PHILIPPINE Airlines has been certified as a 4-Star airline by Skytrax, the international air transport rating organization.
PAL, which joins 40 other renowned airlines in the prestigious category, is the first and only airline in the Philippines to earn the 4-Star Rating.
PAL achieved the rating after Skytrax conducted an audit of the airline’s in-flight and ground service for both international and domestic flights. It then noted major enhancements in its end-to-end passenger experience and distinct service called Buong Pusong Alaga.
“This is a big win for the Philippines,” said PAL chairman and CEO Lucio C. Tan.
“We are elated by this recognition, which is a victory for the more than 7,000 members of the Philippine Airlines family. Our achievement is the country’s achievement and we share this with all Filipinos around the globe.”
The 4-Star Airline rating is a mark of distinction that recognizes excellent standards of Product and Staff service across different assessment categories for both the Onboard and Airport environment.
Commenting on the 4-Star Airline Rating awarded to Philippine Airlines, Edward Plaisted, Skytrax CEO, said: “This recognizes the great improvements that the airline has introduced over the last two years, both in terms of product change and development and enhancement of the front-line staff service.
“New and retrofitted aircraft have played an important part in the quality improvement process, and this looks set to develop further when Philippine Airlines introduces the A350 into their fleet. We look for consistency of quality in the 4-Star rating, and we look to Philippine Airlines to ensure this is duly delivered to customers.”
The rating upgrade is a key result of a multi-year top-to-bottom end-to-end enhancement of the Philippine flag carrier.
“Our Get-That-Star journey began in 2016. Our efforts over the last two years have borne fruit,” said PAL president and COO Jaime J. Bautista. “Since 2016, we have embarked on a journey of rolling out in-flight and on-ground innovations, opened new routes, increased connectivity across PAL’s route network, added new aircraft to our fleet and, importantly, invested in the Buong Pusong Alaga (whole-hearted) training of all our cabin crew, ground crew and service providers domestically and internationally in order to enhance the passenger travel experience and earn a higher Skytrax rating.”
Said PAL chief customer experience officer Jessica Abaya: “We want to place PAL at par with the world’s best airlines. With this 4-star rating, we are inspired to work even harder. We will continue to delight our customers by giving them their desired experience, the best service in- flight and on-ground, across all phases of travel.”
Skytrax is the London-based international air transport rating organization that carries out comprehensive airport and airline audits and ranks airlines worldwide for staff service standards and product quality. The Skytrax Certified Airline Star Ratings, awarded since 1999, are internationally recognized as a global benchmark of airline standards.