Philippine Airlines Increases Sydney Service, Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Philippine Airlines is gearing up to offer daily service to Sydney, Australia at the end of October. The national flag carrier will increase its current service to Sydney from five to seven weekly flights on October 25.
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| Copyright Photo: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG |
According to PAL President Jaime Bautista, the increase in flights is designed to provide passengers with greater flexibility and choice in arrival and departure times. "A daily frequency with choice of departure and arrival times provides our passengers the flexibility to seamlessly connect to many cities on PAL's domestic and international network," said Bautista.
Bautista sees the increase in flights as an opportunity to give the nation's tourism industry a boost. "Upon arrival in Manila, Australian business and leisure travelers can enjoy a Manila stopover for several days or make a same-day connection on PAL flights to the many travel spots within the Philippine archipelago," added Bautista. However, it remains unclear if PAL will be offering a "free stopover" program to encourage travellers bound for connecting destinations outside the Philippines to spend some time and money in the country.
On October 6, Philippine Airlines will celebrate its 50th Anniversary of service to Sydney. The route is one of the carrier's longest running services, having began in 1965. Airline officials based in the Philippines and Australia will lead anniversary celebrations in each country to acknowledge the milestone.
Philippine Airlines currently offers the most flights of any carrier between the two countries. PAL also operates flights to Melbourne, Darwin, and Brisbane. The carrier also served Perth briefly before flights were discontinued. Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines is preparing to launch service to its fourth city in Australia when it introduces new flights to Auckland, New Zealand via Cairns, Australia in December.
Questions about the Australian airline/aviation market:
ReplyDelete-Australia's population is less than 24 million people.
-Australia's GDP is less than 2 trillion US dollars
-There are OFWs in Australia but not as many as those from North America, so how can PAL compete with airline services from Qantas, SQ, CX, CebuPac, Chinese airlines, etc., as I know that not all Pinoys want to fly PAL?
For your information.
PAL should forget flying to Auckland via Cairns using an Aribus A320 narrow body. nobody wants to fly long haul in a claustrophobic environment. very bad idea!
ReplyDeletePH has 100M population dude. And PAL have numerous destinations too. Have you ever heard of connecting flights?
ReplyDeleteAnd, maybe PAL would use their A321s? It's designed for medium haul routes FYI
Connecting flight where? Australia is very far from the other continents except Southeast Asia. You want me to fly to Sydney first (8 hours) before going back to my Los Angeles (15 hours) whereas Manila to Los Angeles non-stop is only 11 hours, 20 minutes? Check your map, dude! And who cares if your PH has 100 million, 99% of them do not fly an airplane as it is still a 3rd world country. Get real!
DeleteFrom what I heard it's Cebu Pacific which is struggling in Australia, not PAL. CebPac's Sydney loads were less than 60%, and given that it is an LCC higher loads are generally needed in order to sustain flights, particularly here since it's long-haul. Unless their yields are high (which I doubt as they're an LCC), despite CebPac's improvements in the route, I don't know if it's going to remain viable in the long-term unless they make some changes. As an analogy, AirAsia's load factors from Clark before were also less than 60% and we know what happened to them.
ReplyDeleteIt is logical to see OFWs flying an LCC except those who have much money like executives doctors, nurses, etc. The Australian market is so saturated that PAL is really gambling its profitability there.
DeleteNot exactly. Most OFWs travel on flights contracted by the placement agencies. Being an LCC is only a factor for OFWs who buy their own tickets. But the placement agencies and other companies contract with all sorts of airlines, not just LCCs.
DeleteIt's about time that PAL invested in more modern aircraft for its MNL to SYD and MEL routes. The A330s are shocking: no IFE, nine across narrow seats and as commented elsewhere on this site, while they are near new they are not up to 21st century standards for a legacy airline.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, Cebu Pacific's load factors are not always 60 per cent on the MNL - SYD route. Sometimes they are higher.