Ailing Philippine Airlines, under new management, seeks investor

MANILA: Struggling Philippine Airlines said Friday it is looking for a new investor to help fund an expansion program that would see Asia鈥檚 oldest airline buying more long-haul jets.
鈥淚 would prefer an airline with more destinations so we can expand our presence,鈥� newly-installed president Jaime Bautista said.
He added that the company may take another airline, or a company with interests in the aviation sector, as an equity partner.
Under Philippine law a foreign airline may acquire up to 40 percent of a carrier like PAL, Bautista said, while stressing there were no ongoing talks at this point.
鈥淭here are names we are looking at, but we are not at liberty to disclose (them) at this time,鈥� he told a news conference.
Bautista said the carrier plans to buy long-haul planes over 10 years 鈥� either by converting a previous order for narrow-body aircraft from Airbus into bigger planes or taking up Boeing鈥檚 proposal to sell it 777 jets.
PAL is to open new local and international routes over the next three years, including Manila-New York from March 2015, he added.
After struggling with losses amid competition from budget carriers, high fuel costs and a labor dispute, PAL returned to profitability this year, posting a net profit of 1.49 billion pesos ($33 million) in the three months to June.
Lucio Tan, one of the Philippines鈥� richest men, named Bautista to lead the airline after regaining control of PAL in September, buying out San Miguel Corp鈥檚 49 percent interest in the airline for a reported $1 billion.
Bautista said PAL is reviewing a massive refleeting program initiated by the previous management, which had ordered 64 planes from Airbus for more than $7 billion after San Miguel won management control of the airline in 2012.
The airline鈥檚 listed parent PAL Holdings disclosed last month it was 鈥渟eriously studying鈥� the possibility of deferring aircraft deliveries, complaining that 鈥渢oo many orders鈥� had been made.
PAL will take delivery of 10 Airbus A321s this year and another 10 of the same model in 2016, Bautista said Friday.
Some of the 28 Airbus planes set for delivery after 2016 may be converted to long-haul jets, he said, without giving further details.
鈥淲e鈥檒l have to study this very carefully. It鈥檚 easy to buy airplanes but difficult to dispose,鈥� he added.
鈥淲e will take advantage of the refleeting program to improve our service, reboot costs and hopefully, become a profitable airline.鈥�
PAL will now focus its European operations on its newly-opened London route and add more flights to Honolulu, while scaling down Middle East operations due to lower-than-projected demand, he said.
Its new fuel-efficient Airbus jets will allow PAL to compete better when Southeast Asian nations ease air traffic restrictions next year, he added.
The company will also be 鈥渕ore aggressive鈥� domestically and may reopen its hub in Cebu, the commercial capital of the central Philippines, said Bautista.