GMM with President & Chief Operating Officer - Philippine Airlines Jaime J. Bautista

“General Membership Meeting” with Hon. JAIME J. BAUTISTA,President & Chief Operating Officer - Philippine Airlines


as Guest of Honor & Speaker on

Thursday, 17th March 2011
Dusit Thani Hotel – Makati City

Distinguished guests, notable members of the Filipino-Indian community, ladies and gentlemen, good evening!Thank you for inviting me to address you today.


As leaders of business & socio-civic groups, you play a vital role in the affairs of our country, particularly in the economic sphere. Philippine Airlines likewise performs an important role in this area.

I welcome this opportunity to speak to before all of you. Thank you for devoting your time to hear about the developments at our national flag carrier – our proud history, our products and services, and our initiatives to ensure that we serve our valued clients the best way possible.

Let me walk you through some significant milestones in PAL’s legacy to our nation, the region and the world.

History


We are meeting today during a very significant month for Philippine Airlines. Two days ago, we celebrated a major milestone in Philippine aviation – the flag carrier’s 70th anniversary. It was on March 15, 1941 that a small, propeller-powered aircraft called Beech model 18 took off from Manila headed for Baguio with a full load of five passengers.

The airplane that flew on that clear Saturday morning took off from Nielson airfield. The runway used that historic day is now known as Makati Avenue.
That flight made PAL the first airline in Asia. In subsequent years after that, PAL notched many more firsts in civil aviation history.

• On July 31, 1946, PAL became the first Asian airline to cross the Pacific when it was chartered to ferry tired and homesick American servicemen to Oakland in California on an epic 41-hour flight with four stop-overs.

• On May 13, 1947, PAL flew to Madrid using the four-engine DC-4 with three stop-overs, making PAL the first Southeast Asian airline to open a route to Europe.

• On August 1, 1979, PAL was the first Asian carrier to fly inside China when it introduced a route to Beijing and Canton.

• In 1992, the first female pilot-trainee by the name of Ma. Aurora Carandang was accepted by the PAL Aviation School. On July 6, 1993, she flew for the first time as a full-fledged Captain on a Fokker 50 turboprop aircraft.

Manila-New Delhi Flight

On March 27 this year, just ten days from today, we will mark another first – the launch of regular service to New Delhi in the sub-continent of India.

Finally, the Philippines and India will have direct air links. This, I am sure, will interest most of you as it stands to benefit you and your families.

The Delhi service will use the 302-seater Airbus A330-300 aircraft, flying six times a week – three non-stop flights between Manila and Delhi and three flights routed via Bangkok.

Finally, PAL is able to fly to India by availing of the entitlements granted in the 2005 RP-India air services agreement. This treaty also allows PAL to fly to Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai (Madras), with Bangkok at a stop-over. The prospect of PAL adding more destinations in India should by now excite many of you.

PAL is returning to India after an absence of 57 years. PAL first flew to India in May 1947 when it made a stop over at Calcutta on the way to Rome, Madrid and London during that first flight to Europe. This time, India is no longer a stop over but a regular destination in the PAL international route network.

This forthcoming service to India has become more attractive by the recent announcement by the Indian government of a more relaxed visa policy for Philippine passport holders. Filipinos, along with residents of selected Southeast Asian countries, are granted visa upon arrival in India. Passengers arriving in New Delhi only need to present a passport valid for at least four to six months, a return airline ticket and two photos. This special privilege will undoubtedly encourage air travel between our two countries.

In recent years, India has emerged as one of the world's economic powerhouses, with annual GDP growth averaging over 8%. India's $1.3-trillion economy is now third largest in Asia and 11th largest in the world.
India's booming economy has spawned a high-spending middle class of 350 million consumers that's growing by 20 million people every year, for whom travel is a major aspiration. In 2009, about 8 million Indians traveled abroad, with 2 million of them flying to Southeast Asia.

But only a trickle – 32,817 travelers to be exact – visited the Philippines, far behind those who traveled to Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
PAL's New Delhi service aims to accelerate this traffic stream. Available would be more than 188,000 airline seats a year for Indian travelers to and from the Philippines. They will enjoy the convenience of reduced travel time – instead of making a stop over – to just six and a half hours with direct PAL flights.
Aside from convenience, there is another reason that should make this new service worth your wait. We have tailor-fit the meals served onboard to distinctly suit the Indian palate. A third of the inflight dishes are Indian, another third vegetarian, the remaining plate choices are between Asian and Western. Our resident chef is being assisted by a certified Indian chef, Satish Arora of Taj Sats Air Catering Limited.

If I have succeeded at arousing your interest at this new PAL service to India, you can easily arrange your next trip with our ticket offices or various selected travel agents currently offering travel arrangements between the Philippines and India. We will be working closely with these agents to make sure your travel needs are not just met but anticipated.

For the travel needs of your family and friends back in India, they may get in touch with our district sales manager, Ms. Mary Ann Cabreros, or our general sales agent – STIC Travels, who both hold office at the Cyber Greens Tower in Haryana.

Fleet, Products and Service


Let me point out that there is whole lot more to PAL beyond our excitement at the upcoming New Delhi service. There is a wide range of other PAL products and services that showcase our niche as the country’s one and only full-service legacy carrier.

Fleet


Let me start with our fleet. The PAL fleet consists of 36 airplanes, all jets manufactured either by Airbus or Boeing, from the 134-seater Airbus A319 to our latest flagship, the fuel-efficient, long-range Boeing 777-300ER that will soon be used on our service to Vancouver.

All these airplanes are meticulously maintained by one of the region's best aircraft maintenance service provider, Lufthansa Technik Philippines. The rigid aircraft maintenance program of LTP enabled us to keep the flights departing and arriving on schedule. In fact, PAL's on-time performance of over 95% is above the industry standard of 85%. That means more than nine out of every ten of our flights depart and arrive on time.

Complementing our uncompromising maintenance program is the organization-wide mantra on safety. To prove that the whole company, at all levels not just at the aircraft maintenance hangars, strictly adheres to international safety standards, PAL has passed twice the rigorous safety audit of the International Air Transport Association or IATA. PAL is the only Philippine-based carrier to successfully pass this safety audit called IOSA, thus getting certified by IATA as a safe airline.

In December 2008, we completed the revamp of our small airplanes or the narrow-body fleet. The cabin of the Airbus A320 and A319 were configured, making PAL the only local airline to exclusively offer business-class service on all domestic and regional flights.

In parallel, our wide-body airplanes, including the Boeing 747-400s, were reconfigured in 2009 with new cabin interior design and amenities including a state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system.

Meanwhile, the latest addition to the fleet, the B777-300ER, brings travel experience to a whole new level. You do not have to take my word for it. You just have to fly on the B777 to see for yourself why we keep bragging about this airplane. The two triple sevens will be joined by four more by year 2013.
As a full-service airline, we can also confidently brag about our cabin amenities whether in Business Class or Economy. Our award-winning inflight cuisine is also complemented by a wide array of entertainment programs. Most of our wide-body aircraft already incorporate in-seat video with video on demand, meaning you can choose the kinds of movies to watch, as well as selection of music to enjoy. Even kids can play their favorite computer games through this inflight entertainment system.

Frequent Flyer Program


Another reason for bragging is our frequent flyer program, currently one of the most generous in the market. Our frequent flyer program, called Mabuhay Miles, is designed to reward our growing number of loyal passengers with the best benefits and privileges. Under Mabuhay Miles are several sub-programs such as the Y-Flyer that caters to young passengers from age 2 to 21, as well as the Sports Plus Program for frequently flying athletes who need to travel with certain sports equipment.

Members enjoy ticket discounts or additional free baggage allowance. For instance, Y-Flyers are entitled to 10% discount on domestic tickets while Sports Plus members get 20 kilos more for their golf bags or bowling balls or sports-fishing gear or any other sports equipment.

The Mabuhay Miles program has been designed to make earning points and redeeming the rewards a lot easier. Earning points that may be redeemed for free tickets is not just based on actual flown miles on PAL flights but also on flights with code-share partner-airlines. You can also collect miles when you use credit cards from partner banks such as Allied Bank or HSBC when paying for your PAL tickets or purchases with selected establishments. There is a long list of Mabuhay Miles program partners from banks to hotels and resorts to lifestyle establishments that extend discounts and privileges for Mabuhay Miles members.

The list of program partners keeps growing longer, so members are kept updated through an online newsletter or the Mabuhay Miles website. If you are not yet a member, enrolment forms are available at www.mabuhaymiles.com or at our ticket offices.

PAL Mobile Site


Speaking of online, I hope some if not most of you are already using the new facility of accessing information traditionally available online at the PAL website, now also through your cellphones. You can now check status of a flight if it has departed or arrived, check flight schedule or track your mileage points by logging on at the PAL mobile site – that's www.philippineairlines.mobi – through any web-enabled mobile phone. Today, we have made information on PAL available at the palm of your hands for those people always on the go.

PAL Corporate Sales


There is another PAL service that has rapidly gained wide acceptance. We have dovetailed the package of PAL products and services to a specific market segment – the corporate clients or companies whose executives and staff have regular travel requirements. Our Corporate Sales unit, formed in 2006, regularly touches base with leading corporations and addresses their unique travel needs. Many of these more than 2,000 corporate accounts have made PAL their airline of choice.

Companies who become corporate clients of PAL enjoy special corporate fares. They are accorded special payment schemes. Companies that generate a certain minimum level of ticket sales are entitled to a host of incentives. Our Corporate Sales do regular product updates or sales and marketing tie-ups or even an educational trip to a new destination for our corporate clients. When your company becomes a preferred PAL client, we provide you with direct access to PAL's booking engine, allowing you to conveniently book and buy your tickets, all online.

On-Line Booking


Speaking of online booking, this is another service we continue to enhance. We strive to make online booking most convenient. In December 2009, we launched calendar pricing, fare families and last seat availability notification. If some of you are still unaware that you can already book your flight, pay for your ticket all online and even print the ticket at the convenience of our office or home, it's time you give it a try.

Passenger Service


Even with these technological innovations, we have not forgotten the warm personal touch that makes every PAL flight a memorable experience. For example, our customer front liners are well-trained professionals who strive to extend Total Passenger Care. Whether it’s booking a seat, paying for a ticket, checking-in at the airport, waiting for a flight or being inflight — you can be assured of the warmth and hospitality of our service professionals. Should we ever falter, we have people specializing in customer relations to handle complaints, suggestion or other special concerns.

We have been operating here in Manila at the Centennial Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport or NAIA for more than a decade now. With both our international and domestic flights operating at Terminal 2, our passengers enjoy seamless connections, with easy transfers upon arrival. That means, when you arrive in Manila from any of our 20 domestic points, you can easily connect to an international flight to any of our 26 foreign destinations.

Challenges


While the flag carrier strives to enhance its products and service lines for total passenger satisfaction, it continues to face a set of challenges.
These include high fuel prices; downgrade to category 2 of the Philippine civil aviation system by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) since 2008, thus preventing PAL from increasing its number of flights and destinations to the US and from operating its Being 777s; the ban by the European Union on all Philippine carriers, thus preventing PAL from returning to Europe; and stiff domestic competition driven by low-fares offered by budget airlines.

But we remain undaunted as we focus on the core business of transporting people and goods. Everyday, PAL carries an average of over 25,000 passengers and over 300 tons of cargo throughout our network of 45 destinations covering three continents.

Prospects


Before I conclude, allow me to share a couple of initiatives that we announced during our 70th anniversary celebration.

First is a partnership between PAL, the Department of Tourism and Smart Communications to attract visitors to the Philippines through music. We will mesmerize and entice the world to visit our country through the power and beauty of Filipino music as rendered by 31 local artists who will be sent to distant lands, flying PAL of course.

The second project involves a partnership between PAL and GO Negosyo whereby Filipino small and medium scale industries could be empowered by conducting a search for the best 70 entrepreneurs who will serve as unofficial envoys when they are flown abroad by PAL to explore business opportunities and expansion.

Conclusion


Thank you for your patience if I had been too exhaustive in my presentation. If any of you had been convinced to take your next flight on PAL, then my presentation is a success. Let me assure you, we remain committed to delivering only the highest quality service on the ground and in the air. That is the pledge of PAL's president and chief operating officer.

Again, you do not have to take my word for it. The best way to know if PAL is up to your expectations is take up my invitation and simply fly PAL.

You have been a most kind audience. Thank you and Mabuhay po kayong lahat.