THE country’s flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) may have seen a 10-15% increase in yield in the last few months, but it is still cautious about overall business prospects.
“Outbound cargo (volume) climbed 25% in recent months” although this “is still way below normal levels,” PAL sales manager Jerry Calaluan told PortCalls.
Calaluan, who is also president of Global Cargo Council, Inc, attributed the uptick to continued recovery of the semiconductor and electronics sector, the robust perishable market, and slight increases in the garments sector.
Cargoes transiting Manila, however, continue to decline with no immediate increase seen in the near future.
Earlier, PAL reported losses of $301.4 million for its fiscal year ended March 2009. It had a net profit of $30.6 million in the previous year.
The airline also announced a cut in jobs by offering early retirement. It said it would also outsource some operations including ground handling and catering, and reduce flight capacity to the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong.
For the month of August, member airlines of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, including PAL, reported a slow but weak recovery of air cargo traffic volumes.
International cargo traffic in freight ton kilometers terms was 12.2% lower than the same month last year. Matched by a 12.9% reduction in cargo capacity, the average international cargo load factor was 66.9% for the month.
