Flag carrier Philippine Airlines is planning to double its flight frequencies to Canada following successful talks between the negotiating panels of both countries.
“With the successful conclusion of the government-to-government air talks, we look forward to flying twice daily to Canada and offering our passengers greater flexibility and choice,” PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said in a statement.
PAL said it would file its manifestation before the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to secure the entitlements. Once approved, the entitlements would increase PAL’s total flight frequencies per week to Canada from seven to 14.
Last week, CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said the Philippine air panel had secured an additional seven flight frequencies per week to Canada, bringing the country’s entitlement to 14 flights a week. Arcilla described Canada as a “very strong” market for the Philippines. Canada is home to nearly 800,000 Filipinos.
PAL is the only airline that flies directly to Canada from Manila, with seven times weekly flights to Vancouver and three times weekly to Toronto (via Vancouver).
It is still unclear whether Air Canada will use its flight entitlements to the Philippines or if PAL may borrow them at some point in the future, Philippine Flight Network said in a report.
The aviation portal said “it was recently revealed that PAL would be downgrading its Canadian routes to the older Airbus A340-300 in September from the current Boeing 777 flagship aircraft that has been operating the route.”
Image courtesy of Rosemary Ratcliff / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
