The Philippine aviation industry experienced a year of ups and downs in 2023, with significant events shaping the landscape for 2024. Let’s reflect on some key moments from the past year and their implications for the future.
The New Year’s Day Philippine Airspace Shutdown
The year 2023 started on a challenging note for the Philippine aviation industry with the shutdown of the Philippine airspace on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2023. This was due to a technical fault with the air traffic management system at the Philippine Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) that began at 9:49 AM.
The shutdown resulted from electrical issues at NAIA Terminal 3, linked to a malfunction at the power substation. Specifically, a cooling system for one of the ATMC’s uninterruptible power supplies failed, and the backup power source failed to activate, leading to a loss of power. Technicians trying to bypass the UPS units inadvertently caused an overvoltage, damaging equipment within the center. Power was partially restored by 4:00 PM and fully by 7:45 PM.
Subsequent closures occurred on January 22, May 3, and May 17, each for two hours, to upgrade the ATMC’s power supply systems.
New Destinations and Resumption of More Flights
In 2023, Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific launched new flights and restarted some routes last flown before the pandemic. Notable were the relaunch of Cebu Pacific’s Manila – Melbourne flights. AirAsia Philippines also restarted some international flights from Manila, such as to Macau, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. PAL and Cebu Pacific continued to open more routes from Cebu, including the first-ever Cebu to Baguio flights by PAL. International flights were also restored from the Cebu hub by PAL, Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia.
Another notable route was PAL’s introduction of Manila to Perth, making Perth the fourth destination in Australia for PAL. Cebu Pacific also inaugurated its Manila to Da Nang flights, marking the airline’s third destination in Vietnam.
Airbus A350-1000
In June, PAL sealed a deal with Airbus for nine firm orders of the A350-1000 with an option for three more, effectively making 12 orders. The aircraft is said to be configured with 380 seats in a tri-class configuration, but there is no final seat map yet. PAL is looking to deploy these planes primarily for flights between the Philippines and the United States. However, another round of widebody aircraft orders is being considered by PAL.
Hiring of More Cabin Crew
In 2022, I forecasted more cabin crew hiring in 2023. As the Philippine aviation industry entered 2023, AirAsia Philippines staged a cabin crew hiring event, followed by Cebu Pacific, and then PAL Express. Later, PAL also conducted direct hiring events. Both PAL and PAL Express continue to hire more flight attendants, as shown on their website.
PAL released a total of 10 cabin crew batches in 2023. Six batches from PAL Express (AICCT) and four direct hire batches (ICCT). They also released four new flight purser batches. I attended two AICCT, four ICCT, and four flight purser graduations this year, totaling ten cabin crew graduations from Philippine Airlines.
Royal Air and even AirSwift staged cabin crew hiring events this year as well.
Aircraft Parts and Pratt & Whitney GTF Issue
Cebu Pacific and PAL continue to face aircraft spare parts shortages. The Pratt & Whitney GTF (Geared Turbo Fan) issue has been particularly challenging. Pratt & Whitney encountered a critical issue with its engines that power the A320neo aircraft family. Around 700 engines will require shop visits between 2023 and 2026 due to a rare condition in the powder metal used to manufacture specific engine parts. The scale of potentially impacted engines has grown to nearly 3,000 worldwide.
As a result, Cebu Pacific may ground around 20 Airbus A320neo and A321neo in 2024. The airline is accelerating the delivery of more A330neos, A321neo, and A320neos to cover the shortfall. PAL also suffers from grounding a few of their 8 A321neos.
Airport Reshuffling
To improve efficiency, NAIA terminal assignments for Philippine Airlines, AirAsia Philippines, and Sunlight Air were restructured. NAIA Terminal 2 is now a domestic terminal for PAL Express, AirAsia Philippines, and Royal Air. All PAL international flights were moved to Terminal 1, and AirAsia Philippines’ international flights continue from Terminal 3. Terminal 4 is now used exclusively for turboprop flights by CebGo, Air Swift, and Sunlight Air.
The Outlook for 2024
While the year 2023 was a roller coaster ride for Philippine aviation, I personally view 2024 as a promising year for air travel, with expectations to surpass pre-pandemic capacity. However, challenges persist, including the global spare parts shortage and the Pratt & Whitney GTF issue. Nonetheless, there are things to look forward to in 2024, hopefully including further expansions and improvements in the industry.
- Cebu Pacific mega order of 100+ narrowbody aircraft
- PAL’s newest destination in the United States announcement
- More cabin crew hirings from Philippine Airlines and PAL Express
- Possible delivery of AirAsia Philippines A321neo
There are also more things that I am hoping to hear from the airlines and the aviation industry (fingers crossed) this 2024 such as:
- Additional widebody orders from Philippine Airlines
- Possible PAL Europe future destinations
- Reopening of more Cebu Pacific Middle East destinations (hoping for Riyadh and Doha).
- Delivery of AirAsia Philippines A330s
- Updates on our airport improvements
- More flights from Cebu and Clark hubs from PAL, PAL Express, Cebu Pacific, and AirAsia Philippines.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
