Philippine Airlines Partners with Canada's WestJet

With the rising number of Filipinos living in major Canadian city centres, Philippine Airlines has announced that it has entered into a code-share agreement with WestJet Airlines of Canada. Under the agreement, Philippine Airlines will stretch its network in Canada from Vancouver and Toronto to five more Canadian cities including: Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. 

westjet philippine airlines
Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG
The new agreement with WestJet will help Philippine Airlines to double its presence in North America to 10 destinations in spite of a shortage of wide-body aircraft needed for further expansion. Analysts suggest that the move is an effective way for Philippine Airlines to expand, using aircraft operated by another carrier, particularly when certain markets may not be strong enough to support their own direct flight. 

Philippine Airlines will now be placing its own flight numbers and selling seats on the following routes operated by WestJet: Toronto to Ottawa, Toronto to Montreal, Vancouver to Calgary, Vancouver to Edmonton, Vancouver to Toronto, and Vancouver to Winnipeg. 

Filipinos travelling to Canada will now be able to enjoy a seamless travel experience with the ability to book flights through Philippine Airlines to onward Canadian destinations served by WestJet from Toronto and Vancouver. Passengers will board the Philippine Airlines aircraft in Manila bound for Vancouver or Toronto, and then upon arrival in Canada, connect to a WestJet flight bound for Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, or Calgary on a single-ticket.

Although Philippine Airlines will be code-sharing on a WestJet flight between Vancouver and Toronto, it is believed that PAL will continue to operate its own flights to Toronto via Vancouver. However, it remains uncertain if the Philippine flag carrier will continue to operate this route in the long-term, particularly with New York flights slated to begin in mid-March. It is rumoured that PAL is currently exploring the option of having only WestJet operate its Toronto flight extension.

Philippine Airlines currently operates non-stop flights from Manila to Vancouver, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Toronto is served via Vancouver, and New York will also be served via Vancouver when it launches on March 15. 

Under the code-sharing deal, passengers of Philippine Airlines will also be able to connect to WestJet's extensive network throughout North America, Central America, Europe, and the Caribbean. WestJet currently serves more than 120 destinations in over 20 countries.

philippine airlines westjet
Image Source: WestJet
This is the ninth code-sharing agreement for Philippine Airlines. PAL also has existing agreements with Gulf Air, Malaysia Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways, and PAL Express.

WestJet and Philippine Airlines previously had an interline agreement, enabling passengers to enjoy a single check-in and automatic baggage transfer to the final destination in spite of flying two different carriers.

14 comments:

  1. Better if the codeshare is with AirCanada...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree. That way, PAL would have an easier entry to *A should it apply.

      Delete
    2. But Air Canada (a co-founder of Star Alliance) does not want to codeshare with PAL! Air Canada plans to fly solo from major Canadian cities to Manila and Cebu! Remember, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner can serve these long-haul routes! Air Canada owns numerous B787s. If WestJet agrees to codeshare with PAL, it is OK, because WestJet can easily funnel passengers from USA and Mexico to PAL's Canadian destinations.

      Delete
    3. It is like a rich cousin (AC) distancing himself from his poor cousin (PAL) in order to avoid a lot of future financial and other problems. So natural after all.... Now, I hope everyone understands the simple and clear situation.

      Delete
    4. I agree Air Canada would have been a better choice having more routes than westjet. Air Canada has different divisions such as Air Canada Jazz, Express, Rouge. They would get to more filipinos living in less populated areas.

      Delete
  2. code share with European Carrier is also a plus because PAL may not expand to Europe soon. so code share will be an advantage also.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Etihad Air, Turkish Air, Emirates can work it out with PAL, therefore, it is not a problem at all!

      Delete
  3. I am wondering why codes shares of philippine airlines with ANA with it domestic routes in Japan is not available on Philippine airline's website, same thing with Malaysia Airlines, they are code shoring MNL-KL route but it is not available at PAL's site. Would be the same thing with Westjet

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Last checked only applicable to Ottawa via Toronto...

      Delete
  4. PAL's plans to fly back to NYC is not appropriate at this time, so let its codeshare partners which serve NYC just fly passengers to Vancouver or Toronto for connections with PAL flights to Manila. Main reason is competition: Cathay Pacific, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, etc., fly the same route and connect with Manila, of course! So it is a stiff competition. Besides, their services and aircrafts are better!

    ReplyDelete
  5. OK, PAL, we will patronize you if your fare is a real attention-getter, meaning low, low air fares from LAS, PHO, SAN DIEGO via Canada's WestJet to connect to Manila. Publish it in local Pinoy newspapers here in North America, so we know where to buy air tickets. We want to help you, PAL, but you need to help us too! We are frugal FilAms (that's legal). We hope to hear from you soon before Cebu Pacific comes to USA!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I only know a few frugal FIL Ams. Forget Ceb for trans Pacific flights! I'd rather pay a little more than suffer for 13 hours due to cramp quarters and risk my health. What's the point of saving a few bucks on a ride and spending thousands on Healthcare in the future?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cebu Pacific's Manila to Sydney (8 hours) flights are very popular because of their low fares. I am very optimistic that its Manila to Honolulu flight (10 hours) will attract curious attention with low fares as well. Compare and contrast. It is my money, anyway!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The collaboration between the cockpit crew is a key factor in ensuring smooth and safe flights. AV8 Prep private pilot license

    ReplyDelete

Powered by Blogger.