Summary
- Singapore Airlines and Philippine Airlines have announced a new codeshare agreement to enhance flight options for customers traveling between the Philippines and Singapore, as well as other domestic and international destinations.
- The initial codeshare agreement will involve Singapore Airlines codesharing on Philippine Airlines flights to 27 destinations within the Philippines, while Philippine Airlines will codeshare on Singapore Airlines flights to six destinations in Europe.
- The partnership aims to expand further, with plans to include Singapore Airlines’ other European destinations, as well as destinations in Australia, India, New Zealand, and South Africa. The goal is to offer enhanced travel connections and meet the growing demand for business and leisure travel between the Philippines and Singapore, and beyond.
While international traffic is getting closer to full recovery to pre-pandemic levels there are still gaps in the market, so if you are an airline that doesn’t have enough capacity to realize those opportunities forming codeshare partnerships is an effective way to expand the network. This week two of Asia’s oldest legacy carriers, Singapore Airlines and Philippine Airlines, announced a new codeshare agreement that’s expected to commence by the end of this year.
New codeshares to unlock more destinations
On Wednesday, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced their new codeshare partnership. The agreement will allow the airlines to enhance flight options for their customers traveling between the Philippines and Singapore, as well as to other domestic and international destinations via their respective hubs.
Photo: KITTIKUN YOKSAP / Shutterstock
These types of partnerships usually face scrutiny by competition regulators and the joint announcement does state that the new offerings are subject to regulatory approval. If that is achieved, the codeshare agreement will start on SIA’s and PAL’s flights between Singapore and Manila by the fourth quarter of 2023.
The initial structure is quite simple and involves SIA codesharing on PAL flights from Manila to 27 destinations within the Philippines. In return, Philippine Airlines will codeshare on SIA flights to six destinations in Europe – Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Milan, Paris, Rome and Zurich.
First-ever PAL to Copenhagen and Milan
Demonstrating the network expansion that can be achieved using codeshares is the fact that this will be the first time a Philippine airline has ever connected to Copenhagen in Denmark and Milan in Italy. On the other codeshare routes, PAL is making a comeback to Frankfurt, Paris, Rome and Zurich, albeit with a codeshare, which were previously served by the Philippine flag carrier in the 1980s and 1990s.
Photo: Airbus
The partners have also committed to exploring an expansion of the codeshare agreement to include SIA’s other European destinations and its destinations in Australia, India, New Zealand and South Africa. Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said:
“This agreement enables Philippine Airlines and Singapore Airlines to work more closely together and find ways to offer our customers enhanced travel connections between Singapore and the Philippines. This will support the growing demand for both business and leisure travel between the Philippines and Singapore, and beyond to our key markets around the world.”
Singapore has been a top destination for Philippine Airlines for nearly 60 years and PAL president and chief operating officer Captain Stanley K. Ng said this partnership is the product of a strengthened relationship with a fellow ASEAN mainline carrier and an enduring commitment to expanding PAL’s presence in Singapore.
For decades, millions of Filipinos have moved overseas to find better economic opportunities. PAL said it wants to offer increased connectivity to several cities across Europe that are home to many overseas Filipinos and to a growing number of tourist and business travelers which it “invites to discover the wonders of the Philippines.”
SIA will be offering codeshare services to 27 domestic destinations in the Philippines, including Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, Pagadian, Tacloban and Zamboanga International Airport (ZAM).