PAL to increase flights to key AsPac destinations

Philippine Airlines will increase flights to key destinations across Asia-Pacific in time for the peak Christmas holiday season, benefiting travelers with extra capacity during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, the flag carrier announced.

Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Osaka and Fukuoka in Japan, as well as Singapore all get new frequencies in PAL’s recently released winter 2008 timetable.

These increases follow on the heels of a similar expansion in the PAL service to Bangkok, which rises from 11 to 14 flights weekly on Oct. 2, announced last week.

The airline’s Australia service, a triangular routing between Manila and the two Aussie points, gets a significant boost when it adds two frequencies on Nov. 30 to become a daily service.

Flight PR 211, a direct service from Manila to Sydney that currently operates every Monday and Thursday, will now also operate every Wednesday at the same times – departing Manila at 9 a.m. and arriving in Sydney at 8:15 p.m.

The return service, PR 212, routed via Melbourne, also gains the third weekly frequency every Wednesday, with departures from Sydney at 9:35 p.m., continuing on to Melbourne and departing that city at 12:25 a.m. the following day, and arrival in Manila at 5:40 a.m.

On the other hand, PR 209, a direct overnight service from Manila to Melbourne, adds a fourth weekly flight every Sunday to go along with existing flights every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Departure from Manila is at 8:30 p.m. and arrival in Melbourne at 7:40 a.m. next day.

Returning, PR 210 stops in Sydney and now also operates four times weekly, with an extra flight every Monday. The service departs Melbourne at 9 a.m., goes on to Sydney, leaves that city at 12:15 a.m. and arrives in Manila at 5:30 p.m.

Wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft will continue to fly the Australia routes.

Service to Osaka, Japan will upgrade to a daily frequency from Oct. 26, with the addition of flights every Tuesday and Saturday to the current five-times-weekly schedule. Operating times will change slightly to conform to winter hours.

Flight PR 408 departs Manila at 2:20 p.m. and arrives in Osaka at 7:05 p.m. The return flight, PR 407, takes off from Osaka at 9:55 a.m. and touches down in Manila at 1:55 p.m. Wide-body A330 and narrow-body A320 jets alternate on the route.

The Fukuoka service adds an extra flight to become five times weekly and adopts a new, same-day timetable that better suits passengers on the route.

Starting Oct. 26, flight PR 426 operates every Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with departures from Manila at 10 a.m. and arrival in Fukuoka at 2:30 p.m. Return flight PR 425 departs Fukuoka at 3:30 p.m. and arrives in Manila at 6:25 p.m.

Meanwhile, PAL’s Singapore service increases from 25 to 28 flights weekly on Oct. 26 when the mid-morning flight (PR 507) upgrades to a daily service from the current four times weekly. The early-afternoon return flight, PR 508, goes daily as well. — Mary Ann Reyes