Philippine Airlines responds

We are greatly concerned about the alleged incident on Philippine Airlines flight PR 535 from Manila to Jakarta last Aug. 18 as narrated in a letter of complaint by Mr. Ramsey R. Omar from Bogor, West Java (Sept. 9, 1996 : Hit by wine bottle).

In the letter, Mr. Omar related his unfortunate experience on said flight, saying he was accidentally hit on the head by a wine bottle which fell from the overhead luggage compartment as another passenger attempted to retrieve a briefcase.

We wish Mr. Omar had communicated with us directly not only for the opportunity to convey our sincerest apologies in a more appropriate manner, but also to learn more about the incident.

An initial inquiry conducted shortly after the published complaint was brought to our attention proved futile particularly since there was no mention of the incident in the post flight report submitted by the purser on duty, Ms. Sylvia Tito. When questioned, Ms. Tito said that she was not informed of any such incident at any time during or after flight.

While we were relieved to hear that Mr. Omar managed to emerge from the experience with only a minor head injury, we are not inclined to allow any such incident to pass without ensuring that some remedial action is taken to prevent a possible recurrence. In particular, we are intent on addressing any possible oversight on the part of our cabin crew or any of our personnel.

May we point out that a caution to passengers regarding the opening of the overhead compartment and the stowage and retrieval of luggage therein, is an integral part of the standard inflight announcement.

Furthermore, our inflight personnel are equipped with the necessary first aid skills, a major part of their training course conducted by Red Cross representatives specifically commissioned by Philippine Airlines for the purpose.

ARNUL PAN

Manager Indonesia

Philippine Airlines

Jakarta