Connecting Filipinos

PERTH – The last time I visited this charming capital city of Western Australia some years back, I had to fly from Manila to Singapore and then from Singapore to Perth.

If I remember correctly, I traveled for at least nine hours, but not this time.

This as Philippine Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, launched a direct flight between Manila and Perth.

I joined the historic maiden flight which took just 6.5 hours. We arrived here Monday morning.

What does this new flight mean for Filipinos?

As explained to me by Philippine Ambassador to Australia Hellen de la Vega, a direct flight between Manila and Perth is a wish come true for Filipinos in Australia.

She knows this well because when she visited Filipino communities in Australia soon after she arrived in the country in late 2018, our kababayans clamored for a direct flight between Manila and Perth.

The Ambassador promised the Filipino communities she would work on it with PAL and she did just that.

Fast forward to today. Amb. Hellen fulfills her promise and so does PAL.

This is particularly important for Filipinos working in different mines in Australia because they are given up to 10 days’ leave after a tour of duty in the mines.

Many of them can now take the seven-hour flight to Manila and spend their break there with families and friends.

There are some 46,000 Filipinos in Western Australia alone, out of the 400,000 in the whole country. Some are working in Australia’s huge mining industry while others are in health care.

There is also a huge Filipino student population that can benefit from the direct flight.

Aside from direct flights between Manila and Perth, this new route of PAL would also enable travelers to continue on their journey beyond the Philippines or Perth – say onward to other countries in the region or in North America which is also among PAL’s destinations.

Indeed, the nonstop flights to Manila allow for connections to Cebu, Davao and other Philippine business and resort destinations. Travelers from Perth may also fly onward via nonstop PAL flights to the US West Coast, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Philippine Airlines is offering three flights per week from Perth to Manila, with convenient morning departures from Perth Airport, PAL president and COO Capt. Stanley Ng said.

“This means that travelers will arrive in the Philippines in mid-afternoon, a good time to begin their visits to our home city of Manila. They will also be in time to catch an easy connecting flight to some of the spectacular islands of the Philippines, where they can discover paradise beaches, dramatic landscapes, great shopping and some of the friendliest people on earth,” he said.

Capt. Stanley said travelers can also catch connecting flights to the West and East Coasts of the United States and Canada, as well as to various cities all over Asia.

Rapid demand for air travel is back

Transportation Secretary Jaime “JJB” Bautista, who led the send-off ceremony in NAIA just before departure, stressed the importance of the aviation sector and its expansion to accommodate the rapid demand for air travel.

“Aviation is one indispensable mode of modern transport. This Perth inaugural flight will start to reconnect the lost air bridges and re-ignite the once robust tourism and trade relations with other countries,” Sec. JJB said.

He promised to support the airline industry by pushing for the expansion, upgrade and modernization of existing local airports, including the night-rating of airports and accommodation of jet aircraft operations.

Post-Chapter 11

The pioneer flight, which is the first new international destination for PAL after it successfully exited its Chapter 11 process in December 2021, expands the carrier’s presence in Australia, said Capt. Ng, the pilot-in-command of the maiden flight.

“This milestone journey celebrates the continuing recovery of our airline from the challenges of the pandemic. The flight symbolizes PAL’s determination to grow its network and conquer new markets,” he said.

Also on board the inaugural flight was no less than Australian Ambassador to the Philippines, Hae Kyong Yu PSM, who was very happy to be back to her hometown of Perth.

The historic flight left Ninoy Aquino International Airport a little past midnight on Sunday and arrived at Perth Airport around 6:35 a.m. on Monday.

It’s a new day indeed for PAL, successfully mounting a new international route after it emerged from its Chapter 11 process.

Flights to Europe

Capt. Stanley said there would also be new flights to Europe but PAL is still studying the best destination.

It can either re-open the Manila-London route, which was suspended during the pandemic due to restrictions, or open new destinations where there are a lot of Filipinos such as Paris, Brussels or Rome, but nothing is final yet.

As the airline industry recovers and PAL expands to meet growing demand, it must also work overtime to address complaints from customers – from last minute changes in flights to some malfunctioning business class seats and problematic restrooms.

Perhaps, these are what we may call recovery pains.

In any case, the new leadership of PAL led by Capt. Stanley Ng has assured the public that the carrier continuously works to improve its service.

I hope all these efforts continue so that more and more Filipinos will be connected to each other and be able to go home often, wherever home may be.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter  @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.