FAA level 2 lifted, PAL-Canada routes restored after 15 years; US, Europe Flight Aimed

Upon elevation to category 1: PAL plans new routes to US, Europe

National flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), a joint venture between taipan Lucio Tan and diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), is looking at flying at major cities in the US and European countries once the ban on the domestic airline is lifted by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).

PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang told reporters on the sidelines of the Manila-Toronto send-off ceremony at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 2 that the airline is patiently awaiting the lifting of the Category 2 status imposed by the FAA on the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

"If Category 2 is lifted by FAA, we hope to fly to New York of course as well as major cities in Europe like London, Paris, and Rome. But we still have to patiently wait for the lifting of Category 2," Ang stressed.

The US FAA in 2008 slapped the Category 2 status on Manila due to failure to comply with safety issued preventing Philippine carriers led by PAL from expanding or mounting more flights to the US.

PAL is in talks with Cayman Airways and the government of Cayman Islands for possible joint venture arrangements to skirt the ban on domestic airlines and service the lucrative US routes.

Ang earlier confirmed ongoing talks with Cayman Airways and the Cayman Islands government.

Cayman Airways was established and started operations in 1968. It was formed following the Cayman Government's purchase of 51 percent of Cayman Brac Airways from LACSA (the Costa Rican flag carrier) and became wholly government owned in December 1977.

After 15 years, the Philippines is again linked with the North American East Coast with the launch of direct Manila-Toronto flights by PAL last Nov. 30, benefitting more than 200,000 Filipinos living in greater Toronto who plan to spend the coming Christmas holidays.

The flights from Toronto every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday would arrive in Manila before six in the morning with enough time connecting to 32 domestic and 26 international destinations.

From Manila, passengers can connect to any of PAL's five daily flights to Hong Kong, thrice daily to Singapore, twice a day to Bangkok and Seoul, once a day to Ho Chi Minh, twice a week to Bali, and many more regional routes.

Starting Jan. 16, PAL said the Toronto flights would increase to four times a week with stop-overs at Vancouver. On March 10, the service would become daily, with the addition of three non-stop flights every week.

PAL is utilizing its new, long-range Boeing 777-300ER, which seats 42 in Mabuhay Class (business) and 328 in Fiesta Class (economy), on the 15-hour, non-stop flight to Toronto.

The luxurious wide-body jet is especially designed for such inter-continental journeys.  Its two GE 90-115BL engines - the largest and most powerful ever built - can readily cover the 13,230 kilometers between the two cities non-stop.

The new service kicks off the peak Christmas travel season, one of the busiest periods in the Philippine travel calendar.

The Ontario capital would be PAL's first foray to the East Coast of North America in 15 years. Toronto is now PAL's 27th international destination and 46th overall.

PAL is in the midst of a massive refleeting program where it intends to acquire 100 new aircraft. It has purchased 65 Airbus aircraft in two separate contracts valued close to $10 billion.

Ang said the airline is still in talks with Airbus and Boeing for the acquisition of the remaining 35 aircraft. (http://is.gd/FIM3uA)

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2nd Philippine Warship-Alcaraz would be delay of deployment from earlier schedule

Deployment would be delay for re-fitting armament system. Mk38 Mod 2 automatic cannon systems to be fitted to Philippine Warship BRP Ramon Alcaraz. A frigate purchased by the Philippines from the United States will be among the first ships in the world to be equipped with state-of-the art cannon systems.

Philippine warship likely to be deployed by April 2013

The Philippine government may have to wait until April 2013 before it could deploy its second warship, even as the tension triggered by the conflicting ownership claims over the islands in the West Philippine Sea is expected to escalate.

Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama said on Sunday the scheduled commissioning of BRP Ramon Alcaraz would be delayed due to ongoing repairs and refitting on the Hamilton-class cutter in Charleston, South Carolina.

The 45-year-old frigate was formally acquired for ₱450 million by the Armed Forces from the US Coast Guard on May 22 as part of the US government's military assistance to the Philippines.

"The repairs are still continuing so most probably (BRP Alcaraz) will arrive in the country late March or early April next year," Pama told reporters over the phone.

He said the delay was caused mainly by the installation of the new main engine of the 3,250-ton warship, which was initially scheduled to sail from the United States last May.

"That's why we are taking this opportunity for our personnel to undergo more training," he said.

Asked if the ship would be sent to patrol the country's coastlines in the West Philippine Sea, he said "it will be deployed wherever it may be needed."

In his State of the Nation Address last July, President Benigno Aquino III announced that BRP Alcaraz would be sailing from the United States in January 2013 as part of the much-needed upgrade in the war armaments and equipment of the Armed Forces.

"We are not sending paper boats out to the sea. Now, our 36,000 kilometers of coastline will be patrolled by more modern ships," the President said, referring to the decades-old vessel which the US Coast Guard decommissioned on March 30.

Formerly called USCGC Dallas (WHEC-716), the military's second frigate was named after the late Commodore Ramon "Monching" Alcaraz, a decorated World War II hero who commanded Q-boat Abra, which shot down three Japanese aircraft.

Like its sister ship BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the warship was classified as a high-endurance cutter built in 1968. (http://is.gd/Yk9sV7)

Inquirer Global Nation

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Philippines accepts china passport depicting Spratly Islands as China Territory

Communist China's new E passport depicting Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, India, Malaysia and Indonesia territory as China's Territory. Philippines accepted for tourism economic benefit 

Philippines accepts new Chinese passports

Manila: The Philippine government has decided to accept the passports of Chinese nationals requesting for visa. The passports depict a map that includes China's claim of the entire South China Sea.

"Visa processing for Chinese e-passport continues its normal course," Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said, when asked if his department has rejected the passports of Chinese nationals following the government's protest and note verbale sent to the Chinese Embassy in Manila in reaction to China's newly-issued electronic passports.

The number of Chinese nationals requesting for tourist visa to the Philippines has "suddenly reached a very high number," said a source, adding this was the reason why the Philippine government has decided not to act on its protest against the new Chinese passports.

The government has been trying to lure tourists to the Philippines to raise more revenue.

China, Taiwan and Vietnam claim the whole of the South China Sea based on their historical rights over the sea-lane. Brunei, Malaysia and Philippines claim some parts of the Spratly Archipelago in the South China Sea, based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which grants countries 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone starting from their shores.

Vietnam and the Philippines have been embroiled with China's flexing of maritime and naval might in the South China Sea.

Four of the claimants belong to the 10-member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Read more here (http://is.gd/xsOnDS)

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