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Philippine Airlines is adding more than 1,500 flights this month as international borders reopen and domestic travel restrictions ease
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The new flights boost the carrier’s regularly scheduled local and overseas flights by 52%
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PAL’s domestic flights will increase more than 56%. Its flights to the US and Canada will grow by 24%; Southeast Asia, 98%; Japan, 11%; and Middle East, 16%
Philippine Airlines (PAL) is mounting more than 1,500 additional flights this month in a major expansion of its overseas and local network as international borders reopen and domestic travel restrictions ease.
The additional flights are a 52% expansion of PAL’s regularly scheduled local and overseas flights as the airline anticipates a surge in travel demand.
“We are seizing the opportunity to intensify our efforts to promote international tourist travel to the Philippines, as well as to respond to rising demand for flights to serve overseas Filipinos and a recovering economy,” acting PAL president and chief operating officer Capt. Stanley Ng said in a statement.
“We are reasonably optimistic that air travel will rebound in the months ahead, signaling a resurgence for Philippine tourism,” he added.
This month, PAL will offer travelers a wider choice of nonstop flights to North America, as well as to the Middle East and all over Asia.
Flights to the United States and Canada will increase by more than 24%, and with Los Angeles theywill be upgraded to 11 flights weekly. San Francisco will receive daily flights. By April, New York, Vancouver, Honolulu, Toronto and Guam will see additional weekly services.
Southeast Asia is slated for a 98% increase in flights in March. PAL’s Manila-Singapore route will be expanded to 14 weekly flights and ultimately to 28 weekly flights in succeeding months.
More flights will also be added to Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Phnom Penh and to the Vietnamese cities of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Hanoi.
Routes to Japan will increase by around 11%, with additional services to Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and to Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports.
PAL currently operates the largest network of flights to multiple points in Japan.
Flights to the Middle East region will see a 16% increase out of the Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh and Dammam. PAL flies regularly nonstop from Dubai and Doha.
In addition, the flag carrier is set to bolster its domestic flights by more than 56%, including stepped-up frequencies from Manila to Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Legazpi, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Boracay and Tacloban.
Twice daily flights will operate between Manila and Coron (Busuanga), Tagbilaran (Panglao), Dumaguete and Butuan. The flag carrier will offer 11 weekly flights between Zamboanga and Manila and twice weekly flights between Zamboanga and Tawi-tawi.
Daily flights from Manila to Puerto Princesa, Kalibo, Roxas, Cotabato, Ozamiz City, Pagadian and General Santos City will be mounted.
PAL’s Cebu hub will link Mactan Airport with 13 airports in Mindanao, Luzon and the rest of the Visayas. These will include Clark, Siargao, Butuan, Davao, Boracay and Coron.
Davao will see regular flights to Iloilo and Tagbilaran, in addition to Manila.
The airline will continue serving Antique, Basco, Laoag, Catarman, Calbayog and Siargao.
