30 January, 2019

ANA invests $95 million in Philippine Airlines

All Nippon Airways has announced it is further enhancing its investment portfolio by taking a small chunk of Philippine Airlines (PAL) the group confirmed this week. Japan's largest and highly regarded full service carrier says it will invest $95 million US dollars in PAL Holdings 

The major investment by ANA heralds the dawn of a new era of growth for PAL, which has already embarked on a mass full-scale expansion programme that has seen its fleet and network grow to almost 100 aircraft serving 80 destinations in four continents. This period of growth has coincided with an emphasis on updating and enhancing its product,both in-flight and on the ground. That programme of improvements has already proved successful as PAL was recently recognised as the World's Most Improved Airline for 2019.

Shinya Katanozaka, President and CEO of ANA HOLDINGS INC., said: "Asia is a key growth market and we believe Philippine Airlines is in an excellent operational position to capitalize on both the strong uptick in air traffic growth as well as the vibrant, expanding Philippine economy. We look forward to expanding our business relationship with Philippine Airlines so we can continue to serve our passengers even better."

Jaime J. Bautista, President of PAL Holdings and Philippine Airlines, said: "We are honoured and excited that a premier airline group such as ANA HD has decided to purchase shares in PAL Holdings. The Philippines and Japan have a long-standing relationship with complementary strengths. This week, in fact, we commemorate the 70th year of Philippine Airlines' service to Japan, dating back to the launch of our first Manila-Tokyo flight on January 26, 1949. It is a great privilege to celebrate this historic occasion by strengthening our ties with ANA, as we aim to build a relationship that is mutually beneficial with an eye to a more progressive future."

Including in the plans for expansion to PAL's route network are new routes to Hanoi, New Delhi and Phnom Penh. It is also understood the airline will be ramping up frequencies to more than a dozen of its existing international services. PAL will also be increasing its offering to North America, with up to 17 additional flights.  

ANA operates 14 flights weekly on 2 routes to the Philippines and Philippine Airlines currently operates 84 flights weekly on 9 routes to Japan. The two carriers have codeshare operations on Japan - Philippine routes and domestic routes within Japan and the Philippines, linking a total of 16 Japanese and 11 Philippine destinations.

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