FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is deploying several new Boeing jumbo jets to service Japan and Australia by February or March.
“PAL will be deploying at least another Boeing 777 to service Japan, specifically Narita, to accommodate the huge volume of electronic products from the country to Japan,” PAL international cargo sales manager Jerry Calaluan said.
“The company is likewise utilizing at least one such kind of aircraft in its Australia-Manila link to minimize the backlog of cargoes transiting Manila from Australia,” Calaluan, also the president of Global Cargo Council, Inc, explained.
“These areas have been two of our more profitable despite the global financial crisis and the increase in aircraft capacity only suggests good traffic in the future.”
Just like its Manila-Hong Kong-Manila route, the Japan service handles about 10-15 tons of cargo (two way). The new aircraft will mean a doubling of capacity.
At the moment, PAL’s capacity for most of its service areas is at its optimum. But the recent run-up to Christmas saw the airline post a further 20% increase in cargo volume.
Yields have also been higher after freight rates returned to 2007 levels.
