For sale or not for sale?
These days the local press is full of PAL stories. Is PAL (Philippine Airlines) for sale or not for sale?
A few days ago, Philippines broadcaster (in American hands) announced: Lucio Tan confirms PAL for sale.
Today, Joey de Guzman, PAL’s vice president for corporate communications said that the pronouncements made by PAL chair Lucio Tan that the airline company is for sale “at the right price” should not be taken at its face value.
Lucio Tan
Lucio Tan, chairman and chief executive officer of PAL, acknowledged he was talking to the top executives of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) for the possible sale of the struggling flagship carrier. “Both are my friends,” Tan said in an interview with reporters on Friday, during the annual reception of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the banking community.
Strange! The Philippine’s airlines hope at this very moment that the FAA audit on CAAP will be OK. If yes, then the worldwide markets would again be open to them. And just at this moment rumors go to press that one of the leading airlines is for sale. Is there somewhere unpublished insider information? The stock exchange will speak a clear language Monday morning or next month maybe, when the FAA audit report will be published.
Or is it the settlement of the NAIA-3 dispute that makes thin Mr. Tan that Cebu Pacific Air will outperform PAL and the shares may fall?
Related posts
April 7, 2014 Philippine Airlines – a tough lesson Philippine Airlines has cancelled an order for five Airbus A330-300 aircraft that was part of a multi-billion dollar order announced in […]- March 9, 2019 Mabuhay Maritime Express – PAL Group now swims Yesterday, March 8, 2019, The PAL Group started an entirely new fast ferry service from Kalibo to Boracay. A shuttle-bus brings […]
- December 16, 2016 Filipino Time – PAL starts Clark Operation today PAL starts Clark Operation today! This is perfect Filipino Time - haha.
On Sunday, August 28, 2016 PAL announced:
Philippine Airlines […]
- February 17, 2016 Philippine Airlines selects the A350 XWB Philippine Airlines selects the A350 XWB - this information just came in from Airbus. But be careful, Filipinos like to dream and announce […]
- July 11, 2013 European sky soon open for PAL We got a paper from Brussels with the official title: "LIST OF AIR CARRIERS OF WHICH ALL OPERATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO A BAN WITHIN THE […]
In my opinion, PAL shot themselves out of the sky by outsourcing their key services to agencies, making those experienced employees who stayed on accept 40% salary cuts. Up to that time, PAL represented a higher quality alternative to Cebu Pacific, which seems to employ mostly kids. Now they have lowered themselves to the same level, as service has gone done 40% to match the salary cuts. This at a time when some passengers are getting tired of the deceptive advertising of promos by Cebu Pacific and the odd hours of many of their flights. PAL has improved greatly in the last ten years. I think if they had continued presenting themselves as a full service, on time line, and improved their sometimes faulty reservations website, they could have competed well with Cebu Pacific.
As it is, the flying customer now has a choice between Jollybee and MacDonald’s.