MANILA - An ambitious one billion dollar six-year expansion plan by national flag carrier Philippine Airlines could be cut back if the airline fails to halt an exodus of pilots seeking better pay elsewhere.

"This is not a problem unique to PAL," Jaime Bautista the airline's president and chief operating officer told AFP in an interview.

"Many airlines throughout the region are facing the same problem. The industry is expanding so fast, especially in India and China, there simply isn't enough experienced pilots to go round.

"So the easiest and cheapest way to get your pilots is to go to the established carriers and offer packages that make it hard for many pilots to refuse.

"It is cheap because you don't have to pay for their training because someone else has done that for you."

Late last year the airline unveiled a $1-billion dollar expansion plan with the purchase of nine A320s with options for another five.

The plan was to have the new aircraft come into service between 2006 and 2008, with delivery on the options between 2009 and 2012 should the airline take them up.

"We have deferred delivery this year and will take up one next year," he said.

"It is not critical but we are planning to play it safe at least for the time being until we can stabilize the exodus. It is no point having the aircraft if you don't have the pilots," Bautista said.

A forum of local aviation officials in Manila last week warned that with the rate local pilots and mechanics were being poached by foreign airlines local carriers could end up grounded by 2010.

Some 140 senior pilots and over 1,900 aircraft mechanics have left for higher paying jobs overseas in the last five years the forum was told.

"Being the biggest carrier in the country of course we feel it more than the others," Bautista said.

Of the 700 pilots who carry air transport licences (licences that qualify them to be captains) employed in the Philippines, PAL employs 440 of them.

From 2003 until the end of February this year PAL had lost 78 of its senior pilots to foreign competitors.

According to Bautista, a captain with PAL can gross a salary of between $4,000 and $7,000 a month.

"By local standards at least this is a very good salary but how can you match competitors, especially those in the Middle East and India, paying double and tax free. Here, our pilots are taxed at 32 percent."

Airbus Industries in its global markets forecast for 2004 to 2023 estimates that the number of passenger aircraft in service will double to 21,759 in 2023, from the 10,838 at the end of 2003.

In that period, Airbus estimates, world passenger traffic will increase by 5.3 percent per annum which will require the delivery of some 16,601 new passenger aircraft.*AFP

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