Many are used to airlines having their name as part of the aircraft’s livery, like Korean Air, Malaysian Airlines, Thai, United, Qantas, British Airways, and the like. Usually, a livery with a county’s name is a Presidential or VIP transporter. Hence, some people wonder why Philippine Airlines or PAL uses “Philippines” instead of “Philippine Airlines” on its livery. Come to think of it, PAL is a commercial airline, so why?
Qatar Airways has “Qatar” on its livery but can also be short for “Qatar Airways” aside from being Qatar’s airline. However, “Philippines” was never used as a shortcut for PAL.
A brief look at the evolution of PAL’s livery
From the 1940s until the 1960s, PAL had the “Philippine Air Lines” superimposed on the fuselage of the aircraft and the Philippine flag on the tail. This went on throughout the turboprop era until early into the jet age. However, PAL’s first jet engine aircraft, the Douglas DC-8, already had the familiar flag on the tail fin, which included the word “PAL.”
In the 1960s, however, PAL’s logo was redesigned, which affected the livery. The new logo in the 1960s introduced a new concept for the company’s visual identity. It was a blue and red emblem on the left from a traditional black inscription, set in all capitals of a classy serif typeface. The emblem featured two overlapping triangles in blue and red, placed on a white background and enclosed in a thin black circular frame.
This changed the livery on PAL aircraft. The change included the stretched Philippine flag as part of the cheatlines on the fuselage. The word “PAL” was no longer on the tail fin with the blue and red logo. The name “Philippine Airlines” was already superimposed on the aircraft’s fuselage.
In 1986, the PAL logo was changed to what it is today. They added the sun’s yellow rays to a blue triangle of the Philippine Airlines’ visual identity. The lettering was also refined, and now it features a delicate and smooth italicized Sans-serif typeface, also known as the “PAL typeface, which looks friendly and welcoming.
Also, the livery changed, wherein the first aircraft to carry the “Euro white” fuselage and the new logo was the Shorts 360. The tailfin of the airplanes was painted with the familiar Sunriser logo. The “Philippine Airlines” superimposed on the previous livery was changed to “Philippines.”
The first widebody aircraft to make use of the new Sunriser livery was the DC-10, however, it had the PAL new logo beside it. This was removed later on which left the name “Philippines” standing out.
So, why was Philippine Airlines replaced by Philippines on the “Sunriser” livery?
There is still no clear explanation as to why “Philippine Airlines” was ditched in exchange for “Philippines” on the Sunriser livery. While I was informed that there is a story behind it, the source for this information is still unknown; this is my take as to why.
PAL is not only carrying the company’s name wherever it flies to. It does not only represent the core values and branding of the company but the whole Filipino nation. It’s like “bringing the Philippines and the Filipinos all over the world.” They want to bring out that branding where you are in the Philippines whenever you step inside a PAL plane.
PAL is usually the official carrier of Philippine presidents, especially during long-haul trips. When the President and Vice-President of the Philippines charter a PAL aircraft for official trips, the flight is given the code PR-001 or flight 001. The callsign is “Philippine One.” The Presidential seal is also patched on the front doors of the aircraft.
Hence, I guess there must be two reasons why PAL now uses “Philippines” instead of “Philippine Airlines.” First could be the branding of bringing the “Philippines” all over the world, and second is the fact that they are the primary flag carrier of the Philippines.
Wait, wasn’t PAL the flag carrier of the Philippines ever since before? Yes, however, in 1986, they decided to use “Philippines” to denote that new branding of being a primary flag carrier. Make no mistake, though; the official PAL logo still says “Philippine Airlines.”
Do you prefer “Philippine Airlines” or “Philippines” superimposed on the fuselage of PAL aircraft?
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!
It’s purely economics.
It’s cheaper to print one word than three words on an aircraft fuselage.
The flag logo enclosed in a circle and ensconced in the tail with the white backdrop was used only on PAL’s planes that flew the domestic routes. In the late ’80s the sun rays were added to the tail to trumpet the country’s newly installed government which used the color yellow as its symbol. The name Philippines replaced Philippine Airlines to showcase Filipino pride following the People Power revolution. I think they should return to using Philippine Airlines on the planes’ fuselage. It’s confusing to foreigners. Not a few foreign media outlets tend to identify the airline as Philippines. It’s really silly.
Ang NAIA kailan pa kaya magiging Philippine International Airport yan?
NEXT I WILL NAME MY AIRPLANES “PHILIPPINE AIRLINE” BECAUSE I WANT TO COMPETE TO THEM MY COMPANY. WATCH FOR THE DEVELOPMENT.