Congressional body to summon PAL executives on ME flights

MANILA, Philippines - A congressional body will summon executives of Philippine Airlines (PAL) after it sold its “air rights" to Middle Eastern carriers, a move which allegedly delays the deployment of Filipino workers’ bound for the oil-rich region.

Members of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, chaired by Compostela Valley Representative Manuel Zamora, agreed to invite PAL officials and other airline executives to articulate the industry’s code-sharing scheme. This developed after lawmakers in a hearing were informed that PAL sold its “air rights" to Middle Eastern carriers to fly passengers bound for the region.

Instead of earning revenues from transporting passengers to the Middle East, the code-sharing scheme allows PAL to earn commissions by turning over its seat assignments to foreign airline partners.

Recruitment agencies and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have complained about the lack of airline seats and the inability of migrant workers to be immediately deployed to the Middle East.

According to Eduardo Mahiya, President of the Federated Associations of Manpower Exporters (FAME), it currently takes one to two months before agencies can “book" an OFW on connecting flights headed for the Middle East.

“The problem has been there for quite sometime and it has never been adequately addressed despite repeated calls made by our sector in various consultations with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Civic Aeronautics Board (CAB), concerned airlines, and association of travel agencies," Mahiya said.

For his part, Jackson Gan, vice-president of FAME, said an estimated 1,000 OFWs have been unable to leave the Philippines every single day owing to the lack of flights.

During the House hearing, Gan urged Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) represented by Carmelo Arcilla to allot more rights to Middle Eastern carriers such as Emirates, Gulf Air, Etihad, and Qatar Airways so that they can accommodate more passengers.

The recruitment sector is also asking the government to review the air rights policy of the government and allow more flights to and from Asian airports to the Diosdado Macapagal and Clark terminals to alleviate the shortage.

For her part, Zambales Representative Milagros Magsaysay said PAL’s air rights has been under utilized because of the “code sharing" scheme.

She said that CAB should implement a policy of “if you don’t fly, you lose you’re rights."

"If PAL can't serve these routes, the government should allow other airlines to do so," she said.

PAL denies irregularity in code-sharing scheme

In a telephone interview Friday, Rolly Estabillo, PAL vice president for corporate communication, said there is no irregularity in the “code sharing" and that the company is ready to explain the scheme.

“We’re not the only airline that is doing this," Estabillo said, referring to the code-sharing scheme. “It doesn’t mean that we are shortchanging the public. Actually we are strengthening the market because there are two airlines which serve these routes."

Estabillo also gave an assurance that if PAL officials are summoned to the congressional hearing, the airline’s executives “will abide by it."

According to Estabillo, code sharing is a “practice of selling seats on other airlines, which is economical “especially if the traffic is not that big."

Estabillo said PAL stopped serving the Middle East route in 1998 because the flag carrier was no longer able to bear the competition.

“When the price is so low it is not viable for us to operate," Estabillo said, adding that Middle Eastern carriers have government subsidies and access to cheaper oil.

The PAL official also said the company is willing to give up their rights but it remains subject to negotiation.

“If we give up something, we have to get something in return. That is if there’s a local airline interested, but so far there is none," Estabillo said. - GMANews.TV

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Dozens injured after train derails in Netherlands: emergency services --- Agence France-Presse

Malaysia scraps mandatory death penalty Deutsche Welle -- Deutsche Welle