New heights, new flights and new flying machines, that was what the recent Philippine Airlines celebration was all about.
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| A toast to PAL’s 4-Star achievement |
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| The Megastar at the 4-Star event of PAL in Davao |
No less than the bigwigs of Asia’s first airline—President and COO Dr. Jaime J. Bautista; PAL Express President, Bonifacio Sam; SVP for Airline Operations, Ismael Gozon; VP for Corporate Communications, Josen Perez de Tagle; Senior SVP Visayas and Mindanao Sales, Harry Inoferio; VP for Marketing, Ria Domingo; and Corporate Communications Manager, Cielo Villaluna, together with Davao executives led by Vic Suarez, VP for Mindanao Sales and Services, and Pinky Pineda, Davao Sales and Services Manager—graced the whole-day event at the Marco Polo Davao to share good news, accomplishments and recent acquisitions to further enhance the travelers’ experiences of flying the Heart of The Filipino, and become a full-fledged player in the global aviation industry.
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| PAL President & COO, Dr. Jaime Bautista with PAL Board Director Samuel Uy |
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| Rob Burdekin, Bombardier, Asia pacific Head for Customer Services; Ismael Gozon, PAL SVP for Airline Operations; & Bonifacio Sam, PAL Express President |
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| Davao City Vice-Mayor Barnard Al-ag with Bombardier executives Francois Cognard, VP Sales & Ross McKeand, Asia Pacific Marketing Head |
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| PAL Senior SVP Visayas and Mindanao Sales, Harry Inoferio; Pinky Angala; Vic Suarez, VP for Mindanao Sales and Services; & Maricel Taberna |
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| VP for Marketing, Ria Domingo, PAL President & COO Jaime Bautista & this writer |
The flag carrier is right on track on its mission to snag its five-star goal. It received its 4-Star Global Airline Certification from Skytrax this 2018, PAL’s 77thyear in the industry. This makes the PAL the first and only airline in the country to have a 4-Star Rating—a big win for the Philippines, said PAL’s Chairman and CEO, Dr. Lucio Tan.
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| Mark of excellence. Jaime B. Bautista proudly pointing to the Skytrax 4-Star logo on the BombardierQ400 body |
With a star away from fulfilling its ultimate aim, PAL’s journey continues. Dr. Jaime J. Bautista, PAL President and COO, said that PAL’s current fleet of 85 aircraft is the largest in Philippine history, and targeting for 100 aircraft in the next two years. By 2020, PAL will be in the league of a major carrier.
Included in the “aircraft arrival roster” are four the A350-900 tans-oceanic aircraft, six new Airbus A321-neos and the five additional New-Generation BombardierQ400, which is already powering PAL’s domestic expansion to island resorts.
The Davao hub, along with Cebu and Clark hubs, will be seeing more routes and fleet expansion. Its recently launched Davao-Siargao direct flight is certainly a welcome route as it cuts travel time. Choosing an hour of comfort on air over 10 hours of road travel is a no-brainer.
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| Jaime J. Bautista with PAL CorpCom Manager Cielo Villaluna |
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| Ludy Bagares, PAL Airport Operations Head; Faith Rubillo; Agnes Udang, CAAP Davao GM; & Ike Belen, Macroasia Davao Station Head |
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| PAL Mindanao Sales & Services Secretary Leana Sanga, Capt. Rey Acosa and Mabel Sunga-Acosta |
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| Dottie Wurgler-Cronin, Gatchi Gatchalian, Lisette Marques, Francis Ledesma & Pinky Pineda |
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| DCCC President Art Milan, Japanese Consul Yoshiaki Miwa, Capt. Ronnie Go & Marilou Ampuan |
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| Jhoanna Alpapara, Faith Rubillo, Raissa Wynne Teo with PAL’s Kit Javier |
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| Cherry Al-ag, Gene Bangayan, Susabel Reta & Pia Montano |
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| John & Jessica Baricuatro |
With PAL’s 4-Star rating, more new planes and destinations, my love affair with traveling will flourish like never before— “kahit maputi na ang buhok ko,” which was what Sharon Cuneta, the gala event’s special guest, was singing when she agreed to a selfie in the middle of her song.
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| My moment with the megastar (see the reactions behind us) |
Congratulations Philippine Airlines and looking forward to your 5-Star rating soon!
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| It’s always more fun after the official program |
For more photos about this feature, visit ofapplesandlemons.com.
For travel stories, visit jeepneyjinggoy.com.
Email me at jinggoysalvador@yahoo.com
Published in the SunStar Davao newspaper.
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