PAL still favors Filipino pilots, over German counterparts

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Airlines (PAL) said operations will not be hampered by the imminent strikes, as stop-gap measures are now being laid out to boost flight services.

Besides foreign pilots, the flag-carrier may also use trained administrative personnel to man flights, PAL President Jaime Bautista told ANC.

“We have added personnel, we have qualified administrative personnel who can act as flight attendants,” he said.

With the lean season around, he said PAL still has time to train additional pilots. As such, “in the next few months, we should be back to normal when we have trained additional pilots,” he said.

In a separate interview also with ANC, PAL spokesman Cielo Villaluna said the management may also tap interline partners to fly the routes for its clients.

“We have more than 100 interline partners who can fly airline routes for us, it’s being considered as a stop-gap measure,” she said.

Interline is a system by which competing airlines allow the transfer of passengers, baggage or freight using only 1 ticket or check-in procedure from a destination to another.

German pilots’ offer not yet a go

Villaluna, meanwhile, stressed that PAL has not accepted the offer of German pilots to operate its Airbuses.

“It is indeed true that German pilots offered to undergo training with us…It is not true that this was accepted. The status quo is, it’s not true that foreign pilots will man our Airbuses,” she said.

She refused to give details on the identities and the companies of these foreign pilots since “the offer is still being studied.”

She stressed the larger aircrafts “will be manned by our 400 plus Filipino pilots.”

PAL had to cancel flights weeks ago due to the exodus of about 26 of its pilots.

To add to its burden, flight attendants, cabin crew and several more of its personnel are planning to go on strike supposedly due to unfavorable working conditions.

Villaluna said “we’re still exhausting all means by going through the negotiating table.”

There are scheduled meetings again this week with members of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) and the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (FASAP).

“Despite the challenges, it’s a green and go. It’s business as usual in all our 160 local and foreign [flights],” she said.#