Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) has rebranded its freight and logistics business division into PAL Cargo. The company announced the rebrand at a June 16, 2025, launch event in Manila.
The airline wanted to "refresh the brand to reflect everything that is going on in the cargo industry and show that PAL Cargo is right up there and is worthy of the same branding as the rest of the business," said the carrier's president, Richard Nuttall. He described the cargo business as "much more interesting than the passenger business."
Cargo currently accounts for around 5% of the airline's business, but the goal is to raise this to 8-9%. In 2024, cargo contributed USD159.7 million of the carrier's USD3.13 billion revenue. Despite the relatively small contribution to overall revenues, cargo revenue grew 12% in 2024 and is expected to continue growing this year.
"It’s challenging, but the goal is to increase the volume," Jason Siy, Philippine Airlines' cargo vice president, told the Rappler news website. "E-commerce is growing every year," he said, adding that despite trade disputes, tariffs, and other cost disruptions, "cargo will still grow by the year. So far, we’re exceeding the volumes from last year."
Siy said Philippine Airlines was "looking into" the prospects of acquiring freighters but added the caveat that Manila's primary airport was slot-constrained and operating passenger aircraft there is more profitable.
According to ch-aviation Commercial Aviation News, Operator & Airport Data, Philippine Airlines has no dedicated freighters but operates 78 aircraft ranging in size from DHC-8-Q400s to B777-300ERs. Those aircraft fly to 71 airports across 20 countries and carried 52,600 tonnes of cargo in the first quarter of 2025.
