page_title: History of Philippine Airlines
section_title: Return of Lucio Tan and continued expansion (2014–2019)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Philippine Airlines / Return of Lucio Tan and continued expansion (2014–2019)
caption_attribution_description: Philippine Airlines 75 “ The Heart 0f The Filipino”
context_page_description: Philippine Airlines is the flag carrier of the Philippines, operating from its base at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. PAL is the oldest airline in Asia operating under its original name, having been founded in 1941.
context_section_description: On October 23, 2014, Philippine Airlines announced the appointment of Bautista as the new president and COO of Philippine Airlines. Under Bautista's rule, Philippine Airlines deferred the deliveries of the Airbus A321neo that was supposed to be delivered from November 2017, under the San Miguel management. The strategic move minimised the risk of an overcapacity with single aisle aircraft in the PAL fleet. Jaime Bautista also announced plans to replace its A340 fleet, with the choice of a new and modern Airbus A350 XWB or Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In addition to new aircraft, PAL has chosen to lease more 777s for its growing long haul flights.
  In January 2015, Philippine Airlines became the official carrier of Pope Francis throughout his apostolic trip in the Philippines. The aircraft boarded by the pontiff was named "Shepherd One". The airline flew the pope to the city of Tacloban and, as per traditional protocol, flew him back to Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy from Manila.
  In March 2015, coinciding with the 74th anniversary of the carrier, Philippine Airlines resumed flights to New York City via the John F. Kennedy International Airport with a stopover in Vancouver from Manila. The airline previously flew to New York via Newark Liberty International Airport, but canceled the route in 1997 following the Asian financial crisis. Philippine Airlines originally utilized the Airbus A340 for its flights, but in October 2015, PAL upgraded its Boeing 747-400 order to the larger Boeing 777-300ER to increase seat capacity for flights to New York. In addition, Philippine Airlines expanded to the Oceania region by introducing flights to Auckland, New Zealand (via Cairns, Australia) and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. Philippine Airlines' global expansion and new routes also made the airline among nine out of the sixteen publicly traded Southeast Asian carriers to be profitable, having kept a $120 million profit. It was ranked the fourth profitable overall and second profitable full-service carrier in Southeast Asia, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
  In June 2015, Philippine Airlines renewed its partnership with Lufthansa Technik Philippines for a two-year base and heavy maintenance checks for its Airbus fleet.
  In 2016, Philippine Airlines announced the launching of flights between Manila and Doha, Manila and Kuwait City (via Dubai), and Cebu City to Los Angeles.
  In April 2016, on Philippine Airlines' 75th anniversary, the airline introduced a new campaign called The Heart of the Filipino. The campaign was aggressively undertaken, with the launch of new advertisements which are endorsed by The Voice of the Philippines judges: singers Bamboo Mañalac, Lea Salonga, and Sarah Geronimo, as well as the Miss Universe 2015 winner, Pia Wurtzbach. The airline adopted a new theme song, which incorporates the vocals of Mañalac, Salonga, and Geronimo. The lyrics famously includes the old PAL slogan "Shining Through," reminiscing on PAL's successful campaign in the 1980s. The airline also released a new pre-flight safety demonstration video in conjunction with The Heart of the Filipino campaign, called Heart of The Nation, in February 2017. The video featured various tourist destinations in the Philippines with locals from those destinations demonstrating the safety guidelines.
  Philippine Airlines continued its expansion by augmenting its international and domestic flights. The airline started flying to Nanning and Sapporo, and non-stop flights to Brisbane, New York City, Perth, Toronto. There are also plans to introduce new flights to New Delhi and Mumbai. The airline also launched new flights to Clark, making Clark International Airport its second hub after Mactan–Cebu International Airport. However, the airline indefinitely suspended flights to Kuwait, Jeddah, and Darwin, as well as the route from Cebu City to Los Angeles, citing low demand.
  Continuing with its fleet expansion, Philippine Airlines acquired new aircraft to serve its new routes. The airline received its 9th and 10th Boeing 777-300ER in 2017. The airline also acq
caption: A commemorative stamp of the 75th anniversary of Philippine Airlines issued in 2016[58]
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