News
Philippine Airlines adds Clark network and considers reduced Gulf services
December 2nd 2016
Philippine Airlines (PAL), will add 32 weekly frequencies out of Clark International Airport from December, the airline said this week. Read More »
PAL has been hesitant about serving Clark, given the airfield is nearly 100kms from downtown Manila, but growing bottlenecks at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) leave little or no alternative to operating from the ex-U.S. military base.
PAL will launch daily services from Clark to Cebu and Caticlan in December, in addition to flights to Cagayan de Oro, Busuanga and Davao. They will be followed by a daily A321 flight to Seoul’s Incheon from January.
PAL rival, Cebu Pacific Air, the Philippines’ largest carrier, will increase frequency between Clark and Hong Kong from daily to 10 a week later this month in addition to launching a six times a week Clark-Cebu route.
Talking to the CAPA consultancy last month, PAL’s president and COO, Jaime Bautista, said the Philippines-Middle East market was “quite tough”, particularly Abu Dhabi and Dubai. “We are looking at reducing some of our flights, especially to Abu Dhabi,” he said.
PAL and Etihad Airways signed a strategic partnership for flights between Manila and Abu Dhabi in 2014, but the tie-up has failed to deliver additional revenue.
Emirates Airline, Etihad, Kuwait Airways and Qatar Airways have added capacity to the Philippines in the last two years and Cebu Pacific has launched non-stop flights to Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait and Dubai. PAL serves Kuwait, Doha and Jeddah as tag-ons via Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
