PAL boosting flights to Australia

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is expanding its flight volume to one of the largest cities in Australia, recognizing the urgency to add more options as demand picks up pace.

PAL yesterday announced it is boosting its Manila to Brisbane flights to seven times a week starting Oct. 27, cementing its position as the biggest Philippine carrier in Australia.

In turn, PAL vice president for revenue management and commercial planning Alex Featherstone said the airline would soon operate 22 flights weekly to Australia.

In a forum organized by the Centre for Aviation, Featherstone said PAL is now able to reach Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. When compared, PAL offers 38 percent more flights to Australia currently than the 16 trips a week it used to manage prior to the pandemic in 2019.

Aside from this, capacity – measured as available seat miles – has gone up by 27 percent to date. Featherstone said frequency has outperformed capacity in terms of growth, as PAL increased its use of narrowbodies to Australia.

Australia is the fourth largest inbound market for the Philippines, accounting for five percent, or 266,551, of foreign arrivals last year.

Featherstone said the tourism impact of Australia on the Philippines requires carriers like PAL to consider network expansion.

He also underscored that even though air traffic is growing in Northeast Asian destinations like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, PAL is committed to prioritizing flight expansion in Australia.

Likewise, Featherstone said outbound travel to Australia would pick up moving forward. He said Filipinos would be encouraged to fly more as their earnings grow, lifted by an expanding economy close to attaining upper middle income status.

Fleet-wise, PAL is scheduled to take in nine Airbus A350-1000s and 13 A321neos between 2025 and 2029. For the widebody jet A350, the airline expects to start receiving them next year, and it plans to deploy them for North American flights.

Soon, the airline aims to send out these A350s for flights to Europe, hoping to capture one of the most underserved markets in Philippine aviation.

PAL is also set to make its inaugural trip to Seattle tomorrow, Oct. 2, marking its eighth route in North America and sixth in the US.