PAL to fly out of Naia 3, too

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is moving more flights to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) terminal 3 to cope with congestion at terminal 2, a facility exclusive to the flag carrier.

In a statement, the company said starting Oct. 28, 2012, flights by PAL and sister firm Airphil Express to minor provincial points from Manila will depart from Naia terminal 3.

Affected routes are those from Manila to Butuan, Busuanga, Cagayan de Oro, Calbayog, Catarman, Caticlan, Cotabato, Dipolog, Dumaguete, Legazpi, Masabate, Naga, Ozamiz, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, Surigao, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, Zamboanga and some Kalibo flights.

Flights to major domestic destinations such as Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, Iloilo, Laoag, Tagbilaran, and select Kalibo flights will stay at Terminal 2.

Passengers with inquiries may call 855-8888, PAL’s 24-hour hotline. Those holding tickets issued by Airphil Express may also call 855-9000.

The terminal reassignments are part of the changes implemented at PAL, now controlled by the San Miguel Corp. group.

Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. last April took control of PAL from the Lucio Tan group. The former food-and-beverage group steered the airline to an $11.4-million profit in its first three months of operations.

PAL currently has plans to add 100 brand-new aircraft to its current fleet of 39 planes. The company has placed an order for 64 new Airbus jets—a combination of wide and narrow-body planes worth $10 billion—from European manufacturer EADS.