Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings Inc., also known historically (until 1970) as Philippine Air Lines, is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered at the PNB Financial Center in Pasay City, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the first and oldest commercial airline in Asia operating under its original name. Philippine Airlines serves 31 destinations in the Philippines and 41 overseas destinations in Southeast Asia, East Asia, Middle East, Oceania, North America and Europe. Formerly one of the largest Asian airlines, PAL was severely affected by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In one of the Philippines’ biggest corporate failures, PAL was forced to downsize its international operations by completely cutting flights to Europe and Middle East, cutting virtually all domestic flights except routes operated from Manila, reducing the size of its fleet, and laying off thousands of employees. The airline was placed under receivership in 1998, and gradually restored operations to many destinations. However, PAL’s vision to re-establish itself as one of Asia’s premier carriers, is still the matter of greatest importance.