ANA mamumuhunan ng $95-M sa PAL

Ni Florenda Corpuz

Mula sa kaliwa: Sina Philippine Airlines President/COO Jaime Bautista,
LT Group President/PAL Holdings director Michael Tan, ANA
Holdings President/CEO Shinya Katanozaka, at All Nippon Airways
President/CEO Yuji Hirako sa signing ceremony na ginanap kamakailan
sa ANA Intercontinental Hotel, Tokyo. (Kuha ni Din Eugenio)

TOKYO – Sigurado na ang partnership ng All Nippon Airways (ANA), ang pinakamalaki at 5-star airline ng Japan sa loob ng anim na taon, at ng Philippine Airlines (PAL), ang 4-star flag carrier ng Pilipinas.

Ito ay matapos selyuhan ng dalawang airline companies ang paglalagak ng $95 milyong puhunan ng ANA Holdings Inc. (ANA HD) sa PAL Holdings Inc. at pagkuha ng 9.5 porsyentong outstanding shares ng una sa huli.

Manggagaling ang shares na kukunin ng ANA HD sa Trustmark Holdings Corporation na pag-aari ng pamilya Lucio Tan, ang pinakamalaking shareholder ng PAL Holdings.

“Having been established in 1941, PAL is the oldest airline in Asia and it is the foremost flag carrier of the Philippines. This year marks the 70^th anniversary of its service to Japan, which was launched even before the Japanese carriers started their service on Japan-Philippines route,” panimula ni ANA Holdings, Inc. President and CEO Shinya Katanozaka sa kanyang talumpati sa ginanap na Business and Capital Partnership ceremony sa pagitan ng dalawang kumpanya na ginanap sa ANA Intercontinental Hotel kamakailan.

“Lucio Tan Group, which holds stakes in PAL is the Philippines’ leading conglomerate operating in wide range sectors including food, air travel, hotel, and international services, among others. It is a great pleasure for us to form partnership with such a fine partner with a proud long history,” aniya.

Binanggit din ni Katanozaka na ang ANA HD ay “confident in the high potentials of the Philippines” dahil isa ito sa mga bansa sa Asya na nagtala ng pinakamaraming bilang ng mga turistang bumisita sa Japan sa nakalipas na limang taon.

“We look forward to exchanges with Lucio Tan Group and Philippines Airlines to build durable win-win relationship, and hopefully that would take us into further collaboration in various areas in the future,” dagdag pa niya.

Ibinahagi naman ni Michael G. Tan, pangulo ng LT Group, Inc. at director ng PAL Holdings, ang kanyang pagkagalak.

“It has been a privilege of Philippine Airlines to serve the Philippines-Japan international market for seven full decades,” aniya.

Unang lumipad ang PAL patungong Japan sa pamamagitan ng Manila-Tokyo route noong Enero 26, 1949.

“As partner airlines, ANA and PAL share commitment to excellence and passion that is deep and traditional, but also young and modern, and very much focus on the future of innovation and opportunities,” saad niya.

Dumalo rin sa seremonya sina President and CEO of All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. Yuji Hirako at President and COO of Philippine Airlines, Inc. Jaime J. Bautista.

“We at ANA look forward to learning more about Filipino hospitality to brush up the Japanese way of hospitality. ANA will work even more closely with PAL, which is the only full service carrier in the Philippines to provide services of the highest quality together by working in unison,” sabi ni Hirako.

Sinabi naman ni Bautista na ang pamumuhunan ng ANA Holdings sa PAL Holdings ay maituturing na “major breakthrough” para sa relasyon ng Japan at Pilipinas.

“We assure you that Philippine Airlines is ready to do our part to build on the solid and worthy foundation that we are celebrating today,” aniya.

Sa kasalukuyan ay may 84 flights bawat linggo sa siyam na ruta patungong Japan ang PAL habang ang ANA naman ay nag-o-operate ng 14 na flights kada linggo sa dalawang ruta sa Pilipinas. May codeshare operations din ang dalawang carriers sa Japan-Philippine routes at domestic routes sa Japan at sa Pilipinas na nag-uugnay sa kabuuang 16 na Japanese at 11 na Philippine destinations.