MANILA, Philippines--Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Tuesday flew in 70,000 bottles of distilled water donated by Asia Brewery, Inc. (ABI) to Tokyo, Japan, signaling the start of PAL's shipment of relief goods for earthquake and tsunami victims.
TOKYO—Airlines scrambled on Thursday to fly thousands of passengers out of Tokyo as the United States authorized the first evacuations of Americans out of Japan and other governments—from Britain to South Korea—advised their citizens to leave.
MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Airlines (PAL) is assuring its passengers that the unresolved labor issues plaguing the flag carrier would not have any effect on its operations.
MANILA, Philippines – Gokongwei-led budget carrier Cebu Pacific is hiring hundreds of new employees to support its expansion plans for the next five years.
In a statement, the company said it would “offer high-paying jobs to key positions as it moves forward with its expansion plans in Asia.” This would be the company’s biggest recruitment campaign to date.
The airline said it would hire 75 new pilots to man its fleet of Airbus A320 jets and ATR turbo-prop aircraft. More than 200 new cabin crew, 10 mechanics and engineers and 20 ground support crew in the various fields of cargo, airport services, accounting, information systems and human resources are also being hired.
“It is an exciting and fun time for the airline as it proceeds with its expansion plans and takes delivery of 20 more brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft from 2011-2014. We look forward to welcoming more people into the Cebu Pacific family,” said Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog.
The airline has received four brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft from October 2010 to January 2011.
“Cebu Pacific has created more than 4,000 jobs with an annual payroll of over P2 billion. It has created 500 jobs in the last year alone. We are proud to provide high-paying jobs to Filipinos and keep them close to their families,” she added.
Iyog said interested and qualified applicants could attend the airline’s recruitment event at Hotel Intercontinental Manila on Feb. 11-12, 2011.
One-day processing recruitment campaigns will also be held at PATTS College of Aeronautics on Feb. 9 and the Philippine State College of Aeronautics on March 2, with others to follow, according to Iyog.
“Those applying for flight crew [pilot] positions must embody Cebu Pacific’s culture of fun, should have a college degree and basic computer literacy and a minimum of 500 hours on civil registered transport aircraft certificated on multi-crew operations,” the company said.
Meanwhile, qualifications for being flight attendants include a “dynamic personality,” a minimum height of 5’ 3,” weight that is proportional to height, clear complexion and good eyesight, among others.
The first low-cost carrier in Asia, Cebu Pacific currently operates more than 260 flights daily to 16 international cities and 33 domestic destinations. It flew almost 10.5 million passengers in 2010, exceeding targets with a 19-percent increase over the 2009 figures. Its international passengers also grew 38 percent in 2010.
This comes amid the labor woes of Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific’s main rival.
MANILA, Philippines—Airport authorities on Sunday stopped two Chinese nationals bound for Hong Kong and confiscated from them what appeared to be a gold bar, which bore a mark indicating it was part of the fabled Yamashita treasure.
Police asked Zhaohai Hong, a Chinese national, not to board a Philippine Airlines flight scheduled to leave past 8 a.m. Sunday and invited the man for questioning after scanners at a security checkpoint found the bar among his belongings.
Operators of X-ray machines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 took note of a metal-like object inside Zhaohai’s trolley bag as he submitted himself for inspection around 5:50 a.m.
Inspectors searched his bag with the passenger’s permission and found the metallic bar, which authorities later learned was made of bronze.
The metal weighed about five kilos and was marked “Yamashita Gold 999.”
Authorities kept the bar as Zhaohai and his wife were allowed to board the soonest flight to Hong Kong.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—A Filipino nurse was among four people killed in the crash of an emergency medical helicopter near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Defense and Aviation Ministry said.
The ministry, in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency, said the helicopter went down Friday some 35 kilometers south of Riyadh. The chopper belonged to the armed forces medical services.
The statement said all on board were killed—the Saudi pilot and co-pilot, an Egyptian doctor and a Filipino nurse. The ministry is investigating the crash.
