PAL Expands With New Asian Routes

Philippine Airlines (PAL), the country’s only fourstar global airline, ramps up operations in the Asian region by launching new routes to Hanoi (Vietnam), Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and New Delhi (India) from its Manila hub, starting this summer season.

This latest expansion by the award-winning flag carrier creates the first direct air link between the Philippines and the capital of Cambodia, expands PAL’s existing Vietnam network and reestablishes a historic link to India with immense potential for tourism development.

PAL currently operates 43 weekly flights nonstop from six North American destinations: New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco, Honolulu, and Vancouver.

Flights between Manila and Hanoi will operate four times weekly (Monday/ Wednesday/Friday/Sunday) starting March 31, 2019 with PR 595 departing at 10:25 p.m. and arriving at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport at 12:45 a.m. the following day. Return flights via PR 596 leave Hanoi every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 1:45 a.m. and touch down in Manila at 5:30 a.m.

Flights between Manila and Phnom Penh will operate five times weekly (Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday) starting April 1, 2019 with PR 521 departing at 10:10 p.m. and arriving at Phnom Penh International Airport at 11:45 p.m. Return flights via PR 522 leave Phnom Penh every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 12:45 a.m. and touch down in Manila at 4:20 a.m.

PAL will maintain its current eight weekly flights between Manila and Vietnam’s commercial hub, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a city served by the flag carrier since the mid-1980s.

The long-heralded return of PAL to the Indian market will provide a welcome boost to the tourism industries of both the Philippines and India. The airline previously flew the Manila – Delhi route from 2011 to 2013, with most flights making costly stopovers in Bangkok due to the limited range of the Airbus A320 aircraft then in use. PAL also served Kolkata (Calcutta) as a key stopover point on the flag carrier’s multi-stop Manila-Europe services in the 1950s.

PAL is targeting April 2019 as the start of the New Delhi service subject to final slot and operational clearances with the Indian authorities. The new route is slated to run four times weekly nonstop between Manila and New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport using brand-new Airbus A321neo aircraft.

The A321neo also offers passengers full-flat business class seats, generous legroom and the latest in entertainment systems, and Wi-Fi connectivity. The aircraft is also flying nonstop to Sydney, Brisbane, Port Moresby, and Sapporo at present. For Hanoi and Phnom Penh, PAL will utilize a 156-seater Airbus A320 and a 199-seater Airbus A321 Classic.

To serve the strategic goal of strengthening the Philippines as a network hub, PAL is also increasing the number of weekly flights to certain destinations during the Summer 2019 travel season.

The expansion marks the first time an airline will offer more than four daily flights linking Manila with the U.S. West Coast (totaling 31 weekly flights to California alone) along with daily services on ultralong-range routes to both New York and Toronto on the US/Canadian East Coast. (PAL’s Manila-New York nonstops are the longest commercial route operated by any airline to New York’s JFK Airport, and the eighth longest commercial airline route in the world.)

The expanded flight frequencies will give PAL passengers the increased flexibility to choose from a wider array of flight departure and arrival times for greater convenience. Travelers will also be able to connect more easily across the airline’s international and domestic route network, thus supporting the Philippines’ position as an aviation hub.

PAL shall continue to deploy its full fleet of brand-new high-technology aircraft, including the long-range Airbus A350-900, the mid-range A321neo and the tri-class A330 airliners so that more flyers can experience the 4-Star branded service that won accolades for the flag carrier in recent months, including most recently the honors for the World’s Most Improved Airline for 2019 according to AirlineRatings.com.