Flag carrier Philippine Airlines has announced it will mount direct flights from Tagbilaran City in Bohol to Incheon, South Korea and Clark, Pampanga next month as part of its continuing route expansion.
PAL’s direct Tagbilaran-Incheon and Tagbilaran-Clark flights allow travelers to reach their destinations conveniently with no stopover in Manila.
Beginning June 22 this year, Tagbilaran will become the sixth local city to be linked to an international destination when PAL mounts a chartered service to Incheon.
The airline is presently operating international flights out of Manila, Cebu, Clark, Kalibo in Aklan and Puerto Princesa in Palawan.
PAL spokesperson Ma. Cielo Villaluna said the new service to Incheon departs Tagbilaran at 5:20 p.m. daily, arriving in South Korea six hours later.
“The Tagbilaran-Clark and Clark-Tagbilaran flights, which will start June 23, provide tourists with direct access to Central Luzon and Central Visayas without having to endure Metro Manila’s traffic,” she added.
The Tagbilaran-Clark flight leaves Tagbilaran daily at 6:40 a.m.
Meanwhile, PAL management has signed an agreement with maintenance, repair and operations service provider SR Technics for a 12-year integrated component services deal.
The agreement covers the servicing of a total of 45 Boeing A321s and 15 A330-300s. This includes maintenance, component pooling and consignment of the main base kit ensuring flexible access to spare parts.
SR Technics’ Center of Excellence for component maintenance in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which currently serves over 460 aircraft in the Asia Pacific region, will manage the services.
“Safety remains the cornerstone of our operations. As such, we put premium in cultivating relationships with MRO experts to help ensure the reliability of our fleet,” PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime J. Bautista said.
SR Technics CEO Jeremy Remacha stressed: “We are delighted to contribute to the success of Philippine Airlines, extending our partnership for another 12 years. SR Technics has been expanding its presence in Asia over the past few years, and we are committed to further develop our services in this fast-developing market.
“This new agreement demonstrates our world-class quality and reliability, offering our customers genuine added value. We look forward to supporting PAL for many years to come,” Remacha added.