Philippine Airlines to revive flights to India

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is reviving its flights to India within the first quarter of next year, nearly six years since it decided to stop flying to the Asian destination.

PAL announced it is all set to operate four times weekly nonstop flights between Manila and New Delhi beginning March 31, 2019.

The new route will utilize the brand new 168-seater dual-class Airbus A321NEO.

The flight will depart from Manila at 7:15 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and arrive in New Delhi at 12:35 p.m. Meanwhile, flights will leave New Delhi at 1:35 p.m. on the same days and touch down in Manila at 10:35 p.m.

PAL previously operated non-stop flights to Delhi and one-stop services via Bangkok, but suspended the flights in 2011 and 2013, respectively, as the Manila to Delhi market was still considered too small at that time.

PAL in May filed with the Civil Aeronautics Board a petition for allocation of entitlements for four weekly flights to New Delhi and three weekly flights to Bombay.

The petition was made in accordance with existing air services agreement between the Philippines and India.

PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista earlier said the carrier plans to use the Airbus A321neos to operate flights to new destinations including New Delhi.

The carrier recently had its maiden flight to Sapporo in Japan, as well as the first nonstop flight to New York City from Manila that sets a new long-haul record for Philippine aviation.

PAL is a four-star major regional airline that has an extensive flight route network covering 42 international and 33 domestic destinations.