PAL expands domestic, international services

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) continues to expand its domestic and international services in line with efforts to further strengthen its foothold and boost its profitability.

PAL will start direct flights to Bangkok in Thailand from Cebu on Dec. 2, using 199-seater Airbus A321.  The service will be available thrice per week.

It decided to offer the service “amidst pubic demand for direct non-stop flights from Asian destinations to Central Visayas.”

Flight PR578 will depart Mactan, Cebu at 9:25 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and arrive in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport at 12:10 a.m. local time.

The return flight PR579, meanwhile, will leave Bangkok at 1:30 a.m. local time every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and touch down in Cebu at  6:15 a.m.

In addition to providing a direct link to the Queen City of the South to travelers from Thailand, PAL’s new service would also connect passengers to other domestic destinations currently being served such as Bacolod, Busuanga, Butuan, Cagayan, Caticlan, Davao, Camiguin, General Santos, Iloilo, Kalibo, Legaspi, Ozamiz, Puerto Princesa, Siargao and Tacloban.

From Cebu, passengers may also take PAL flights to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka in Japan, Seoul (Incheon) in South Korea, Singapore, as well as Chengdu and Beijing (Peking) in China.

On the homefront, PAL is expanding operations in Clark with the launch of flights to Virac in Catanduanes beginning Dec. 15 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

“This latest pioneer route enables us to serve the flight needs of our ‘kababayans’ in the province of Catanduanes. It will be our pleasure to serve the Clark – Virac route and provide them our trademark heartfelt service on this short hop.

“The new flights expands our domestic route network and our hub at Clark International Airport giving travelers the flexibility to choose from our wide array of domestic services,” PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said.

The Clark-Virac link was pushed by Catanduanes’ lone district representative and concurrent chairman of the House Committee on Transportation Rep. Cesar Sarmiento as he held talks with airlines for expanded air links to Virac.

Flights will depart Clark at 6 a.m. and arrive in Virac at 7:30 a.m. Departures from Virac will be  at 8 a.m. and  arrival in Clark is 9:30 a.m.

PAL will utilize the 76-seater Bombardier Q400 fleet for the Clark to Virac flights.