Philippine Airlines (PAL) said over the weekend it is eyeing a 20-percent passenger volume increase in 2024, fueled by the rebound of the air travel industry.
“We’re expecting about 10 to 20 percent growth, [in passenger volume]” PAL president and chief operating officer Capt. Stanley Ng said.
PAL carried 14.7 million passengers last year, up 58 percent from 9.3 million passengers in 2022.
The flag carrier operated 105,294 flights in 2023, a 36-percent growth from the 77,533 flights it mounted in 2022. This represented an increase of more than 27,000 flights.
The airline posted a net income of $379 million (P21 billion) last year, higher by 92 percent than the $197 million (P11 billion) it earned in 2022.
PAL budgeted about $450 million for 2024 capital expenditures this year, higher than $170 million it spent in 2023.
The airline said it would use about 80 percent of the capex for aircraft refurbishment, maintenance upgrade and payments for delivery.
PAL recently acquired an additional 777-300 ER aircraft as a first step towards renewing its long-haul fleet.
“We are progressively renewing our fleet. We ordered nine airbus A350 1000s for routes to North America. Deliveries will start in 2025,” said PAL senior vice president and general counsel Carlos Luis Fernandez.
The new aircraft include 13 Airbus 321 NEOs which are scheduled for delivery until 2029.