History of Philippine Airlines

The airport, heavily damaged during the war, was refurbished and modernized by PAL at a cost of over one million pesos, quickly becoming the official port of entry for air passengers into the Philippines.

On July 31, 1946, PAL became the first Asian airline to cross the Pacific Ocean when a chartered Douglas DC-4 ferried 40 American servicemen to Oakland, California, from Nielson Airport with stops in Guam, Wake Island, Johnston Atoll and Honolulu.

In three years PAL started services to Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Taipei using Convair 340s[1] that would later be replaced by the Vickers Viscount 784, which brought the airline into the turboprop age.

In the 1960s, PAL entered the jet age, initially with a lone Boeing 707 that was later replaced with Douglas DC-8 aircraft leased from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,[1] used for long-haul international flights to Europe and the United States.

[1] A year after the declaration of martial law in 1972, the re-elected Ferdinand Marcos Sr, now serving a second presidential term, issued monopolizing decrees in the form of Letters of Instruction (LOI) nos.

Between 1979 and 1981, PAL built a series of mammoth aviation-related facilities around the periphery of the MIA as part of a comprehensive modernization program led by then-PAL President Roman A. Cruz.

Within this period, PAL achieved service successes, after being the first airline to be honored by Les Chaines de Rotisseurs, an ancient order of gourmets, with an award for its inflight cuisine.

[11] PAL's 747s gained distinction for the upper deck Cloud Nine first class cabin configured with 14 sleeping berths, known as "Skybeds", that were certified for use during take-off and landing.

[citation needed] The latter half of the 1980s saw Roman Cruz's resignation to President Cory Aquino on the last day of the 1986 EDSA Revolution and the abolishment of Marcos's one-airline policy in 1988.

The terminal, which opened in October 1988, exclusively served passengers flying to destinations serviced by PAL's Airbus A300s: namely, Cebu and Davao, with General Santos and Puerto Princesa added later on.

[24] A month later on August 7, a Boeing 747-200 was sent to Damascus to rescue 196 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who had fled from Lebanon during the closing stages of the Lebanese Civil War.

The new aircraft arrived at Subic Bay International Airport and was carrying then-President Fidel V. Ramos, who was headed home from the United States after an official visit.

[1] The delivery of the carrier's fourth Boeing 747-400 in April 1996 signalled the start of an ambitious US$4 billion modernization and re-fleeting program that aimed to make PAL one of Asia's best airlines within three years.

With massive lay-offs also taking place, disputes between the airline's owners and the employee's union led to a complete shutdown of PAL's operations on September 23, 1998.

With the aviation industry still in the doldrums, PAL continued to search for a strategic partner, but in the end, it submitted a "standalone" rehabilitation plan to the SEC on December 7, 1998.

The plan provides a sound basis for the airline to undertake a recovery on its own while keeping the door open to the entry of a strategic partner in the future.

PAL presented the new proposed rehabilitation plan to its major creditors during a two-week marathon meeting that started on February 14 in Washington D.C. and ended on March 1 in Hong Kong.

In that same year, PAL entered into code share agreements with Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for services to Paris and Amsterdam, respectively.

For the first time in Philippine history, the airline flew President-elect Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Vice-President-elect, now ABS-CBN journalist Noli de Castro to their inauguration in Cebu City.

The airline immediately announced plans to attract foreign investments through an international road show to tour around Asia, Europe and North America.

[47] The FAA decision effectively stalled PAL's previously announced intentions to expand its presence in the US market with routes to San Diego, Seattle, Chicago, Saipan and New York City.

Disputes with flight attendants, ground crew, airport staff as well as reservation agents escalated, with threats of potentially disruptive strike action, which took place on October 27, 2010.

[54] On April 4, 2012, San Miguel Corporation bought a 49-percent stake in Philippine Airlines for $500 million as part of a strategy to move away from its beer and food businesses.

San Miguel, one of the Philippines' biggest conglomerates, said it planned to help modernise and strengthen PAL, renew its aging fleet and restore its competitiveness in the Asian aviation industry.

[65] In addition to its fleet modernization and route expansion, PAL announced plans to become an investor within the aviation industry following San Miguel's partial acquisition.

[84] In March 2015, coinciding with the 74th anniversary of the carrier, Philippine Airlines resumed flights to New York City via the John F. Kennedy International Airport with a stopover in Vancouver from Manila.

[86][87] In addition, Philippine Airlines expanded to the Oceania region by introducing flights to Auckland, New Zealand (via Cairns, Australia) and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

[91] The campaign was aggressively undertaken, with the launch of new advertisements which are endorsed by The Voice of the Philippines judges: singers Bamboo Mañalac, Lea Salonga, and Sarah Geronimo,[92] as well as the Miss Universe 2015 winner, Pia Wurtzbach.

However, the airline indefinitely suspended flights to Kuwait,[105] Jeddah,[106] and Darwin,[107] as well as the route from Cebu City to Los Angeles,[108] citing low demand.

[125] The airline signed agreements with companies such as Amadeus to upgrade its core technology system,[126][127] and Lufthansa Technik Philippines to maintain its aircraft for 12 years.