Philippine Airlines (PAL) is all set to launch next month its inaugural Manila-Seattle flight, further expanding the flag carrier’s long-haul network amid the resurgence of air travel demand.
PAL president Stanley Ng, in an interview last week, said the “first few flights” were “doing okay” in terms of booking.
In fact, the passenger load capacity was “almost full,” signifying a strong demand for the route.
Ng was optimistic about the Manila-Seattle flights for the rest of the year as overseas Filipino workers return to their homes for the holidays.
Seattle will be PAL’s sixth route to the United States, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Honolulu and Guam. The new route can also serve as a gateway to Washington and Oregon.
PAL will deploy Boeing 777-300ER—a 370-passenger capacity aircraft—for the Manila-Seattle flight.
Growing demand
The airline previously said it was looking at potentially reviving old routes, including Cebu-Osaka and Manila-Sapporo, this year to address the growing demand in Japan.
The Lucio Tan-led company is also studying the relaunch of flights to Europe, including routes to Italy, Paris and Brussels.
PAL currently flies to 39 international destinations and 33 domestic locations.
Amid the expansion plans, the airline has been increasing its fleet to beef up passenger capacity.
PAL is expecting delivery of 13 Airbus 321-231 neo (new engine option) aircraft between 2026 and 2029. It is also set to receive nine Airbus A350-1000 jets between 2025 and 2027.
In the first half, the operator of PAL saw its net income attributable to the parent company plunge by 45 percent to P5.97 billion due to higher total expenses, including those related to flying operations.
Revenues for the period, however, climbed by 4 percent to P90.92 billion, thanks to passenger revenues improving by 2 percent to P79.84 billion. INQ