Philippine flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced a USD20-million total comprehensive income in 2014, the airline’s first positive income after a three-year losing streak.
In a statement issued after its annual stockholders’ meeting, PAL announced that its 2014 financial performance represented a dramatic turnaround from the loss of USD229.7 million from April to December of 2013.
The airline, however, described its financial performance last year as modest but significant.
In the first seven months of this year, PAL said it was able to sustain its upward momentum due to a favorable industry climate. From January to July of this year, PAL reported a USD138-million net income.
PAL, however, expressed apprehension at the ongoing air talks between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates, that may have pernicious consequences on PAL’s investments in launching new routes to the Middle East, Europe and the US east coast, should the Philippine panel grant the additional though unnecessary entitlements requested by UAE.
Within the last two years, PAL re-connected Manila to four destinations in the Middle East, to London and New York.
“Any additional entitlements to UAE carriers would create a distortion in the market and could possibly lead to PAL pulling out of these new routes,” the airline said in a statement posted on its website.
PAL appealed on the Philippine panel of the air talks to resist any pressure to grant additional entitlements to UAE carriers and instead challenge them to mount direct flights to airports outside Manila.
During the stockholders meeting, the following were elected to the PAL Board of Directors: Lucio C. Tan – Chairman & Chief Executive Officer; Jaime J. Bautista – President & Chief Operating Officer; Joseph T. Chua, Heinrich T. Khoo, Manuel M. Lazaro, Atty. Estelito P. Mendoza, Washington Z. Sycip, Carmen K. Tan, Lucio K. Tan, Jr., Michael G. Tan, Atty. Florentino M. Herrera III; Independent directors – Antonino L. Alindogan Jr., Johnip G. Cua, Jose Rizalino Acuzar and Gregorio T. Yu. – BusinessNewsAsia.com