PLA plans dollar bond sale after joining Oneworld alliance
Philippine Airlines (PAL) President Richard Nuttall and Chief Operations Officer
Carlos Luis L. Fernandez
Philippine Airlines (PAL) is preparing a return to the international debt markets with a proposed sale of United States (US) dollar-denominated fixed-rate notes, capitalizing on an operational turnaround that recently culminated in an invitation to join the Oneworld global airline alliance.
The country’s flag carrier tapped Deutsche Bank AG as sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner, alongside BNP Paribas SA as joint bookrunner, to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings and calls starting June 29, 2026.
The roadshow will target institutional investors in Asia, the US, and the EMEA region, according to a disclosure filed by parent company PAL Holdings Inc. to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
A benchmark-sized, five-year non-call two senior fixed-rate bond offering may follow under 144A and Regulation S formats, subject to market conditions. The notes are expected to be issued by Primero Agila Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted entity and wholly owned subsidiary of PAL.
The debt will be backed by unconditional and irrevocable guarantees from both PAL and its affiliate Air Philippines Corp.
The planned bond sale follows a major milestone in PAL’s post-restructuring journey. In March, the airline secured a below-investment-grade credit rating “Ba2” corporate family rating from Moody’s Ratings—making it the first carrier in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to achieve a public international credit rating from a major global agency.
Fitch Ratings has assigned an expected BB rating to the proposed senior notes, while Moody’s is expected to rate the debt Ba2, keeping the notes just three notches below the Philippine sovereign credit benchmark.
The capital market push rounds out a transformative month for the billionaire Lucio Tan-led aviation group, which recently accepted an invitation to join the Oneworld Alliance. (James A. Loyola)