In celebration of its 75th founding anniversary, Philippine Airlines (PAL) will begin offering the direct flight between Cebu and Los Angeles on March 15,2016. Passengers from Iloilo who will book for the newest international service from March 15-31 will get the Iloilo-Cebu connecting flight for free.
The thrice weekly service further expands the flag carrier’s international flight network to the U.S. mainland. This latest offering is part of the airline’s ongoing route expansion in response to market demand.
PAL PH Sales Head Harry Inoferio introduced the ‘historical’ flight service to the Ilonggos in a press conference at SEDA Hotel Iloilo on February 10. PAL Spokesperson Cielo Villaluna, Visayas Area Head Cris Lebumfacil, and Iloilo Branch Manager Ricky dela Cruz were also in attendance.
“We have been wanting to give this to our kababayans because of the strong clamor for flights from the Visayas all the way to the US,” said Inoferio.
At present, the airline has eleven weekly flights between Manila and Los Angeles, ten weekly flights between Manila and San Francisco, and four weekly flights between Manila and New York.
PR122 (CEB-LAX) departs Cebu every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6:25 p.m. and arrives in Los Angeles at 5:55 p.m. local time. PR123 (LAX-CEB) leaves Los Angeles on the same days at 8:40 p.m. local time and touches down in Cebu at 4:40 a.m.
The airplane is going to be bi-class in service, business class and economy. In their recent travel tour expo, PAL offered the CEB-LAX flight at special rate of $575 round-trip in economy, excluding taxes. The regular economy-class rate for round trip will be $650, excluding taxes.
“This newest PAL service will enable our customers to enjoy more travel options to and from Los Angeles. PAL patrons from the Visayas and Mindanao may hop to Mactan (Cebu) via our domestic flights and then take the flight to L.A. Travelers from Los Angeles who need to fly to Cebu for business or leisure stand to benefit from the new service, which promises that distinct brand of Filipino hospitality,” PAL President Jaime J. Bautista said in a statement.
The flag carrier’s intra-domestic flights and international flights to and from Cebu provide the connectivity customers need.
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The airline has three weekly flights between Cebu and Bacolod; four flights weekly between Cebu and Butuan; and seven flights weekly each between Cebu and Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Iloilo and Tacloban. The PAL Cebu hub operates Cebu – Nagoya flights thrice weekly, Cebu – Osaka, seven flights weekly, Tokyo (Narita), fourteen flights weekly and Seoul (Incheon), twice weekly.
PAL aims to tap on the strengths of the Cebu hub and boost its growth by operating more flights to and from the Mactan – Cebu International Airport. The flag carrier is working closely and collaborating with the Philippine Department of Tourism and various stakeholders in the industry through joint initiatives and undertakings in order to boost marketing efforts to help the government reach its tourism growth targets.
