PAL fields 747s for domestic flights

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Airlines’ giant Boeing 747-400 and Airbus 330 jets – normally used for international flights – have been servicing selected domestic routes including Cebu City since Monday to accommodate passengers affected by the pilots’ walkout.

The aircraft have a combined capacity of 735 passengers.

Flights PR 857 and PR 853 with 302 passengers left Manila for Cebu City at 1:30 p.m. on an Airbus 330 aircraft.

Flight PR 849 on a B747-400 plane left Manila for Cebu at 2 p.m. with some 284 passengers. At least two Iloilo-bound flights were merged in a single flight.

PAL flights have been marred by cancellations and delays since Friday due to desertions by pilots.

Twenty-five pilots and first officers quit abruptly last week, forcing the cancellation of 18 PAL flights on Saturday and Sunday and four domestic flights on Monday.

PAL said the pilots did not comply with an airline rule to give 180 days’ notice before resigning. It also said the pilots still owed the airline for part of their training costs.

“All flights at the domestic terminal returned to normal Monday and more seats are available because we are using the biggest aircraft in our fleet,” according to PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna.

“PAL’s average of 160 domestic and international flights continue to operate normally and as scheduled,” she said.

PAL president Jaime Bautista told ABS-CBN television that international flights, particularly to the US, are not affected.

“We would like to assure you that we will not cancel flights to the US,” he said.

The carrier also flies to the Middle East, Australia and East Asia.

“In case there are flight disruptions we can re-book, we can re-issue tickets. There will be no penalties and we will see to it that they will be accommodated in the next available flights,” Bautista added.

“We want them all back,” Bautista said, referring to the pilots who quit.

In a statement, PAL said it has “no dispute with its pilot corps.”

“The 25 pilots simply left their jobs to accept higher-paying jobs abroad in violation of their existing contracts and government regulations requiring them to give their employers at least 180 days to train replacements,” a PAL statement read.

Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus said he has arranged a meeting today between PAL management and the resigned pilots.

“The objective is to have both parties resolve the issues,” he said.

Takeover

In a worst-case scenario, the government may temporarily take over the operations of PAL.

“Takeover is farfetched at this point. It’s an extreme measure. But it does not mean that it’s impossible,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said.

“It will really depend on developments in the next few days that are very crucial,” she said, referring to meetings between PAL management and some Aquino administration officials aimed at resolving the problem amicably.

If negotiations fail, De Lima said the government would have to step in and give the necessary instructions to concerned agencies like the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). She said the problem was unique because it had not been brought up before DOLE or NLRC.

“This is an urgent matter. It has been causing a lot of inconvenience to the riding public and has drawn so much public attention,” she said.

She said PAL management had assured the pilots concerned that they would not be punished if they report back to work.

Present but silent

PAL owner Lucio Tan sat down during Monday’s meeting with government officials but did not speak a word, according to presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda.

Lacierda also said there was no need for President Aquino to personally appear at the meetings because Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, De Jesus, De Lima and Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz were already taking care of the matter.

“The government is looking at its options right now, but what those options are we will just leave it at that first. We will see the development in the dialogue between both parties,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said they had been informed of the airline pilots’ concerns that they would be moved to Air Philippines where the pay was lower.

Asked if PAL could be guilty of unfair labor practices, Lacierda said: “I cannot say. It’s not for us to say for now. We asked for a copy of the contract from the PAL management and they graciously gave us one. The secretary of justice is looking at it but, at this point, we are just listening to the grievances from both sides.

“They admitted to some (transfer) but it’s not a company policy. They explained why they did transfer some of their pilots to Air Philippines. I think that explanation will best be given by the Philippine Airline management,” he said.

Lacierda said the management complained that the pilots were guilty of breach of contract but that the government would not interfere.

“It would be up to the courts. We understand that the jurisdiction is not the labor (department) but the regular courts,” Lacierda said.

Senate probe

A resolution has been filed in the Senate seeking an inquiry into PAL pilots’ row with management.

“There is a need for an urgent inquiry on this current dispute towards a resolution of this case and a halt on flight cancellations which negatively affect travelers and businessmen,” Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. said in his resolution.

Revilla, chairman of the committee on public services, said that he would wait for the Palace to exhaust all possible remedies to address the issues in PAL before conducting an inquiry.

“For the sake of the public and the nation, we should help one another first and find a solution to the bigger problems,” Revilla said.

Sen. Frankin Drilon said the pilots involved could be liable for breach of contract because of their unannounced resignations.

But he said the management cannot force them to go back to work if they no longer want to work for the company.

Drilon also rejected the proposal for the government to take over the operations of PAL, saying that the government does not do well in operating such enterprises.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, for her part, said she has received complaints from female flight attendants belonging to the Flight Attendants and Stewards of the Philippines (FASAP) about management’s inclusion in its Collective Bargaining Agreement of a provision imposing a younger mandatory retirement age for female flight attendants at 55 years old compared to their male counterparts at 60 years old.

Cayetano noted that the policy can affect some 600 women flight attendants recruited by the airline company before Nov. 22, 1996.

“Such misguided and outmoded policies hinge on the sexist view that flight attendants should be valued more for their youth and physical attributes rather than their professionalism and years of service,” Cayetano said.

She said the practice is a violation of the anti-gender discrimination prohibition of the Labor Code and the newly enacted Magna Carta of Women. –Rudy Santos (The Philippine Star) with Edu Punay, Aurea Calica, Marvin Sy, Rainier Allan Ronda