Eyes Daily Flight Soon
10 October 2024
 |
| Philippine
flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) Boeing 777-300ER (RP-C7778) aircraft arrived at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
as two ARFF trucks sprayed welcome arch over the airliner in Washington State on October 3. PAL will fly three
weekly nonstop flights (PR124 and PR125) from Manila to Seattle and vice versa every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. |
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is now planning to expand the new Manila-Seattle direct flights soon, as new aircraft arrives on its fleet starting next year, according to its President, as it incites connecting travelers to Asian destinations, particularly Vietnam and Thailand.
“We are not just targeting the Filipino community, but introducing the Philippines to the rest of the world,” said PAL President Capt. Stanley K. Ng at a media briefing in Seattle.
Ng said the direct flight offers them convenience as it cuts down travel to Manila to 14 hours from 20 hours if they take a connecting flight.
The President noted that direct flight offers seamless connection to the Philippines as passengers would have the luxury and convenience of not losing their baggage during transit at a foreign airport.
PAL Vice President for Sales Salvador C. Britanico Jr. confirmed Seattle expansion, saying that while the newly-launched Manila-Seattle route already has a load factor of 80 percent to 90 percent, potential for market growth is there by making Seattle a transit point from Manila and Manila a transit point from Seattle to Asian destinations.
“We have a good partner here, Alaska Air. We also have passengers connecting via American Airlines and as well as Delta. So, Alaska Air, they fly to more than 100 destinations from here. So, it's good connectivity for us because when you land, immediately you can connect to other parts of the US and even Canada,” he noted.
“From interior US connecting here. And then also, we'll have passengers that can access Southeast Asia from here. So Seattle to Bangkok (via Manila), since we have good connections. Vietnam, Bangkok, even other parts of Asia.” adds Britanico.
The Pacific Northwest capital is home to 178,300 Filipino migrants according to US Census Bureau in 2017.
“The state of Washington has about 180,000 Filipinos. For the Pacific Northwest, close to 300,000 Filipinos. So, when we launched the flights, many of our passengers actually for the first time in many years also taking trips back to the Philippines, to Manila because it is now more convenient for them.” says Britanico.
Britanico said there is also a huge market among seafarers since there are many cruise ships departing from Seattle.
“So, we also transport a lot of Filipino seafarers and also those taking tours. The Port of Seattle is one of the major gateways for Filipino seafarers. Many of the workers on the big cruise ships are actually Filipinos coming from the Philippines. So that's one traffic especially during the summer when cruise season starts,” he said.
Seattle is the fifth gateway of PAL to the United States after San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and New York. It intends to add new destination in the US beginning in 2026 for a much delayed return flight to Chicago which has been delayed due to local airline opposition, which has now been resolved. It is also planning to add Houston beginning 2027.
The Philippines is allowed to fly to seven gateways in the United States under existing air bilateral agreement.
Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista previously said the Philippine is undergoing consultations with their US counterpart on the expansion of the Air Services Agreement (ASA) last amended in 1995.
The DoTr through the Civil Aeronautics Board is planning again to meet with their US Department of Transportation (DOT) counterpart this year, in a bid to expand gateway points beyond 7, as it hopes to open New Manila International Airport by 2028, Mr. Bautista said.
Discussions over amendments of the ASA were first introduced during the PH-US bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 11th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Transportation Ministerial Meeting on May 16, 2023, in Detroit, Michigan, as the Philippines and the US discussed mutual interest to promote air transport and expand cooperation in the aviation sector.
