PAL expects deal with potential investor by first half of 2019

January 8, 2019

Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Tuesday said it expects to forge a deal with a strategic investor by first half of 2019 as it expands routes in Asia starting this summer.

“We're targeting first half of the year. We're  talking to a possible strategic investor,” Jaime Bautista, PAL president and chief operating officers told reporters.

The investor is expected to acquire up to 40 percent of the flag carrier. PAL tapped Morgan Stanley as financial advisor for the transaction.

PAL said it is launching new routes to Hanoi, Phnom Penh and New Delhi from its Manila hub, starting in summer.

This latest expansion by PAL creates the first direct air link between the Philippines and the capital of Cambodia, expands PAL’s Vietnam network and re-establishes a historic link to India.

“Philippine Airlines' strategic vision is to make the Philippines a true gateway to Asia.   We are the Southeast Asian airline with the biggest and most extensive network of direct flights to the US and Canada, and thus we can be the leader in carrying North American travelers to India, Cambodia and Vietnam via our Manila hub,” Bautista said.

“We will leverage Manila’s excellent geographical location as an ideal stopover point for people flying to Southeast and South Asia from the east and west coasts of North America,” he added.

PAL operates 43 weekly flights non-stop from six North American destinations:  New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco, Honolulu and Vancouver.

This comprehensive network, flown by PAL’s latest-technology Boeing 777, Airbus A350 and Airbus A330 aircraft, will generate passenger travel flows into Hanoi, Delhi, Phnom Penh and other destinations in the ASEAN region and beyond.

PAL operates seven weekly flights from Guam.

“Vietnam and Cambodia are emerging markets and economic centers that need connections to the rest of the world. We are excited to introduce their excellent tourist attractions to more and more Western travelers, including Filipino Americans,” Bautista said.

“PAL also looks forward to serving the many ethnic Vietnamese and Cambodian people who are now US and Canadian citizens,” he added.

PAL previously flew the Manila – Delhi route from 2011 to 2013, with most flights making costly stopovers in Bangkok due to the limited range of the Airbus A320 aircraft then in use.

PAL served Kolkata (Calcutta) as a key stopover point on the flag carrier’s multi-stop Manila-Europe services in the 1950s.

PAL is targeting April 2019 as the start of the New Delhi service subject to final slot and operational clearances with the Indian authorities.

The new route is slated to run four times weekly nonstop between Manila and New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport using brand-new Airbus A321neo aircraft. DMS