Philippine Airlines Makes Seasonal Adjustment to US Routes

According to the latest airline timetables, Philippine Airlines will be making seasonal adjustments to its US West Coast routes in preparation for the peak Christmas holiday season. As part of the adjustments, flights to San Francisco will be increased, while flights to Los Angeles will see a temporary reduction. 

Copyright Photo: Kenny Li/PPSG

Beginning on November 2 through to November 23, Philippine Airlines will temporarily reduce service on its Manila to Los Angeles route from eleven to nine weekly flights. The changes will not affect PR102/103, PAL's daily flight operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft. Instead, the changes will affect PR112/113, which is operated by the older A340 aircraft. During the temporary schedule, seven weekly flights will be operated by a Boeing 777, while the two additional weekly flights will be operated by the A340. 

In December, Philippine Airlines will increase service from Manila to San Francisco from seven to ten weekly flights in order to accommodate the increased demand during the Christmas season. From December 12 to January 16, an A340-300 aircraft will be deployed to operate an additional three weekly flights between the two cities. PR114 will depart Manila at 8:00pm, arriving in San Francisco at 5:20pm. The return flight, PR115, will depart San Francisco at 7:50pm, arriving back in Manila at 3:50am. The regular daily flight, PR104/105, operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft, will continue to operate as normally scheduled. 

Meanwhile, PAL will also be increasing its presence in Hawaii when the airline increases service from four weekly flights to daily flights as announced earlier this year. The new daily flights from Manila to Honolulu are set to begin on December 11, 2014 and will be operated by the Airbus A340-300. 

The increased flights to the United States come following the restoration of Category 1 status by the United Stated Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year. The new status enables Philippine carriers to expand services between the Philippines and the United States. With the largest population of overseas Filipinos, the United States offers great potential for Philippine carriers seeking to expand and increase profits. Philippine Airlines plans to add service to New York via Vancouver in March 2015.