Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced an increase in flights between Manila and Seattle later this year.
The Philippine flag-carrier will increase the frequency to five weekly flights from the current thrice-weekly service from 25th November.
Coming just one year after the Manila-Seattle route was launched in October of last year, this expansion reflects the growing appeal of the airline’s non-stop route to Seattle.
Currently, this route is the only direct airline link between the Philippines and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
Airline president Richard Nuttall said: “Our decision to increase frequencies to Seattle highlights the importance of the US market to the Philippine Airlines global network, and in particular the great value of Seattle as a gateway, not just to the Washington and Oregon areas, but to cities across the United States that we can now serve through our ongoing partnership with Alaska Airlines.”
Nuttall added that PAL is focused on developing the market as a way of helping Americans plan their vacation trips to the Philippines and other Asian countries, opening up more opportunities for businesses to build up commercial activities, and enabling Filipino-Americans to have more frequent reunions with their families back home.
A new schedule
PAL will introduce new Tuesday and Thursday departures from Manila and Seattle from 25th November, for flights operating every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
Thanks to the increased number of flights, travellers gain greater flexibility to structure their travel plans, with more dates to choose from.
These flights offer seamless and convenient connections to PAL’s extensive network across the Philippines, Southeast Asia, North Asia, and Greater China, as well as to numerous US destinations via Alaska Airlines, PAL’s service partner.
PAL and Alaska Airlines currently have a frequent flyer partnership that expands travel opportunities for loyal customers.
The Alaska Airlines hub at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is recognized as the largest airline hub on the entire U.S. West Coast.
Ongoing development
The planned expansion aims to meet growing travel demand to and from the US West Coast and beyond, as part of a long-term investment by PAL to develop business and tourist travel flows between the United States and the Philippines.
With Seattle, PAL now serves eight destinations in North America, offering nonstop flights to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto, Honolulu, and Guam.
Also, this increase in flights significantly boosts the airline’s cargo capacity of up to 40 tonnes per week between Manila and Seattle.
