| Philippine Airlines aircraft with the Philippine flag logo |
Despite the many problems Philippine Airlines now faces, it is still continuing to serve and remains as the airline worthy to carry the Filipino spirit and the Philippine Flag.
Philippine Airlines is originally the flag carrier of the Republic of the Philippines before it was privatized and now owned by Lucio Tan's group of companies. It started with a small twin-engine Beech Model 18 airplane flying the route of from Manila to Baguio City on March 15,1941 with a full 5 passenger full flight. After its maiden flight, PAL became the toast of the town in transportation and communications business.
On the outbreak of World War II, its airplane were turned over to the Military and were used for combat and unfortunately all were destroyed and lost. It resumed its operation on February 11,1946 using ex-military Douglas DC-3s. It was on July 1948, PAL chartered DC-4s to carry American Service men back home to Oakland,California and became the first Asian airline to cross the Pacific. In May 1947, PAL offer a regular service to Madrid making it the first Asia's airline to service Europe. For the next decades, PAL carries regular route to almost two-thirds of the world including Middle east countries.
Philippine Airlines has faced different challenges and had survived them all proving its strong dedication to its customers and to the Filipino people. The iconic airline boosts fleets of Boeing 747-400s,Airbus A340, A330-300s, A320's, A319s and Bombardier Q300 and Q400 turbo-propeller aircraft.. It prides in carrying an average of 12,000 passengers and 180 tons of cargo daily on domestic routes and around 10,000 passengers and 170 tons of daily cargo on international routes. PAL continues to keep up with the growing demands of advancements on aircraft technologies by acquiring new policies and technologies suited to the demands of the new markets.
Philippine Airlines with its colorful and glorious past is undoubtedly an icon on Philippine airlines history.
