Philippine Airlines said on Thursday afternoon that starting 9 December this year, the airline will reintroduce its direct flights between Cebu City and Bangkok.

According to PAL Spokesperson Cielo Villaluna, the twice-weekly PAL service expands the network of its international flights that use Mactan Cebu International Airport as a business and tourist gateway for tourists from Thailand and the ASEAN area.

Villaluna said that PAL service offers convenient morning departures from Cebu and early afternoon departures from Bangkok, giving travelers an easy three-hour journey without needing to connect via Manila or other airports.

From 9 December 2022 onwards:

▪︎ PR 738 Cebu-Bangkok – every Monday and Friday departing at 09:30 AM
▪︎ PR 739 Bangkok-Cebu – every Monday and Friday departing at 01:30 PM

PAL President and CEO Captain Stanley K. Ng said that their Bangkok-Cebu flights give them the opportunity to grow the Philippines-Thailand passenger market, using their Cebu regional hub to boost tourism and economic development, and they are happy to offer travelers a choice of nonstop links to major markets in Asia and beyond now that more countries are reopening their borders and easing travel restrictions in time for the holiday travel season.

Ng added that PAL will operate the flights with 199-seater Airbus A321ceo aircraft, serving Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand's main international gateway. The noontime arrival in Bangkok allows travelers ample connecting time to fly to other cities in Thailand.

Bangkok is the latest destination to be flown out of the flag carrier's Cebu hub, which connects Cebu to Tokyo Narita and various cities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

PAL previously operated a Cebu-Bangkok service from December 2017 to March 2020.