Filipino-Australian parents may as well ask their children pursue an aviation career to take advantage of the huge present demand for this type of profession in Australia and in Asia said retiring Philippine Airlines Country manager for Australia and New Zealand Mr Arnul Pan.
“In our part of the world including China which recently placed an order for 100 Boeing jets, air carriers are rebuilding their fleets of commercial aircrafts. Certainly they would require more airline pilots,” said Mr Pan who recently completed 38 years of service with PAL, with 12 of them in Australia as head of PAL’s interests in Australia.
Aside from the usual congratulations, the club of journalism aligned individuals called Filipino Press Group of Sydney or Filpress Sydney led by veteran journalist Mr. Jimmy Pimentel honoured Mr. Pan last week of April with a testimonial breakfast in Sydney’s Circular Quay commending the PAL executive’s great help to the Filipino community.
Filpress Sydney presented Mr. Pan a memorable framed caricature of himself from the pen of well known Filipino artist and newspaper caricaturist Mr Edd Aragon of Sydney.
Last Friday 10 May, a $70-a-plate testimonial dinner reception was held at the Waterview Convention Centre at Bicentennial Park, with representatives from 26 Philipine community organisations including the peak organisation Philippine Communities Council of NSW(PCC-NSW) which represents 75 indvidual community organisations.
Mr Pan said he was privileged to be part of his company’s commitment to give the Filipino community in Australia reasonable plane fare to the Philippines since more than 12 years ago.
Mr Pan said he himself sought consistently the 80 per cent of PAL’S customers in Australia which is identified as the Filipino migrants and expatriates in order to sustain PAL’c market share in the business for Philippine bound travellers.
Mr Pan recounted that Philippine Airlines resumed flying to Australia after three years lull through the initiative of a non-PAL company which initially flew chartered PAL flights to Sydney.
However, the project became unsustainable because of the high costs involved in solely relying on chartered flights to move passengers.
Mr Pan said moved by compassion to air travellers from Australia who were at the mercy of a single carrier pricing system, the then PAL management team decided to revive PAL’s flight route between Australia and the Philippines.
Mr. Pan said he was pulled out from his position as vice president for cargo to spearhead the Australian operation . Mr Pan said he had the privilege of knowing many community leaders and project prime movers , helping them in their fund raising and organisational needs.
Mr Pan said travel industry especially in Australia and Asia is booming and PAL has continued to be alert and close to the ground monitoring the needs of its market.
Mr. Pan said he sees PAL providing more slightly above prices over budget air fares of no-frills regional airlines in newly approved routes such as the one via Darwin.
In a number of cases, Mr Pan said PAL’s “specials” which still retain in-flight meals and other offers , especially those purchased through internet would turn out to be the more reasonable deals.
Succeeding Pan is PAL Country Manager Michele Narvaez, previously country manager for Vietnam.