PAL sees strong financial, traffic rebound in 2023

Philippine Airlines enjoyed a strong rebound in 2023, as it relaunched routes and made investments in its future fleet.

The carrier was very active during the year, reinstating 13 routes and opening two new ones, as it made plans for the future with an order for nine Airbus A350-1000s, which will arrive in the 2025-2027 period.  

The carrier, subject to a major restructuring exercise during the coronavirus pandemic, saw net profits jump 92% year on year, to $379 million, as total revenue grew 27% to $3.2 billion, the financial report of parent PAL Holdings discloses.

EBITDA – earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation – at the airline rose 43% to $765 million.

The strong performance stemmed largely from a surge in traffic numbers, with the carrier’s total passenger count jumping 58% to 14.7 million, and flights jumping 36% to 105,000. Passenger revenue rose 37% to $2.9 blllion.

ASKs rose 36% during the year, and the airline’s passenger load factor rose nine percentage points to 80.8%.

However, the carrier’s cargo performance fell in 2023, with revenue dropping 40% to $143 million.

“To preserve the gains we have achieved, we must not rest on our laurels,” says chief operating officer Stanley Ng.

“PAL’s corporate transformation continues – we are taking in new aircraft, retrofitting cabins of current aircraft, upgrading airport lounges and introducing more product innovations to address our strategic, financial and operational needs across all areas of our operations.

”Our focus is set firmly on taking care of our customers. We will work collaboratively with government authorities and our service partners to build up our network and take the nation’s flag carrier to new heights in the coming years.”

On the partnership front, it entered codeshares with American Airlines and Singapore Airlines, while enhancing existing arrangements with China Airlines and Emirates.