Philippine Airlines (PAL) remains optimistic on its 2024 growth outlook amid potential economic headwinds in the global markets.
“The Philippine Airlines Group is optimistic about the long-term growth prospects for the Philippine aviation sector and the national economy,” PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said.
“While we are aware of potential economic headwinds in global markets, we remain focused on growing our route network and our fleet progressively to meet market demand and support the tourism industry,” she said.
Vilaluna said both PAL and PAL Express are committed to continually improving passenger service and operational efficiency through digital transformation and greater connectivity in our existing hubs in Manila, Cebu and Davao.
“We are beefing up recruitment of pilots, cabin crew and customer care staff to support the arrival of additional aircraft, including the long-range Airbus A350-1000s joining our fleet next year,” she said.
“As always, we will work closely with government authorities and industry partners so that we can better serve Filipino travelers and citizens from the various countries in our global network,” Villaluna said.
PAL earlier posted a net income of $348 million (P19.2 billion) in the first nine months of 2023, higher than $133 million (P7.2 billion) in the same period in 2022.
PAL’s operating income hit $444 million (P24.6 billion) from January to September 2023, up from $212 million (P 11.5 billion) in 2022.
The airline carried 11 million passengers in three quarters of 2023, improving on the 6.4 million carried in the same period in 2022.