PAL To Fly Double Daily To Dubai

Emirates To Cancel One flight To MNL

28 August 2014

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will upgrade its service and fly double daily to Dubai beginning November of this year after the Philippine regulator rejected its code sharing deals with Emirates Airlines (UAE) of the United Arab Emirates as "anti-competition behaviour".

The airline will utilize its new bi-class A330-300 and upgrade the product of PAL Express to Dubai while Emirates Airlines will lose one entitlement to Manila beginning winter schedule. 

Civil Aeronautics Bureau (CAB) has denied with finality the sought extension of the code sharing agreement between PAL and Emirates upon complaints filed by Cebu Pacific (CEB) which wanted its entitlements awarded to them.

CAB earlier awarded fourteen new entitlements to Cebu Pacific and Air Philippines (GAP) operating as PAL Express in 2012 paving the way for the airline to expand to the gulf. Philippine Airlines owns the remaining fourteen slot, seven of which are being used for flights to Abu Dhabi.

Cebu Pacific has been at odds with PAL and UAE since 2012 arguing deliberate non-flight of the former despite capacity to mount such flights and seen by CAB as anti-competitive behaviour after the carrier failed to use its entitlements to Dubai in contravention of the rights granted to it by the government of the Philippines.

CAB is expected to reallocate entitlements to Cebu Pacific if PAL fails to service this route within 6 months from notice.

PAL currently maintains 21 weekly code-share flights with UAE for Dubai and another six a week code-share flights with Air Philippines (GAP).