PAL increasing flights to Toronto, eyes Darwin

TORONTO, Canada – National flag carrier Philippine Airlines is increasing flight frequencies from the Philippines starting January and intends to mount flights to Darwin, Australia within the second quarter of next year.

PAL vice president for marketing Felix Cruz said in a press conference held at the Shangrila Toronto Hotel that the Toronto flights would become daily in the first quarter of next year.

Cruz said the airline would fly to Toronto via Vancouver four times a week starting Jan. 16 while direct flights to Toronto would be thrice a week starting March 10.

PAL currently flies from Toronto every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and would arrive in Manila before 6 a.m., with enough time to connect to the airline’s 32 domestic and 26 international destinations.

From Manila, passengers can connect to any of PAL’s five daily flights to Hong Kong, thrice daily to Singapore, twice a day to Bangkok and Seoul, once a day to Ho Chi Minh, twice a week to Bali, and many more regional routes.

Aside from multiple daily flights from Manila to domestic points like Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo and other key cities, PAL’s code-share partner AirPhil Express can bring Toronto holiday seekers to favorite tourist spots like Boracay, one of the world’s best beaches; Puerto Princesa for the underground river experience; Cagayan de Oro’s white-water rapids; or Busuanga’s wildlife reserve; and more.

With the launching of PAL’s direct Manila-Toronto flights last Nov. 30, the Philippines is again linked with the North American East Coast after 15 years.

Cruz said the pioneering service provides the most direct link to Manila for Toronto residents, especially the more than 200,000 Filipinos living in greater Toronto.

Filipino-Canadians are among the largest visitor groups to the Philippines. There are indications that such record would be surpassed this year as the number of returning Filipinos or balikbayans from Canada reached the 81,093 mark in the first eight months of the year.

Filipino Canadians are considered those have acquired Canadian citizenship and whose ancestry is the Philippines. They represent the third largest Asian Canadian Group after the Indian and Chinese communities. There are about 200,000 Filipino-Canadians in Toronto, 111,000 in Vancouver, 70,000 in Winnipeg, 60,0000 in Montreal, 55,000 in Calgary, and 50,000 in Edmonton.

For his part, Tourism undersecretary Daniel Corpuz said the Aquino administration that the number of tourist from Canada would increase to about 150,000 next year from about 120,000 this year.

Corpuz said the Aquino administration got an additional P1 billion budget for next year to launch a global tourism campaign to achieve its target of 10 million foreign tourists by 2016.

The Department of Tourism sees 5.5 million foreign tourists next year or about one million higher than the projected 2012 foreign arrivals of 4.6 million.

Philippine Airlines invited the Canadian community in Toronto, particularly Filipino-Canadians, to experience the flag carrier’s newest service from the North American east coast to Manila via its fleet of brand new Boeing 777-300 ERs.

PAL is utilizing its new, long-range Boeing 777-300ER, which seats 42 in Mabuhay Class (business) and 328 in Fiesta Class (economy), on the 15-hour, non-stop flight to Toronto.

The new service kicks off the peak Christmas travel season, one of the busiest periods in the Philippine travel calendar. Toronto is now PAL’s 27th international destination and 46th overall.

Cruz also announced that PAL is set to fly to Darwin in Australia either in March or April next year with the arrival of a brand new Airbus aircraft. It currently flies to Sydney and Melbourne.