Philippine Airlines and American Airlines have launched a codeshare partnership to introduce the first marketed flights by a local carrier to several U.S. destinations and allows American’s customers to travel to Manila and Cebu.
PAL has placed its “PR” code on American’s flights between Los Angeles and seven U.S. cities: Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando and Washington, D.C., enabling excellent connectivity with PAL’s trans-Pacific service.
“This partnership with American Airlines unlocks more options for customers traveling between Asia and the United States,” remarked Eric David Anderson, PAL’s Chief Commercial Officer.
“We are delighted to deliver on our long-term strategy of continuing to build our global reach. We look forward to creating more opportunities for travellers to discover the wonders of the Philippines.”
American’s customers can now book tickets on aa.com for codeshare flights operated by Philippine Airlines to Manila and Cebu via Tokyo.
They can also fly to Manila from Honolulu and Guam.
PAL operates twice-daily nonstop flights to Los Angeles, daily flights to San Francisco and multiple weekly flights to New York, Honolulu and Guam.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) is adding a third weekly nonstop flight on its Manila – Toronto route starting April 5, 2024.
This will boost the flag carrier’s capacity by 50% to meet growing travel demand to and from the Canadian East Coast region.
Toronto is Canada’s largest city and home to over 350,000 Filipinos.
Toronto is the gateway to Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and other areas in the Eastern seaboard of Canada.
PAL is the only airline offering nonstop flights between the Philippines and Canada.
The flag carrier also serves Vancouver with daily flights from its Manila hub.
Other points across Canada such as Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary are served via PAL’s codeshare partner WestJet.
PAL operates the Toronto services with the new-generation Airbus A350-900, a long-range jetliner that accommodates 295 passengers across a tri-class layout with 30 passengers in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy, and 241 in Economy.
From April 5, 2024 onwards, PR118 will fly Manila – Toronto (Wed/Fri/Sun), departing Manila at 04:35 PM and arrives in Toronto at 08:00 PM (same day).
PR119 Toronto – Manila (Wed/Fri/Sun), departs Toronto 11:30 PM and arrives in Manila at 3:45 AM (+2 days).
(PAL’s current twice-weekly service departs every Wednesday and Sunday from Manila and Toronto).
The early morning arrivals in Manila connect seamlessly to PAL’s network in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, North Asia and China.
“Our expansion of flights to Toronto highlights the importance of the Canadian market in the PAL network,” says Chief Commercial Officer Eric David Anderson.
“We want to make it easier for businesses to establish commercial relations, for Canadians to plan holiday trips to the Philippines, and for Filipino Canadians to visit their families back in the homeland.”
Canada is among the top ten sources of foreign tourists to the Philippines, with more than 180,000 Canadians visiting the Philippines during the first ten months of 2023.
“The new frequencies will bolster connectivity between Southeast Asia and Canada via PAL’s Manila hub.”
“The additional flights will allow more opportunities for over one million Filipino Canadians to visit home in a convenient manner,” says Philippine Ambassador to Canada Maria Andrelita Austria.
“At the same time, this will also serve the growing number of Filipino international students coming to Canada, as well as the Filipino tourists who benefit from Canada’s electronic travel authorization.”
Furthermore, “With this additional flight, more passengers will be able to fly directly, reducing their total travel time by more than 25% compared to a connecting itinerary,” noted Khalil Lamrabet, Chief Commercial Officer, Greater Toronto Airports Authority.
Canada recently included the Philippines in the electronic travel authorization (eTA) program, allowing Philippine passport holders to travel to Canada visa-free provided they hold a valid U.S. Visa or have been issued a Canadian tourist visa in the last 10 years.
Canada has recently opened its borders to more immigrants, workers, and students and has seen steady growth of Filipinos in both Toronto and Vancouver.
Over the coming weeks, Philippine Airlines (PAL) will be able to fly passengers to Copenhagen, Milan, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt and Zurich via its codeshare flights with Singapore Airlines (SIA).
PAL and SIA just signed a new codeshare partnership agreement to enhance flight options for their customers travelling between the Philippines and Singapore, as well as to other domestic and international destinations via their respective hubs.
The codeshare agreement will start on SIA’s and PAL’s flights between Singapore and Manila, the Philippines, by the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals.
SIA will also codeshare on PAL’s flights from Manila to 27 destinations within the Philippines, while PAL will codeshare on SIA’s flights to six destinations in Europe – Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Milan, Paris, Rome, and Zurich.
These European codeshare sectors will be rolled out progressively across PAL and SIA sales channels, including philippineairlines.com and singaporeair.com, as well as travel agents over the coming weeks.
The codeshare services to Copenhagen and Milan will represent a historical milestone – the first-ever air links to the Danish capital and the Italian commercial hub by a Philippine carrier.
PAL is making a comeback, albeit through codeshare services, to Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, and Zurich, which were previously served by the Philippine flag carrier in the 1980s and 1990s.
Both airlines will also explore an expansion of the codeshare agreement to include SIA’s flights to additional points in Europe, as well as destinations in Australia, India, New Zealand, and South Africa.
“The partnership is the product of a strengthened relationship with our fellow ASEAN mainline carrier, Singapore Airlines, and an enduring commitment to expanding our presence in Singapore, a top PAL destination that we have been serving for 58 years,” remarked Captain Stanley K. Ng, PAL President and Chief Operating Officer.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) today reported netting US$ 98 Million (P5.4 Billion) earnings for the third quarter of 2023, versus US$ 63 Million (P3.5 Billion) in the same period last year after expanding its global network.
The flag carrier also hauled in an operating income of US$ 130 Million (P7.2 Billion) versus US$ 87 Million (P4.9 Billion) in the comparative time span.
PAL carried 4 Million passengers in Q3 2023, a 54% increase from the 2.6 Million flown in Q3 2022.
Accordingly, 3rd quarter passenger revenues grew to US$ 749 Million (PHP 47.5 Billion) vs. the US$ 610 Million (P40.8 Billion) earned in Q3 2022, while cargo revenues declined by 35% due to a softening in the air cargo market.
Building on the gains registered in the first half of the year, PAL has now logged a net income of US$ 348 Million (P19.2 Billion) for the full January to September 2023 period, vs. US$ 133 Million (P7.2 Billion) for the same period in 2022.
PAL’s operating income was US$ 444 Million (P24.6 Billion) for January-September 2023, vs. US$ 212 Million (P11.5 Billion) in 2022.
Altogether, PAL flew 11 Million passengers for the first nine months of 2023, improving on the 6.4 Million carried in the same period of 2022.
Passenger revenues for January-September 2023 grew to US$ 2.17 Billion (P120.1 Billion), vs. US$ 1.47 Billion (P79.5 Billion) last year.
“We will continue investing in brand-new aircraft, upgraded products and digital innovations that will help us deliver better service and a more satisfying experience for the people who entrust their flights and shipments to Philippine Airlines,” announced Capt. Stanley K. Ng, PAL President and Chief Operating Officer.
“At the same time, we have to be ready to face potential major challenges in the coming months, as geopolitical upheavals drive up fuel prices and threaten economic disruptions.”
“We will continue to fortify the PAL Group against external headwinds such as volatile fuel prices and the impact of world events, while building up PAL as a resilient and dynamic competitor,” assured Lucio Tan III, President and Chief Operating Officer of PAL Holdings Inc., PAL’s parent company.
“We reaffirm our commitment to provide safe, reliable and efficient service in line with our mandate as the nation’s flag carrier, looking forward to the coming peak travel season.”
PAL’s fleet expansion and service enhancements include the recently announced acquisition of Airbus A350-1000 long-range aircraft valued at a list price of over US$ 3.2 Billion (P176.6 Billion) for the nine aircraft ordered; the expansion of the airline’s Cebu hub network; an all-new customer relations management system offering more personalized self-service options for PAL customers; and continuing increases in staffing of customer care personnel.
In addition to an extensive network to 33 domestic destinations, PAL operates the largest network of nonstop flights from the Philippines to North America, Japan, the Middle East and Australia.
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