The Philippine flag carrier reported a fourth consecutive year of profitable operations
Philippine Airlines (PAL) affirmed the continued progress of its corporate transformation journey as it released its annual financials for 2024.
The Philippine national flag-carrier ended the year with a net income of US$151.1 million, achieving a five-percent net margin that outpaced the global airline industry average of three percent, as tracked by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The fourth quarter of 2024 showed an eight-percent increase in system-wide revenues to US$790.2 million, versus the US$733 million reported in the third quarter, even as operating income and net income increased by 296 percent and 19 percent respectively.
This marks PAL’s 13th straight profitable quarter that reflects disciplined cost management, sustained passenger demand, and strategic network expansion, reinforcing its position as one of the region’s most resilient full-service air carriers.
Solid performance
According to airline president and chief operating officer Stanley K Ng: “We are very pleased with the solid financial performance achieved by the Philippine Airlines team, an outcome of greater operational efficiency, improved schedule reliability, and more consistent service across our global network. In 2024, PAL operated five percent more flights while improving on-time-performance by two percent and schedule reliability by four percent.”
Ng added that these gains contributed to a significant increase in customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores, which rose to 73 percent, and net promoter scores (NPS), which reached +43, both ranking among the strongest results the airline has delivered to date.
Likewise, PAL carried 15.6 million passengers in 2024, six percent higher than in 2023, while mounting a total of 110,867 flights system-wide.
This shows an increase of around five percent from the 105,294 flights operated in 2023.
The calibrated expansion of PAL’s network included the launching of Manila-Seattle nonstop flights last October, PAL’s first new US route in nine years, along with progressive increases in frequencies on various international and domestic routes.
The incremental growth in passenger carriages and solid financial performance came despite a general moderation of growth rates, inflationary strains and increased competition that put pressure on yields.
PAL generated revenues of US$3.13 billion, down by four percent from the US$3.25 billion recorded in 2023.
Passenger revenues declined by six percent from US$2.87 billion to US$2.70 billion, while cargo and ancillary revenues registered a healthy increase of 12 percent and 16 percent, respectively.
Total operating expenses rose by three percent to US$2.82 billion due to higher lease costs and airport charges, although these were offset by lower fuel expenses and more effective cost-management measures. Fuel remains the largest cost item, representing 31 percent of revenues.
Operating income at year’s end was at US$314.4 million, around 37 percent lower than the 2023 total and is proof of overall market moderation.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were at US$614.4 million at end-2024.