Philippine Airlines curtailing flights for smooth operations

Philippine Airlines recently announced that it is curtailing its flight frequencies temporarily to smoothen operations and keeping them “manageable”. The airline cited that it is being forced to take this decision to face likely protests against an outsourcing program.

The airline in its official statement said that it will be reducing international flights by 12%, while the domestic flights frequencies will be lowered by 30%. According to the statement, this is just a temporary measure which will continue only until November.

In its outsourcing program, Philippine Airlines will be handing over its ticketing, catering and other ground handling operations to third-party contractors. These functions were until now being handled by 2,600 Philippine Airlines employees, who are being laid off. The implementation of the decision will help the airline to bring its operational costs down by US$10-15 million.

The airline said that despite reduction in flights the situation will continue to remain within manageable levels and largely unaffected.

The international routes being affected include Hong Kong, Melbourne, Bangkok, Sydney, New Delhi, Guam, Macau, Vancouver, Singapore and Los Angeles. The flights on these routes are operated from Manila.

Domestic destinations facing reduction in flight services include Zamboanga, Cebu, Tagbilaran, Davao, Tacloban, Bacolod, Legazpi, Iloilo, Laoag, Butuan, Kalibo, Cotabato, Dipolog and Cagayan de Oro.