It all started in 1946 and since   then Philippine Airlines has never looked back. Asia’s  first airline had hardly gotten into its stride when World War II  broke out and operations naturally stopped. However, six months after hostilities ceased in 1946 PAL was back in business and became the first Asian airline to span the Pacific.

 In the decades that followed, the airline expanded rapidly. Before long Boeing 747’s and Airbus A 300’s were added to the fleet and wide-body hangars were constructed to  make it self-sufficient in the maintenance of its aircrafts.

PAL has continued to grow and expand its services. PAL Express, the new low-fare yet high-value alternative brand, was launched with a mandate to serve 22 inter-island points and secondary provincial routes currently without air service or underserved by others.

 PAL  president Jaime Bautista accompanied by top Manila  executives including Rolando Estabillo, PAL VP corporate communications; Marila Revilla, country manager;  Jess Garcia, AVP for advertising and promotions. Also present were Bob Salazar, AVP for Visayas sales; Cris Lebumfacil, manager for passenger sales; Jun Canton, manager of Mactan ticket office, Gemma Karganilla, manager of SM ticket office, led the inauguration of  PAL Express’s services in Cebu when they ceremoniously sent off passengers on flight number PR 295, the daily morning service from Cebu to General Santos.

PAL Express has its base fleet mainly in Cebu, in order to better serve the growing intra-regional market in the Visayas and Mindanao. While some flights will also operate out of Manila , especially in the initial phase, Cebu will be the focal point of turbo-prop operations as PAL re-establishes the city as its main hub in southern Philippines.

 PAL Express will operate an initial fleet of nine turbo-propeller aircrafts, three Q300s and six Q400s manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace of Canada.

 The Q300 cabin is configured with 50 seats at a comfortable 32-inch pitch while the slightly larger Q400 seats 76 passengers at a 30-inch pitch making for low seat-mile costs that are ultimately passed on to passengers in the form of low fares.

 Both airplanes have outstanding take-off and landing capabilities even on unprepared airstrips, making them the ideal choice for its services to small provincial airfields.

 The launch of PAL Express is a ground-breaking step for the flag carrier, which is creating a sub-brand for the first time in its 67-year history.

 On June 23, four new destinations started  from Cebu that include Dipolog, Oza-miz, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga, with the last service proceeding onward to Davao and back rounding out the Cebu hub network .

 On the other hand, PAL Express’ other hub in Manila will add several routes in July, Surigao, Legaspi, Virac and Cauayan (Isabela) on July 21, and San Jose (Occidental Mindoro), Calbayog and San Fernando (La Union) on July 26.

 PAL president Jaime Bautista had this to say. “We will leverage on the strength of the PAL brand to make it the leader in the markets it serves. In turn, PAL benefits from the expansion of its network to areas it does not presently fly to, from where it aims to draw traffic to feed the trunk routes.”

 He further added that “the biggest beneficiary will be the traveler, who is now able to tap into PAL’s extensive route network and enjoy seamless connections between erstwhile inaccessible provincial points and 43 destinations and counting, across the Philippines, Asia, Australia and North America .”