PAL: No need for more flights to Middle East
AHEAD OF the air talks between the Philippines and Qatar this week, Philippine Airlines (PAL) said there is no need for additional flights to the Middle East, citing “overcapacity” in the present routes.
“[O]ur position is that there should be no additional flights, just like our position during the last air talks,” PAL President Jaime J. Bautista told reporters last week.
“[T]here is overcapacity now [to the Middle East] as I’ve mentioned earlier, the Middle Eastern carriers are carrying passengers from Manila to the Middle East to other destinations — but we should consider also the traffic between the two countries,” he added.
PAL has already communicated its position in “paper” with the Civil Aeronautics Board, ahead of the May 30-31 air talks.
Last week, the Lucio C. Tan-led airline announced it is suspending its ManilaAbu Dhabi flights starting July 8 as it undertakes “route assessment initiatives.” PAL continues to fly to Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait and Dammam.
Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific also said it will suspend its long-haul service from Manila to three Middle Eastern cities — Riyadh, Kuwait and Doha — citing “oversupply” amid intense competition from Gulf carriers.
The airline, however, will continue to fly long-haul services to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Sydney, Australia, “with a view to increasing frequencies to these destinations in the future.”
In the previously concluded air talks with United Arab Emirates last April 26 to 27, PAL also said the government should not grant the request of the UAE airlines for more flights to Manila.
“It is expected that UAE carriers will persist in asking for more flight entitlement rights to Manila, for both Emirates and Etihad to use. The Philippine government should not grant the request of the UAE airlines for more flights to Manila. The NAIA is already severely congested... Local airlines have been required to reduce some of their domestic routes since late 2016, with both PAL and Cebu Pacific responding by directing flights to Clark, Cebu, Palawan and other airports in lieu of the sacrificed NAIA routes,” the airline earlier said in a statement.
“It would be inconsistent and discriminatory for the government to now take a different approach and allow UAE airlines to expand to Manila. Congestion will be worsened, not just in terms of runway movements but also more passengers coursing through NAIA’s overburdened terminals,” PAL added, noting that “if airlines like Emirates and Etihad are so bent on putting up more flights to the Philippines” then they should fly to Davao instead.
The airline said then that UAE airlines deploy their considerable resources to gain a dominant foothold on the Manila market, where they now fly 35 weekly services versus the 17 deployed by Philippine carriers.
The Manila to Middle East route is also currently served by Emirates, Etihad Airways. Other airlines linking the Philippines directly with the Middle East are Saudi Arabian Airlines, Qatar Airways, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air and Gulf Air.
The Civil Aeronautics Board was not immediately available for comment yesterday.