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Philippine Airlines will launch nonstop flights between Manila and Seattle starting October 2, 2024, its eight destination in North America
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The PAL Manila-Seattle-Manila services will initially operate three times weekly, every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
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The new service is seen to increase PAL’s cargo volumes, with an estimated 60 tons of cargoes to be carried weekly
Philippine Airlines (PAL) will launch nonstop flights between Manila and Seattle starting October 2, 2024, its eight destination in North America.
PAL will be the first carrier to link the Philippines and the US Pacific Northwest region with direct flights seen to help stimulate business and leisure travel of US residents to the Philippines, the flag carrier said in a statement.
Over 900,000 Americans visited the Philippines in 2023, making the US the country’s second largest source of tourists.
The flag carrier expects to serve the growing number of Filipinos visiting family and friends in Washington and Oregon, home to more than 240,000 Filipino Americans.
“Our Manila-Seattle-Manila flights give us a valuable opportunity to promote our beautiful island country as a flourishing tourist and business destination for American travellers. We also look forward to serving Filipinos who hope to reunite with family members or experience new travel adventures in the vibrant U.S. Pacific Northwest,” PAL president and chief operating officer Stanley K. Ng said.
PAL senior vice president and general counsel Carlos Luis Fernandez in a media briefing on April 2 said the new route is “another major step in an ongoing transformation of journey towards a more robust, vibrant, and customer friendly Philippine Airlines.”
Aside from passengers, the new service is seen to increase PAL’s cargo volumes and further contribute to increased trade and economic activity between the U.S. and Asia.
PAL vice president for cargo business Jason Siy told PortCalls at the sidelines of the new route’s launch that most of the cargo going to the existing Vancouver, Canada flights, such as tuna and e-commerce packages, are actually bound for Seattle.
Siy said they will use Seattle as a hub and will be connected to PAL’s existing service in John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York since the latter has a restricted payload being a direct flight.
Siy said they initially estimate 60 tons of cargo per week but will still depend on the remaining capacity of each flight.
The Manila-Seattle-Manila services will initially operate three times weekly, every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with departures at 10:40 pm local time from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, and at 11:40pm local time from Seattle Tacoma International Airport.
Seattle, a high-tech business hub and thriving port city, is the gateway to various population centers in the states of Washington and Oregon, including Portland, Salem, Spokane, Tacoma and Eugene. PAL said travelers can also take advantage of connectivity via PAL’s airline partners to various U.S. mainland cities, including Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas and Washington D.C.
The flights also provide connectivity via Manila to PAL’s extensive domestic and regional international network, including cities such as Cebu, Davao, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.
Seattle is PAL’s eighth destination in North America. The Philippine carrier already operates 46 weekly flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Toronto, Honolulu and Guam.
The flag carrier will deploy a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to perform the Seattle services, with full-flat seats in Business Class and PAL’s inflight service featuring Filipino and Western meal specialties. PAL recently acquired an additional 777- 300ER aircraft as a first step towards renewing its long-haul fleet.
Nine brand new Airbus A350-1000s are slated to be delivered starting in the fourth quarter of 2025.
To promote the new Manila-Seattle service, PAL is offering a special introductory all-in roundtrip fare at US$771 for economy class and $3,071 for business class.
The introductory fare is available until April 30, 2024 and for travel from October 2 to November 30, 2024 as well as from February 1 to March 22, 2025. – Roumina Pablo
