and Airphil Express travelers; and the “PAL Master Chef” series, a re-styled menu featuring sumptuous and flavorful creations of renowned and accomplished chefs. New routes are already in the pipeline, including direct flights to Toronto, Paris, and New York. Packed with the movers and shakers in Philippine business, the Rizal Ballroom of the Makati Shangri-La hotel was transformed into an airport terminal — complete with check-in counters, ticketing booths, and boarding announcements — to celebrate the coming-out party of sorts for the revitalized airline. Spotted at the party were PAL’s new brand ambassador, Filipino-British media personality Patti Grandidge, the country’s industry giants including Airphil Express president Iñigo Zobel, Tourism secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr., Boeing sales director for Asia-Pacific Dan Schull, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) chief finance officer Ferdinand Constantino and SMC senior vice president Aurora Calderon; Alphaland Corp. chairman Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin, SGV & Co. founder Washington SyCip, brilliant lawyer Estelito Mendoza, and McDonald’s Philippines president George Yang, among others.