New routes to Luzon & Mindanao marks continuing investment in PAL’s Cebu Hub
In coming months, Philippine Airlines (PAL) will mount more flights and routes out of Cebu, creating convenient connections that will boost tourism, drive business and progressively expand the flag carrier’s inter-island network from Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
Lined up are a pioneer route to Ilocos Norte to be launched on December 15 along with routes to Bicol, Ozamiz and southern Mindanao on the same week.
PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Capt. Stanley K. Ng
“We at Philippine Airlines look up to Cebu as a prime center of economic innovation, sustainable tourism and progress for the entire Philippines. We are steadily building up our network of flights in and out of Mactan-Cebu, with new routes in December and further plans for new connections in 2024. Our goal is to further strengthen connectivity between Cebu and the rest of the archipelago, invigorating the tourism industry and supporting local business growth,” said PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Capt. Stanley K. Ng at a media conference in Cebu’s Radisson Blu Hotel today.
(3rd from left) PAL Express President Mr. Rabbi Vincent Ang
“We have grown flight frequencies by 10% from our Cebu Hub since last year, increasing from 16 to 20 domestic destinations and offering more than 260 weekly round trip flights to and from Cebu,” said Mr. Rabbi Vincent Ang, President of PAL Express. “We look forward to serving more and more family travelers, adventurers and businesspeople this holiday season and beyond into an exciting new year.”
PAL ushers in the Christmas season by introducing four new routes in mid–December.
On December 15, PAL will unveil a brand-new twice weekly route from Cebu to Laoag – the first such air link between the Ilocos Norte capital and the central Philippines. The resumption of routes to General Santos, Legazpi and Ozamiz will enable more travelers to enjoy the convenience of flying directly from Cebu to these thriving cities in Luzon and Mindanao.
Cebu-Laoag-Cebu (from December 15)
– PR 2251 Cebu-Laoag – Every Tuesday and Friday, departing at 07:35 AM, arriving at 10:05 AM
– PR 2252 Laoag-Cebu – Every Tuesday and Friday, departing at 10:25 AM, arriving at 12:35 PM
Cebu-General-Santos-Cebu (from December 15)
– PR 2357 Cebu-General Santos – Daily departing at 02:30 PM, arriving at 03:50 PM
– PR 2358 General Santos-Cebu – Daily departing at 04:20 PM, arriving at 05:40 PM
Cebu-Legazpi-Cebu (from December 15)
– PR 2927 Cebu-Legazpi – Daily departing at 06:00 PM, arriving at 07:10 PM
– PR 2928 Legazpi-Cebu – Daily departing at 07:30 PM, arriving at 08:40 PM
Cebu-Ozamiz-Cebu (from December 16)
– PR 2893 Cebu-Ozamiz – every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday departing at 07:35 AM, arriving at 08:40 AM
– PR 2894 Ozamiz-Cebu – every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday departing at 09:00 AM, arriving at 10:00 AM
These flights will employ PAL’s De Havilland Dash 8-400 Next Generation aircraft offering 86 seats, including six (6) Comfort Class seats – the highest capacity turboprops in the Philippine domestic market able to access smaller island airports whose runways are not long enough to accommodate larger jet-powered aircraft.
To help augment the domestic fleet and support Cebu hub operations, PAL took delivery of one additional Dash 8-400 Next Generation aircraft that rejoined the airline’s fleet today, November 24, after a ferry flight from Ontario, Canada.
By next month, PAL will operate more than 260 weekly roundtrip domestic flights between Mactan-Cebu airport and 20 destinations in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Recent increases include:
• A 27% increase in service between Cebu and Tacloban, to 14 weekly flights:
• A 29% increase between Cebu and Bacolod, to 18 weekly flights;
• A 14% increase between Cebu and Davao, to 24 weekly flights; and
• An 11% increase between Cebu and Manila, to 78 weekly flights, or more than 11 flights every day.
Philippine Airlines Spokesperson Ms. Cielo Villaluna
Regionally, PAL flies to Bangkok, Seoul (Incheon) and Tokyo (Narita) from Mactan, Cebu.
The flag carrier has likewise introduced product enhancements as part of a multi-year service transformation plan:
• PAL upgraded its ‘Comfort Class’service on all domestic flights operated with Airbus A321ceo, A320, A330 and De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft, by introducing dedicated check-in counters; access to Mabuhay Lounges in Cebu, Manila, Davao and Iloilo; enhanced gourmet snack selections; and increased mileage accrual.
• PAL opened a new Mabuhay Lounge at Mactan-Cebu’s domestic Terminal 1 in August and is poised to unveil a sophisticated International Mabuhay Lounge at Manila’s NAIA Terminal 1 to serve PAL’s network of overseas flights to North America, Australia, the Middle East and all over Asia.
• PAL launched “PAL Holidays”, a new one-stop travel website offering travelers a seamless and comprehensive platform for all travel needs, powered by Expedia Group.
• PAL inaugurated a historic new route between Manila and Perth last March, and resumed flights between Manila and Tuguegarao last October. Also in 2023, the airline restored flight services to five mainland Chinese cities as well as to Macau.
• PAL firmed up the purchase of nine (9) brand-new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, with options for three (3) more, for long-range intercontinental flights. Other fleet acquisitions and upgrades are in the pipeline and will be announced in due course.
• PAL continues to make targeted investments to upgrade products and enhance services, including the ongoing reinforcement of its staff of customer care agents, refining of inflight meals on international flights, new business-friendly cargo products, and the ongoing rollout of a new customer relations management system that will provide more personalized self-service options for the airline’s passengers.
These major investments in aircrafts orders and service improvements are facilitated by PAL’s continuing positive financial performance. The flag carrier registered a net income of US$348 Million – over PHP 19 Billion – for January to September 2023, buoyed by rising travel demand as PAL flew 11 million passengers during this nine-month period.
PAL continues to connect the Philippines with major markets around the world, including the only nonstop flights from Manila to Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Honolulu, Brisbane and Perth, and the most flights and routes between the Philippines and Japan, Australia and mainland China.
RMA NEWS & Cebu Online News Press Corps Founder Mr. Robby Mongaya Alugar won the Grand Raffle Prize of a roundtrip ticket for two Cebu-Bangkok-Manila during the Press Conference held at Radisson Blu Cebu
For bookings, travelers may visit www.philippineairlines.com, use the PAL mobile app, call the PAL hotline at (+63) 2 8855 8888 or reach out to their preferred travel agents.
