Philippine Airlines (PAL), the nation’s flag carrier, is gearing up for the holiday season by increasing flight frequencies and introducing new routes to key domestic and international destinations.
- “Our goal is to help people reunite with their loved ones, and we’re committed to expanding our services to meet the needs of our customers and make holiday travel as convenient as possible,” said PAL President Stanley Ng.
- From December 21 to March 4, PAL will operate Cebu-Seoul Incheon flights, and from January 2 to March 4, it will offer Clark-Seoul and Kalibo-Seoul flights. Additionally, the airline will relaunch its Cebu-Osaka Kansai service on December 22.
PAL will deploy more wide-body aircraft on regional routes such as Manila-Tokyo (Narita), Manila-Bangkok, and Manila-Singapore to accommodate high demand.
Direct flights from Australia and the United States will see an additional weekly flight from Melbourne until January 12, alongside a recently launched service from Seattle and increased daily services from Brisbane.
Domestically, PAL is adding 74 round-trip flights between December 15 and January 12 on routes including Manila to Davao, Bacolod, Cagayan, Iloilo, Tacloban, Busuanga (Coron), Caticlan (Boracay), and Legazpi (Daraga).
Additional flights between Cebu and Caticlan, Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Legazpi, Siargao, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, and Busuanga will be available.
This peak season ramp-up follows PAL’s recent expansion of regular flights, including increased frequencies between Manila and Hanoi, Cotabato, General Santos, Cebu, Davao, and Tagbilaran.
Starting January 15, PAL will launch daily Manila-Cauayan flights.
PAL Express President Rabbi Vincent Ang expressed enthusiasm about serving the people of Isabela province with this new route. The airline will operate an 86-seater De Havilland Dash 8-400 Next Generation aircraft for the Manila-Cauayan flights.
The schedule is as follows: the plane will depart from Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 1:25 p.m. and arrive at Cauayan Airport at 2:30 p.m. The return flight will leave Cauayan at 3:25 p.m. and arrive in Manila at 4:40 p.m., allowing passengers to connect to other domestic and international PAL flights.
In addition to this new route, PAL has resumed regular direct flights between Clark in Pampanga and Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte, further expanding its presence at the Clark hub. (Edu Lopez)
