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MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines? failure to measure up to international aviation safety standards may bring dire consequences to the country?s airline and tourism industries, an organization of travel agencies has warned.
Robert Lim Joseph, chair of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies, said the US Federal Aviation Administration?s downgrade of the country?s safety rating could cause passengers to use foreign airlines instead of the nation?s flag-carrier in flying to and from the United States.
?The flying public might misconstrue that the downgrading was imposed on PAL [Philippine Airlines] when in fact the downgrade was because of the ineptness of the ATO (Air Transportation Office),? said Joseph, also a director at the Air Safety Foundation.
?Passengers might instead choose foreign carriers... Now air travel will be lopsided in favor of foreign-carriers.?
Being the lone Philippine-licensed carrier servicing the United States, PAL -- which enjoys a niche market of balikbayan -- might well bear the brunt of the rating downgrade as the airline is barred from adding flights to American cities and territories.
If an airline shift happens, revenues from air travel would be remitted outside the country, instead of staying within the economy, Joseph said.
?Foreign carriers go straight to clients and offer bookings at lower prices. At least PAL supports travel agencies... If passengers buy PAL, the peso stays here. But if they choose other airlines, the money is converted to dollars and goes out of the country,? said Joseph, speaking in behalf of more than 1,100 travel agencies around the country.
