MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) opened its first brand-new route for the year with the launch of a daily service between Davao and Iloilo.
PAL commenced with its maiden Davao to Iloilo flight Friday.
The modern 86-seater Dash-8 will be utilized for the brand-new service, which is expected to help promote trade and tourism between the two cities.
“It provides the Davaoeños and Ilonggos better travel options with affordable and competitive rates. It allows the market to maximize their time with the early morning departures out of Davao and Iloilo,” PAL area head for Visayas and Mindanao Harry Inoferio said.
PAL said the new route also supports the Department of Tourism’s program to make Iloilo the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) destination of 2020.
According to the flag carrier, travelers along the Iloilo-Davao route can conveniently connect to other PAL destinations such as Siargao, Zamboanga and Tagbilaran.
From Davao, PAL also flies to Siargao 11 times weekly, to Tagbilaran 11 times weekly, and to Zamboanga daily.
PAL, the country’s only four-star global airline, has a network covering more than 30 domestic and 40 international destinations with a young fleet of 98 advanced-technology aircraft.
The flag carrier is ranked as the 30th Best Airline in the world, having recently been awarded the World’s Most Improved Airline honors for 2019 by Skytrax and the 4-Star Major Airline award from the US-based Airline Passenger Experience Association.
PAL, which will be turning 79 years old in March, will also be introducing thrice weekly flights between Davao and Manado, Indonesia on the same month.
It also plans to start operating flights between Zamboanga and Kota Kinabalu by March.
Starting Jan. 16, PAL will also be introducing direct flights to Quanzhou (Jinjiang) from Clark.