29 September 2015
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will fly direct to New York City next year, says its President Thursday.
PAL president Jaime Bautista said the carrier is seeking the necessary regulatory approvals for polar route operation between Manila and New York effective October of 2016.
“We can fly nonstop using the Boeing 777s to New York,” Bautista said.
The airline has already filed with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Russian and Canadian regulators, as well as from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the necessary permits which will fly them towards the north pole.
“We need approvals to fly over the North Pole,” Bautista said.
He said the permit will also benefit direct Toronto flights in the future when there is already sufficient demand.
PAL currently flies Manila to New York and Toronto services, via stopovers in Vancouver, Canada.
Bautista added there are no new routes planned in the US, other than the proposed JFK direct flight at the moment. He further said that they would increase flight frequencies to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Honolulu soon.
PAL president Jaime Bautista said the carrier is seeking the necessary regulatory approvals for polar route operation between Manila and New York effective October of 2016.
“We can fly nonstop using the Boeing 777s to New York,” Bautista said.
The airline has already filed with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Russian and Canadian regulators, as well as from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the necessary permits which will fly them towards the north pole.
“We need approvals to fly over the North Pole,” Bautista said.
He said the permit will also benefit direct Toronto flights in the future when there is already sufficient demand.
PAL currently flies Manila to New York and Toronto services, via stopovers in Vancouver, Canada.
Bautista added there are no new routes planned in the US, other than the proposed JFK direct flight at the moment. He further said that they would increase flight frequencies to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Honolulu soon.
I wonder if nonstop MNL-JFK-MNL is pushing the limits of the B777? Also the YVR stop-over gives opportunity to collect revenues on 2 segments plus carry a full load. I wonder if nonstop is the best choice in this case?
ReplyDeleteThe best case is that since no SE Asian carrier is flying non-stop to JFK, they could leverage this opportunity to attract passengers coming from SEA to fly with them with good connectivity times to CGK, BKK and others. SIA is also proposing to reinstate this route if they have the right aircraft.
DeleteConnections to between ASEAN and JFK will inevitably also lead to direct competition as a one-stop route against Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan-based airlines. With that in mind, it might seem like an uphill battle as PAL does not have the same level of service as Cathay, Korean, Asiana, Delta, ANA, etc.
DeleteIt's an uphill battle yes, so why wouldn't this be an opportunity for them to improve their service. And with the ASEAN intergation, hoping this will give them an edge.
DeleteNever said it won't "be an opportunity for them to improve their service". ASEAN integration will also give other carriers with larger fleets and better service similar and diversified opportunities, it's only going to set to increase the intensity of competition.
DeleteManila to Chicago direct flights over the North Pole will also benefit
ReplyDeleteDoes PAL really code shares with Hawaiian??
ReplyDeleteYes. PAL has codeshare agreements with Hawaiian on Manila - Honolulu and vv flights.
DeleteGreat move! Congratulations to the PAL management team for putting this together. The Vancouver stop is a deterrent and if you have to stop, you have so many other choices. The nonstop on that nice 777 is on par with Cathay and Singapore. Plus NY is a high yield market that (if PAL can do some minor upgrades on Terminal 2) can generate connecting traffic onward. A step in the right direction!
ReplyDeleteThis is great... now if only they would improve their C class service. those 2-2-2 seats can't compete with 1-2-1 on almost every other airline, even if PR is non-stop.
ReplyDeleteActually, it's worse; PAL's current C class seating configuration on board all 777 aircraft is 2-3-2, whilst on select A330s it's 2-2-2. I most certainly agree with you, their C class can't at least be at par with SIA's or CX's.
DeleteEmirates, one of the 5-star airline, has also 2-3-2 configuration on their Boeing 777.
DeleteI thought PAL will also fly to Chicago, Florida (either Miami or Orlando), San Diego, and Seattle soon. Also, I want to see PAL flying to Boston, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteTo add Washington (IAD), Newark (EWR), Las Vegas (LAS), and San Jose (SJC).
DeleteIt would be nice to add Atlanta (ATL), Dallas (DFW), Houston (HOU), and Miami (MIA) that can connect to the rest of Latin American.
I don't think Boston would be added due to low demand, but Cathay Pacific serves Boston via Hong Kong.
A 777? I thought that PAL was looking for an aircraft that could make the MNL-JFK route nonstop without payload restrictions? Can the 777-300ER make it?
ReplyDeleteYes it can using the polar route.
DeleteYes, even if not using polar route.
DeleteRisky if they are not using the polar route + Filipino balikbayan boxes. Every member of the clan has to have one item as pasalubong and, knowing how Filipinos and Catholics breed like rabbits, there's a lot of people to bring home stuff to.
DeleteThis will be a good thing.
ReplyDelete