SUPER FIRE 7

Dino and Carol Karganilla continue to waltz their way through the colorful journey of life.

Now in their 30th year with the flag carrier, our PAL couple officially earned their coveted Flight Purser titles by successfully completing their senior cabin crew training together.

We go back to 1997, when Dino, who hails from Cebu and a graduate of PAL Basic Class 94-04, met Carol of PAL Basic Class 93-13, during a flight to London. Both were products of a recent international upgrading class.

The young Cebuano was immediately smitten with Carol.

 

Enjoying a light moment in one of their foreign station layovers.

 

 

When Purser Carol was asked if it was love at first sight, she candidly said, “No, we are friends at first. I didn’t want to go into a relationship ‘agad’ since we just started flying international.”

Dino recalled with amusement, "In that seven days layover, for her, I was the most ‘makulit‘ and corniest guy she has ever met.”

He eventually won over Carol's friendship with his wit, charm and corny jokes during their crew layover.

Both also discovered their common interest in and love for musicals and even watched Miss Saigon at London's West End together. The show would become the staging ground for their blossoming friendship.

 

Both sharing a passion for musicals, the play Miss Saigon became the staging ground for their budding friendship.

 

 

Upon their return from London, they had a mutual desire to spend more time together to get to know each other. But their conflicting work schedules posed a challenge. Both were among the most junior of the group.

But love finds a way and with every opportunity for a meet-up, both got to know each other even better. Slowly but surely, love blossomed.

Challenging Times

 

1998 was a difficult year for Philippine Airlines and a challenging period for many PALers, including both of them.

They were part of those that were retrenched and they got separated which led to them losing contact with each other. Dino moved to the US, while Carol was in Manila.

"Then in early 2000 he suddenly emailed me!” she exclaimed. Carol found out that Dino was still keen on pursuing her. She added “Later on I found out while in the US he was looking for me, asked friends in Manila where I was and finally, he was able to get my email and contacted me.”

Dino came back home to the Philippines and they started seeing dating again. That’s when we decided to be in a serious relationship. Sparks flew and which led to them getting married in 2003.

Building a home together was like a musical production in itself.  Filled with laughter and action. They compliment each other with Dino being the comedic one while Carol can be the more serious one.

The union gave birth to one daughter, and like her parents, she acquired their passion for musicals. Carol shared, “Looking back we managed to support our daughter in her musical  shows and  passion in theater. don’t know how we did it but it was memorable and fun.”

 

The Karganillas, together with PAL Chairman and CEO Dr. Lucio C. Tan.

 

 

At times they can sync their schedules for them to be together and have time off and spend it with their daughter or visit Dino’s parents in Cebu. If they would be away, Carol’s mom would take care of their daughter until they return from duty. What made it work? Dino said “Open communication and trust is important. Lalo na sa line of work namin (Especially in our line of work). And you need to have humor. Pag wala yan, hindi masaya ang pagsasama (It’s not fun without it.)”

 

Fast Forward to 2024

There is no dull moment when the Karganillas are around, especially Dino.

 

 

The years of experience have molded Dino and Carol to be warriors of life. The knowledge, skills and values learned have transformed them into being the best versions of themselves.

At the start of 2024, the opportunity to become flight pursers presented itself. Both signed up for PAL's Pursers training - a vital step towards achieving a career milestone.

After going through weeks of training and check rides on short-haul, medium-haul and long-haul flights, they finally earned their coveted wings.

The couple helped each other out to reach this goal. “By reminding each other everyday, by studying together on the assignments, seat works and exams for the next day, and checking each other’s work reports and flight briefing drills,” they said.

Dino and Carol have now officially joined PAL’s proud roster of international flight pursers. Both are more than ready to render PAL's trademark heartfelt service to all passengers.

As they assume their roles as leaders of their flight teams, they will apply their winning formula in their aviation career -- teamwork plus dedication equals successful journeys.