A passenger looks at the tail of a Philippine Airlines aircraft in Tacloban City airport on November 2, 2015.   AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE

Gretchen Fullido

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1728480531737PAL.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Philippine Airlines officials (left to right) Carlu Fernandez, PAL OIC EVP General Counsel; Capt Stanley Ng, PAL President &amp; COO; Salvador Britanico, PAL Vice President of Sales in Seattle, Washington, USA. Handout"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false" style="text-align:left">Philippine Airlines officials (left to right) Carlu Fernandez, PAL OIC EVP General Counsel; Capt Stanley Ng, PAL President &amp; COO; Salvador Britanico, PAL Vice President of Sales in Seattle, Washington, USA. Gretchen Fullido, ABS-CBN News </span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>SEATTLE, United States -  Philippine Airlines (PAL) has launched a new direct flight route between Manila and Seattle. The flag carrier said the move is set to enhance convenience for both Filipinos and Americans, significantly cutting travel time and reducing the complexities associated with layovers.</p><p>&quot;The thrice-weekly service, using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, is the first and only nonstop link between the Philippines and the US Pacific Northwest,&quot; PAL said.</p><p>The new Manila-Seattle direct flight reduces travel time from about 20 hours (with connecting) to about 12 to 13 hours, making the journey more seamless and lessening the risk of baggage loss during transit.</p><p>Stanley Ng, the President of Philippine Airlines, emphasized the importance of this new route during an interview with ABS-CBN News in Seattle. </p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s really important--creating that access for people to go there in Seattle and back to Manila conveniently. So for Philippine Airlines, we did start our Manila-Seattle direct flights on October 2, and we fly three times a week.”</p><p>Salvador Britanico, Vice President of Philippine Airlines Sales said the Manila-Seattle direct flights are scheduled on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays in Seattle. </p><p>&quot;And likewise, we also fly out of Seattle Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays,&quot; Britanico said.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VmhfqJqSdZI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>“Just a little background about Seattle. It&#x27;s the biggest city here in the Pacific Northwest. When you say Pacific Northwest, it&#x27;s a few other states. That includes Oregon, it also includes Alaska. Then it also includes part of Canada, British Columbia, and a few other states, Idaho. So, how we decided to fly to Seattle, it&#x27;s one of the biggest unserved markets for us,” he added.</p><p>Seattle is the sixth US destination for PAL, joining San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Guam and Honolulu. PAL said this is the most in its 78-year history of transpacific services. PAL also flies to Vancouver and Toronto.</p><p>PAL President Ng also shared the positive feedback from the Filipino community in Seattle. </p><p>“We met with the Filipino community the other day. Everyone was so happy about the new Philippine Airlines direct Manila to Seattle flight” he said.</p><p>The introduction of this direct flight is anticipated to stimulate economic growth, connecting Seattle&#x27;s major business hubs, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Starbucks, with the Philippines, Ng said, highlighting the reciprocal benefits of increased tourism and business exchanges.</p><p>“We&#x27;ve been flying since practically we first started 83 years ago. So with technology, it&#x27;s just the farther, farther, you&#x27;re able to just fly farther, farther out. And that&#x27;s the beauty now,” Ng said.</p><p>Britanico added that they also transport many Filipino seafarers and tourists. </p><p>&quot;So the Port of Seattle is one of the major gateways for Filipino seafarers in big cruise ships. So that&#x27;s one traffic, especially during the summer when the cruise season starts. So again, you have a critical mass of Filipino traffic, and then all these other opportunities, business, labor. And hopefully working with DOT, we can bring tourists, even non-Filipino tourists to the Philippines via these gateways and from the Philippines beyond also to Southeast Asia,” Britanico said.</p><p>Ng addressed the broader implications for busy travelers who prefer direct routes. </p><p>&quot;Because time is also finite, a direct flight is really a big thing,&quot; he noted, underscoring the value of PAL&#x27;s &quot;unique Filipino touch&quot; in enhancing passenger experience.</p><p>Looking to the future, Ng revealed to ABS-CBN News that PAL is considering possible further expansion, with a potential new route to Paris on the horizon. </p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re waiting for orders of the new planes coming in,&quot; he said, anticipating developments around December 2025, with a view toward expanding by 2026.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EBdoBpYFwGc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>PAL said this will cut travel time for both Filipinos and Americans and reduce the complexities associated with layovers.</p>

PAL said this will cut travel time for both Filipinos and Americans and reduce the complexities associated with layovers.

PAL launches direct Manila-Seattle flights | ABS-CBN

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PAL launches direct Manila-Seattle flights

PAL launches direct Manila-Seattle flights

Gretchen Fullido,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 09, 2024 09:40 PM PHT

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Updated Oct 10, 2024 10:22 AM PHT

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