PAL retrenches 300 employees amid COVID-19 downturn
Aviation Updates Philippines – The massive Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak forced the national flag carrier Philippine Airlines to cut 300 ground-based administrative and management personnel as the full-service airline struggles to generate profit owing to a colossal passenger volume decline.
On Friday, PAL announced that it would be retrenching 300 jobs, mostly office-based personnel, 'voluntarily' after completing a business restructuring plan in a bid to reduce costs and increase profit. PAL, in a statement, said it would offer "appropriate separation benefits, additional trip pass privileges, and assistance in the form of career counselling and outplacement support."
The airline added: "Other initiatives include revenue generation from an optimized route network and new ancillary products, more aggressive cost-management efforts, and investment in digital technology."
Over the past few months, PAL was forced to cancel most of its profit-generating routes to China, Hong Kong, Macau, and now, South Korea. The significant reduction in capacity meant a bigger problem for the financially-bleeding airline that is currently still in red since 2017.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, meanwhile, was also suffering from a massive blow to its operations after cancelling the majority of its flights and slashing frequencies to its vital international routes. Early in February, Cathay has asked 27,000 staff to take a three-week unpaid leave in the coming months given the company's struggle in maintaining cash reserves to operate in the future.
Although PAL has not released its full year-on-year financial report for the fiscal year 2019, the first nine months of the airline's operations proved to be a massive setback as it reported a $166 million net loss per a report from the Nikkei Asian Review.
Earlier, the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) estimated that Asia-Pacific airlines would collectively incur losses of up to $27.8 billion due to falling passenger traffic and a severe economic downturn mainly from Asian countries.
 |
| RESTRUCTURING PROCESS. Philippine Airlines, on Friday, has completed a business restructuring plan to save the airline from further losses. Photo by Dirk Salcedo – PPSG/AUP. |
The airline added: "Other initiatives include revenue generation from an optimized route network and new ancillary products, more aggressive cost-management efforts, and investment in digital technology."
Over the past few months, PAL was forced to cancel most of its profit-generating routes to China, Hong Kong, Macau, and now, South Korea. The significant reduction in capacity meant a bigger problem for the financially-bleeding airline that is currently still in red since 2017.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, meanwhile, was also suffering from a massive blow to its operations after cancelling the majority of its flights and slashing frequencies to its vital international routes. Early in February, Cathay has asked 27,000 staff to take a three-week unpaid leave in the coming months given the company's struggle in maintaining cash reserves to operate in the future.
Although PAL has not released its full year-on-year financial report for the fiscal year 2019, the first nine months of the airline's operations proved to be a massive setback as it reported a $166 million net loss per a report from the Nikkei Asian Review.
Earlier, the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) estimated that Asia-Pacific airlines would collectively incur losses of up to $27.8 billion due to falling passenger traffic and a severe economic downturn mainly from Asian countries.
No comments
The comments made below do not reflect the views of the blog, Aviation Updates Philippines, its authors, contributors, and the AUP community. Although we have the right to fully exercise our freedom of speech and expression, we must do it responsibly and with due regard for others. Observing proper netiquette is a must.