‘In-Demand’ routes spur growth in PAL’s Q1 int’l traffic

Philippine Airlines (PAL) carried the most number of international passengers among local carriers for the first quarter of 2011 due to increased demand across all international routes.

PAL’s most traveled destinations in the region are Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and South Korea, among others. The United States also contributed a large chunk of the airline’s revenues while other sectors added to the carrier’s positive passenger numbers.

The flag carrier bested its local competitors in international passenger traffic as it flew a total of 1.06 million passengers – up seven percent (7%) from 942,144 passengers covering the same period last year. First quarter figures from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) show that PAL’s inbound passengers stood at 477,039 and outbound, 529,212.

Translated into Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK) or number of passengers multiplied by distance traveled, PAL registered a total of 5-billion RPKs for the first three months of 2011. Of this number, 4.25-billion RPKs accounted for PAL’s international traffic, while the balance of 750-million RPKs represent the domestic sector.

Earlier, the authoritative Airline Business magazine ranked PAL as the world’s 61st largest airline. The ranking is based on RPK, which is considered the true measure of airline passenger traffic. For the last two years, PAL recorded an average of 17.8 billion RPKs in the World Airline Rankings. Its chief local competitor is way behind in 116th place.

Aside from increased passenger demand in the international sector, PAL attributes first quarter performance to enhanced marketing and promotional strategies and the market’s renewed appetite for travel.

While these are bright spots for PAL, it remains cautious in view of volatile fuel costs; slowdown in Japan traffic due to tsunami disaster in March; and the still-existing Category 2 status of the country imposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration.