PAL expands Middle East route

MANILA, Philippines - National flag carrier Philippines Airlines (PAL), jointly owned by taipan Lucio Tan and diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), is flying back to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia starting today to serve 1.8 million Filipinos living and working in the region.

PAL is set to mount four times a week direct flights to Riyadh starting today and thrice a week direct flights to Dammam on Dec. 3 using the airline’s brand new twin-engine Airbus A330-300 as part of the continued route expansion to the Middle East.

The national flag carrier first flew to Riyadh using Boeing 747-400 in March 1987 but the service was suspended in March 2011.

It also mounted flights to Dammam in July 1982 via the Dhahran international airport moving to King Fahd international airport in 1999 but the service was terminated in August 2001.

The non-stop flights to Riyadh and Dammam would offer overseas Filipino workers and other travelers the fastest and most convenient travel between Manila and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The A330-300 is PAL’s new flagship for medium-range routes, replacing the older A330 models that were acquired from 1997 to 1998.

The aircraft can accommodate 414 passengers consisting of premium economy with 39 seats and economy with 375 seats.

PAL flew to the Middle East after 15 years last Oct. 1 via direct flights to Abu Dhabi while sister firm PAL Express mounted direct flights to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates last Nov. 6.

“The return of PAL to the Middle East will not only offer Filipino workers the most direct link to the Philippines but also provide travelers convenient connections with PAL’s extensive international and domestic route network from our hub in Manila,” PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang earlier said.

The Philippines through the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) inked new air services agreements with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2012.

In the air pact with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both countries agreed to double flight frequencies to 21 flights per week from the previous 10 between the two countries as well as to remove limits on flights from Clark international airport in Pampanga.

On the other hand, the agreement with the United Arab Emirates likewise doubled flight entitlements to 28 per week from 14 between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates.

Since the entry of SMC into PAL in April last year, the flag carrier embarked on an ambitious fleeting renewal program involving the acquisition of 100 brand new aircraft as it prepared to fly to Europe and mount additional flights to the US.