Legacy carrier Philippine Airlines announced on Wednesday it will operate more flights between Manila and Melbourne this June to accommodate more passengers going to and from Australia.
PAL external communications chief and spokesperson Ma. Cielo Villaluna said beginning June 1, the newly ranked four-star airline will operate the Manila-Melbourne flight service five times a week from the current thrice weekly service.
“The additional flights form part of several operational enhancements being undertaken by PAL after receiving the coveted 4-Star certification from air transport rating organization Skytrax,” said Villaluna.
PAL Flight PR207 will leave Manila every Wednesday and Friday at 4:45 p.m. and will arrive in Melbourne at 3 a.m. local time the following day. The returning flight PR208 leaves the Australian city every Thursday and Saturday at 5:40 a.m. local time and touches down in Manila at 10:55 a.m. on the same day.
On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, PR209 leaves Manila at 9:10 p.m. and lands in Melbourne at 8:30 a.m. local time the following day and on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, PR210 departs Melbourne at 10:15 a.m. local time and reaches Manila at 3:30 p.m. on the same day.
“The new frequency to Melbourne would enable Aussies to maximize the benefits of the domestic and international hub of PAL, which currently offers a combined total of 77 destinations,” said PAL vice president for Sales Ryan Uy. “Passengers will get to enjoy our newly reconfigured Airbus A330’s with new lie-flat business class, new premium economy and new economy seats.”
“We continue to receive positive reviews about our new business class seats. Passenger loads between Melbourne and Manila have been consistently in the high 80s, while Sydney-Manila has been in the high 80s to 90s since we utilized the A330 tri-class for the equally popular route,” Uy added.
On March 28, PAL will also shift to a thrice weekly non-stop service between Manila and Brisbane, which will enable passengers to use the Airbus A340 with lie-flat business class seats.
Flight PR221 will operate every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday departing Manila at 11:30 p.m. and arriving in Brisbane at 9:20 a.m. local time the following day. The returning flight PR222 will leave the AUS city every Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. local time and arrive in Manila at 5 p.m. on the same day.
Arriving passengers can enjoy Manila for a few days and hop on to one of PAL’s domestic flights before connecting to the airline’s international network especially to the UK and North Asia.
Following the recognition from Skytrax, PAL will also undertake major initiatives this year to follow through on this historic milestone and sustain the four-star rating.
First in the lineup is the introduction of a new line of aircraft tailored for mid-size markets on medium-range routes. The new Airbus A321neo is slated for delivery this month, to be deployed on the new Manila-Brisbane nonstop route by May.
With the A321neo, PAL becomes the first Asian airline to utilize a narrow-bodied aircraft equipped with 12 full-flat Business Class seats.
All 168 seats (Business Class and Economy) on the A321neo have in-seat video monitors—another first for PAL’s single-aisle aircraft fleet —loaded with more than 300 hours of inflight entertainment. Economy seats are more spacious with wider legroom.
The eco-friendly and powerful A321neo engines generate less noise and can fly up to a maximum of eight hours. The whole cabin also offers free Wi-Fi connectivity.
A total of six A321neo and four Airbus A350-900s will be delivered within 2018. The A350-900s—equipped with exciting cabin features in PAL’s most luxurious Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class cabins to date—will start arriving in June, allowing PAL to deploy non-stop flights to the US East Coast through the polar region, along with more routes to European cities.
First up is nonstop service from Manila to New York J.F. Kennedy Airport by October, with services to Seattle, Chicago and a point in Western Europe in the pipeline afterwards.
PAL will continue to beef up its flight networks originating from Clark, Cebu and Davao, as part of its “multi-hub” network strategy. A new Davao-Siargao route will open this month, even as PAL hikes Cebu-Bangkok services from thrice weekly to daily for the upcoming April to October summer schedule period.