Philippine Airlines (PAL) has been certified as a 4-Star airline by Skytrax, the international air transport rating organisation.
PAL achieved the rating after Skytrax conducted a rigorous audit of the airline’s in-flight and on-ground service for both international and domestic flights and noted major enhancements on its end-to-end passenger experience.
“This is a big win for the Philippines,” says PAL chairman & CEO Dr. Lucio C. Tan. “We are elated by this recognition which is a victory for the more than seven thousand members of the Philippine Airlines family. Our achievement is the country’s achievement and we share this with all Filipinos around the globe.”
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This 4-Star Airline rating is a mark of quality distinction that recognizes excellent standards of Product and Staff service across different assessment categories for both the Onboard and Airport environment.
Skytrax is the London-based international air transport rating organization that carries out comprehensive airport and airline audits and ranks airlines worldwide for staff service standards and product quality. The Skytrax Certified Airline Star Ratings, awarded since 1999, is internationally recognized as a global benchmark of airline standards.
In June 2017, PAL placed sixth on the list of the World’s Most Improved Airlines and was ranked by Skytrax as 67th out of 320 airlines, reflecting a 16-notch increase in rankings from that of 2016.
“This [ranking] recognizes the great improvements that the airline has introduced over the last 2 years, both in terms of product change and development and enhancement of the front-line staff service,” says Edward Plaisted, Skytrax CEO. “New and retrofitted aircraft have played an important part in the quality improvement process, and this looks set to develop further when Philippine Airlines introduces the A350 into their fleet. We look for consistency of quality in the 4-Star rating, and we look to Philippine Airlines to ensure this is duly delivered to customers.”
From 2016 up to the present, the PAL Group finalized fleet orders of Airbus A350s, A321s, Boeing 777s and Bombardier Q400 Next Generation planes bringing the fleet count to 88 aircraft, the largest fleet in the Philippines; developed new domestic hubs (Clark, Cebu, Davao); introduced new international routes from Clark (to Seoul) and Cebu (to Bangkok, Chengdu, Beijing, etc.); launched direct nonstop services between Manila and Auckland and Manila and Toronto in addition to existing direct flights to London, San Francisco, and Los Angeles; and improved on-time performance.
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Eight of the airline’s 15 Airbus A330s have undergone a total cabin transformation from a single economy to a tri-class cabin providing maximum comfort on all classes. The latest Boeing 777s and the incoming Airbus A350s will further upgrade the PAL fleet for the airline’s long-haul international routes.
For better on-ground service at airports, PAL renovated the inter-terminal transit lounge at the NAIA Terminal 2, improved its business class check-in product, introduced a more efficient boarding procedure, and put up airport terminal signage for passenger convenience.
The airline plans to open a new, bigger, and more sophisticated Mabuhay Lounge NAIA Terminal 2 in the second quarter of 2018, as well as launch new non-stop services to New York, Brisbane, and India, and add routes to Japan and China.
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