Philippine Airlines gets 4-star global rating

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Airlines (PAL) has been certified as a four-star airline by Skytrax, the international air transport rating organization.

PAL, joining 40 other well-renowned airlines in this prestigious category, is the first and only airline in the country to have a four-star rating.

PAL achieved this coveted rating after Skytrax conducted a rigorous audit of the airline’s inflight and on ground service for both international and domestic flights and noted major enhancements on its end-to-end passenger experience and distinct whole-hearted service called ‘Buong Pusong Alaga.’

This rating is a mark of quality distinction that recognizes excellent standards of product and staff service across different assessment categories for both the onboard and airport environment.

“This recognizes the great improvements that the airline has introduced over the last two years, both in terms of product change and development and enhancement of the front-line staff service. New and retrofitted aircraft have played an important part in the quality improvement process, and this looks set to develop further when Philippine Airlines introduces the A350 into their fleet,” Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said. “We look for consistency of quality in the 4-star rating, and we look to Philippine Airlines to ensure this is duly delivered to customers.”

PAL chairman and CEO Lucio Tan said this was a big win for the Philippines.

“We are elated by this recognition which is a victory for the more than seven thousand members of the Philippine Airlines family,” he said. “Our achievement is the country’s achievement and we share this with all Filipinos around the globe.”

The rating upgrade is a key result of a multi-year, top-to-bottom, end-to-end enhancement of the Philippine flag carrier.

“Our Get That Star journey began in 2016. Our efforts over the last two years have borne fruit,” said PAL president and COO Jaime Bautista. “Since 2016, we have embarked on a journey of rolling out in-flight and on-ground innovations, opened new routes, increased connectivity across PAL’s route network, added new aircraft to our fleet and importantly, invested in the Buong Pusong Alaga (whole-hearted) training of all our cabin crew, ground crew and service providers domestically and internationally in order to enhance the passenger travel experience and earn a higher Skytrax rating.”

PAL chief customer experience officer Jessica Abaya said they want to place PAL at par with the world’s best airlines.

“With this rating, we are inspired to work even harder. We will continue to delight our customers by giving them their desired experience, the best service in flight and on ground, across all phases of travel,” Abaya said.

With the four-star rating now certified, PAL aims to intensify efforts as it continues unveiling new products and expanding routes, including the launch of non-stop services to New York and Brisbane as well as flights to India and additional routes to Japan and China within 2018.

Skytrax is the London-based international air transport rating organization which carries out comprehensive airport and airline audits and ranks airlines worldwide for staff service standards and product quality.