Philippine Airlines (PAL) is linking Manila and Perth for the first time beginning March 27 next year, expanding the flag carrier’s presence in the Australian continent.
With a flying time of seven hours, PAL said the nonstop trip was faster than the 11-13 hours of its competitors, which need to make stopovers in another airport.
“The new nonstop flights give Philippine Airlines and travel partners a great opportunity to promote the Philippines as a prime tourist and business destination for travelers in Western Australia,” PAL president and chief operating officer Stanley Ng said in a statement.
“Likewise, we invite Filipinos to do business in Perth or visit family members while discovering this dynamic Australian region and building new friendships,” he added.
The Manila-Perth trips will operate every Monday, Thursday and Saturday using PAL’s Airbus A321neo planes.
The PR 223 Manila-Perth service will depart from Manila at 12:05 a.m. local time and arrive in Perth Airport at 7:15 a.m while PR 224 Perth-Manila will depart from Perth’s Terminal 1 International at 8:30 a.m. local time and land in Manila at 3:50 p.m.
Perth Airport CEO Kevin Brown said the trips offer options for students and leisure travelers.
“This exciting new route will inject more than 52,000 seats into the market each year. We’re keen to see more Filipino students choose to study in Perth to help the education sector as well as our tourism and hospitality markets,” he said in the same statement.
“The same is true in reverse. With more than 7,000 islands and amazing beaches on offer, the Philippines also offers Western Australians an attractive holiday destination,” Brown added.
Australia is the Philippines’ third largest source of tourists. Over 89,000 Australians have visited the Philippines so far in 2022.
“The first-ever direct flights between Manila and Perth will help stimulate business and holiday travel of Australians to the Philippines, as well as Filipinos visiting the western regions of the Australian continent,” PAL said.
Flights to Perth would be PAL’s fourth destination in Australia after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. PAL will offer a total of 20 weekly flights in Australia.