PAL to fly to Kuwait

MANILA, Philippines – Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is set to commence flights to Kuwait and Jeddah this month. 

PAL said in a statement it would start operating flights to Kuwait beginning today while services to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia will be offered beginning Tuesday.

“Opening up new routes to and from the Middle East such as Kuwait and Jeddah enables us to serve the flight needs of our ‘kababayans’ who work overseas. Our flights aim to provide our Filipino compatriots as well as leisure and business travelers the distinct Philippine Airlines brand of service,” PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime J. Bautista said.

PAL sees high passenger load factor in the two new destinations with more than 190,000 Filipino workers in Kuwait and an estimated 300,000 in Jeddah.

“Jeddah serves as a gateway for pilgrimages to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Pilgrims may now choose PAL for their travels in observance of the Umrah and Hajj,” Bautista said.

The new Middle East routes will be utilizing the A330-300 carriers.

PAL’s flight to Kuwait, PR 668 will depart Manila at 10 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and arrive in Kuwait the following day at 6:55 a.m. local time. 

The return flight, PR 669 meanwhile, will leave Kuwait at 2:55 p.m. local time every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and land in Manila at 8:15 a.m. the following day.

As for the service to Jeddah, PR 658 will depart Manila at 10:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Saturday and arrive in Jeddah the following day at 8:45 a.m local time, PAL said. 

PR 659 meanwhile, will leave Jeddah at 2:15 p.m. local time every Wednesday and Sunday and be in Manila the following day at 8:20 a.m.

With the launch of the new flight services, PAL will now have seven Middle East destinations.

The airline’s existing destinations in the Middle East are Abu Dhabi and Dubai in United Arab Emirates, Doha in Qatar as well as Dammam and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.