Reporting to company stockholders gathered for their annual meeting, PAL chairman Lucio Tan and president Jaime Bautista said the airline has to be quick in taking advantage of market opportunities, but is wary of familiar pitfalls in the operating environment.
"The whole industry is poised for growth (but) the future is laden with more of the challenges that we faced and surmounted these past years," they said in a joint statement.
To strengthen its competitive position, PAL will revamp its fleet, starting with the narrow-body component.
The airline has contracted for up to 20 brand-new Airbus A320-family aircraft, with the first (an A319-100) scheduled for delivery next month. Deliveries of the firm orders and leased units will be completed by 2008.
PAL also plans to add five aircraft to its regional wide-body fleet and three to its long-range wide-body fleet in the short to medium term. The candidate aircraft for these acquisitions are still being evaluated.
To keep the current long-haul fleet attuned to the needs of the market, Tan and Bautista disclosed that PAL will soon embark on a reconfiguration of its inflight product towards bi-class (business and economy class) from the present tri-class service (first, business and economy).
Starting late next year, with the phase-out of first class service on long haul flights, PAL’s Mabuhay (business) class will be upgraded, with cocoon-type seats and audio-video on-demand (AVOD) inflight entertainment system installed. AVOD will also be available in economy.
Along with the new hardware, PAL also plans to broaden its presence in two of the fastest-growing travel markets in the world, China and India.
"Their economies have been expanding well ahead of the rest of the world and air travel will continue to benefit from this growth," the two PAL chiefs said.
Reflecting this sentiment, the flag carrier plans to increase frequency to Beijing from the current four times weekly to daily. Shanghai and Xiamen are the other PAL points in China.
Meanwhile, an inaugural service to an Indian destination is being studied, they added.