PAL adds new Middle East routes

FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is growing its network in the Middle East to seven destinations with the launch of two routes this month.

PAL said it launched Manila-to-Kuwait flights on Jan. 17 and was set to launch flights to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, tomorrow (Tuesday). PAL said this added to routes covering Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dammam, Dubai and Riyadh.

“Opening up new routes to and from the Middle East such as Kuwait and Jeddah enables us to serve the flight needs of our  ‘kababayan’ who work overseas,” PAL president and chief operating officer  Jaime Bautista said in the statement.

PAL said it expected to serve more than 190,000 Filipino workers in Kuwait and another 300,000 Filipinos in Jeddah. PAL said it has a captive market in the area, given the large number of Filipino workers deployed in this region.

Passenger load factor on PAL’s newest routes reflected “high numbers,” the carrier added.

“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.

“Our flights aim to provide our Filipino compatriots as well as leisure and business travelers the distinct Philippine Airlines brand of service,” Bautista said.

PAL’s new A330-300 will be the fleet for the routes, it added in the statement.

PR 668 departs Manila  at 10:00 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and arrives in Kuwait the following day at 6:55 a.m. local time; PR669 departs Kuwait at 2:55 p.m. local time every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and arrives in Manila at 8:15 a.m. the following day.

Meantime, PR 658 departs Manila at 10:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Saturday and arrives in Jeddah the following day at 8:45 a.m. local time; PR 659 departs Jeddah at 2:15 p.m. local time every Wednesday and Sunday and arrives in Manila the following day at 8:20 a.m. Miguel R. Camus