Philippine Airlines, Inc. (abbreviated as PAL), also known historically as Philippine Air Lines, is the flag carrier and national airline of the Philippines. Headquartered in the Philippine National Bank Financial Center in Pasay City, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the first and oldest commercial airline in Asia operating under its original name. Out of its hubs at Ninoy Aquino International Airport of Manila and Mactan-Cebu International Airport of Cebu City, Philippine Airlines serves nineteen destinations in the Philippines and 24 destinations in Southeast Asia, Middle East, East Asia, Oceania and North America.
Formerly one of the largest Asian airlines, PAL was severely affected by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. In what was believed to be one of the Philippines' biggest corporate failures, PAL was forced to downsize its international operations by completely cutting operations to Europe and eventually Southwest Asia, cutting virtually all domestic services excluding routes operated from Manila, reducing the size of its fleet and terminating the jobs of thousands of employees. The airline was placed under receivership in 1998, gradually restoring operations to many of the destinations it formerly serviced. PAL exited receivership in 2007 with ambitious plans to further its previously serviced destinations, as well as diversify its fleet.
Philippine Airlines is the only airline in the Philippines to be accredited with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and has been awarded a 3-star rating by the independent research consultancy firm Skytrax.
A Japanese flight attendant in Philppine Airlines
