As the refrain from the song made famous by Frank Sinatra says — start spreading the news, Philippine Airlines is back in New York!
The 74th anniversary of the country’s flag carrier marked a milestone as it also signaled the resumption of flights to the Big Apple. During the celebratory cocktails held at the NAIA Terminal 2, PAL president Jimmy Bautista in his speech said they had always planned to go back to New York to serve the huge Filipino community in the US East Coast with the kind of quality service that is distinctively Filipino and uniquely PAL.
It can be recalled that the Category 2 rating slapped on the Philippines by the US Federal Aviation Administration in 2008 prevented PAL from adding flights and services to US destinations, and it was only in April 2014 that the country was granted a Category 1 rating with PAL playing a major role in the status upgrade.
PAL chairman Dr. Lucio Tan expressed elation at the launch of the four-times-weekly flights from Manila to New York. Despite his busy schedule, he decided to go to New York for the inaugural flight that included a limited number of special guests and a select group of media personalities.
Paying passengers, however, were full, underscoring the excitement felt by Filipinos over the momentous event, with US Ambassador Philip Goldberg extremely pleased that an American Boeing 777-300 ER was the aircraft of choice for the regular flight to New York.
Also gracing the send-off ceremonies at NAIA 2 were top-level officials from the Departments of Tourism and Transportation, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the Manila International Airport Authority. Quite fittingly, a highlight of the celebrations was singer Martin Nievera’s rendition of the very popular song New York, New York.