PAL to launch Davao, Manado route in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will introduce a new regional route from Davao in the first quarter of next year.

PAL said it would introduce thrice weekly flights between Davao and Manado, Indonesia by March 2020.

The flights, which are available every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, will start on March 29.

Manado is the capital city of the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi. It is the second-largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar.

According to PAL, Manado is known for its famous marine tourist spots like the popular dive paradise Bunaken National Marine Park.

PAL’s upcoming service departs Davao at 3 p.m. and arrives in Manado at 4:45 a.m. It will leave Manado at 5:45 p.m. and will arrive in Davao at 7:30 p.m.

The 86-seater Dash 8 (Q400 NG) will be utilized for the upcoming service.

Aside from ramping up its Davao hub services, PAL also announced last week the launch of flights between Manila and Perth, the first-ever nonstop air link between Western Australia and the Philippines.

The upcoming non-stop flight to Perth will enable travelers to save at least four hours and a half in travel time as compared to taking other airlines that require a stopover and flight connections, according to the flag carrier.

Perth will become PAL’s fourth Australian gateway, joining Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, all of which are served with nonstop flights using Airbus A330 and A321neo aircraft.

PAL plans to deploy its long-range Airbus A321neo aircraft on the Manila-Perth-Manila route.

The country’s only four-star global airline, PAL has a network covering more than 30 domestic and 40 international destinations with a young fleet of 98 advanced-technology aircraft.

The flag carrier is ranked as the 30th Best Airline in the world, having recently been awarded the World’s Most Improved Airline honors for 2019 by Skytrax and the 4-Star Major Airline award from the US-based Airline Passenger Experience Association.