Philippine Airlines
, more commonly known as PAL, is the flag carrier for the Asian nation of the Philippines
. The country is home to more than 115 million inhabitants, spread across 2,000 of the 7,641 islands of the Filipino archipelago. The airline was founded in 1941 and remains the oldest commercial airline in Asia. Most of its operations center around Manila (MNL); however, it maintains secondary hubs in Cebu and Davao.
According to the Pew Research Centre, around 4.1 million Filipino Americans now reside in the United States, accounting for 17% of the total Asian American population. Most Filipino immigrants are naturalized US citizens (75% %), and more are U.S.-born (52%) compared with other Asian groups studied.
Photo: Tim Stake | Boeing
Philippine Airlines operates a robust network in the United States
Given the sizeable Filipino diaspora, it’s no surprise that Philippine Airlines maintains a robust network of flights to the United States. This October, the Filipino flag carrier will operate 303 flights between Manila and the US, with its only direct competition being United Airlines to San Francisco International Airport
, and
Guam
.
Given PR’s dedication to serving the United States, Simple Flying decided to dig into the carrier’s six direct US gateways for this October and crunched the numbers with data from online aviation analytics company Cirium.
1
New York (JFK)
14 flights
At 8,513 miles, this is Philippine Airlines’ longest US route. The airline, which deploys its Airbus A350-900
between the two cities, serves the route three times a week, eastbound on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Flight details below:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Equipment |
Travel Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PR126 |
Manila |
New York JFK |
19:00 |
23:10 |
Airbus A350-900 |
Approx 15 hours |
PR127 |
New York JFK |
Manila |
01:40 |
02:10 + 1 day |
Airbus A350-900 |
Approx 16 hours |
Onboard the A350-900, 295 seats are offered on each flight. Due to the schedule this month, there will be 3,835 seats (JFK to MNL) and 4,130 seats (MNL to JFK). Overall, this represents 32,647,355 available seat miles (ASMs).
2
Los Angeles (LAX)
54 flights
The highest-served route in the PR US network is to the City of Angels ( Los Angeles International Airport
). Up to two daily flights connect the two cities, covering 7,305 miles. This October, 54 flights in each direction will take place, outlined in the below schedule:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Equipment |
Travel Time |
Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PR102 |
Manila |
Los Angeles |
22:05 |
20:40 |
Boeing 777-300ER |
Approx 13.5 hours |
Five weekly |
PR127 |
Los Angeles |
Manila |
23:40 |
05:30 + 1 day |
Boeing 777-300ER |
Approx 13 hours |
Five weekly |
PR112 |
Manila |
Los Angeles |
11:05 |
09:35 |
Boeing 777-300ER |
Approx 13.5 hours |
Daily |
PR113 |
Los Angeles |
Manila |
12:35 |
18:15 + 1 day |
Boeing 777-300ER |
Approx 13 hours |
Daily |
This October, 20,003 seats are available, representing 370.4 per flight. This equates to 146,121,915 available seat miles, making it the clear leader in this article’s analysis.
Related
Air France To Return To The Philippines After 20 Years—Thoughts?
Air France will return to Manila in December, becoming its eighth passenger destination in East Asia. A three-times-weekly non-stop Airbus A350-900 service will begin on December 7. It will operate Northern Europe’s only non-stop service to the Philippines. It comes as Air France reveals it will end its short-lived Abu Dhabi service.
Paris had ~98,000 point-to-point Manila passengers last year, making it the third-largest European market after London and Amsterdam. It will also target passengers across the UK and wider Western Europe. It is the domain of sixth-freedom operators, particularly Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Kuwait Airways, Oman Air, Saudia, Turkish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Saudia, Singapore Airlines, and Kuwait Airways.
Flights will leave Paris CDG for the Philippines on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Not coincidentally, sibling KLM’s Amsterdam-Manila services, which operate via Taipei, do not operate on these days. It means the Group will have a daily Europe-Mani
3
San Francisco
25 flights
Connecting Manila
to the Golden Gate City is PR’s six-weekly service. The airline covers 6,987 miles between the two cities and deploys the Boeing 777-300ER on the route. This represents 370 seats on each flight and 64,629,750 available seat miles. In October, 25 services will operate in each direction providing 9,250 seats, with the schedule as below:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Equipment |
Travel Time |
Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PR104 |
Manila |
San Francisco |
22:50 |
20:50 |
Boeing 777-300ER |
Approx 12 hours |
Six weekly |
PR105 |
San Francisco |
Manila |
23:50 |
05:35 + 1 day |
Boeing 777-300ER |
Approx 13.5 hours |
Six weekly |
4
Seattle
13 flights
The latest jewel in Seattle’s crown is its new direct service to Manila. Starting on October 2, PR launched its new non-stop service to the Washington State Airport. The flight is operated by the Boeing 777-300ER
and operates three times weekly: Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Covering 6,661 miles, the 13 flights in each direction will provide 32,039,410 available seat miles and provide 4,810 seats per month between the two cities. Schedule as below:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Equipment |
Travel Time |
Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PR124 |
Manila |
Seattle |
22:40 |
19:15 |
Boeing 777-300ER |
Approx 14 hours |
Thrice weekly |
PR125 |
Seattle |
Manila |
23:40 |
04:45 |
Boeing 777-300ER |
Approx 11.5 hours |
Thrice weekly |
5
Honolulu
20 flights
Connecting Manila to the Aloha State is Philippine Airlines ‘ weekly connection to Honolulu International Airport
. Served by its fleet of Airbus A330-300, the route covers a distance of 5,302 miles. 20 flights will take off in each direction this month and provide 6,180 seats in each direction. This represents 309 seats per flight and 32,766,360 available seat miles. Schedule as below:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Equipment |
Travel Time |
Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PR100 |
Manila |
Honolulu |
17:30 |
10:00 |
Airbus A330-300 |
Approx 10 hours |
Six weekly |
PR101 |
Honolulu |
Manila |
11:15 |
16:50 + 1 day |
Airbus A330-300 |
Approx 10 hours |
Six weekly |
6
Guam
26 flights
The shortest of all PR’s US routes is to the US island territory in Micronesia. The route is served five weekly, and there is direct competition from United Airlines
. Covering just 1,597 miles, the 26 flights this October in each direction will provide 5,112 seats, represented by 196 on each flight. The route is served by the airline Airbus A321, which equates to 8,163,864 available seat miles. Schedule as below:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure Time |
Arrival Time |
Equipment |
Travel Time |
Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PR110 |
Manila |
Guam |
22:30 |
04:25 + 1 day |
Airbus A321 |
Approx 3.5 hours |
Five weekly |
PR111 |
Guam |
Manila |
05:55 |
07:55 |
Airbus A321 |
Approx 10 hours |
Five weekly |
With six direct services to US soil, Philippine Airlines
is the largest carrier directly connecting the two nations.