PAL eyes new, old Japan routes this year

Supported by a significant capital investment program, the Tan-led Philippine Airlines (PAL) is relaunching routes to Japan this year to further grow its network and cater to the needs of travel-hungry passengers.

“We are continuously looking at expanding our network. One market that we are looking at in the summer is Cebu-Osaka, which is an old route. We are also looking at other regional markets such as Manila-Sapporo,” PAL vice president for Network Planning Christoph Gartner said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Top 10

Last year, the Philippines ranked among Japan's top 10 sources of tourists, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization as of February.

The number of Filipino tourists visiting Japan reached 622,268, surpassing pre-pandemic figures of 613,114 in 2019. In 2023, the Philippines ranked 7th among the top tourist source countries for Japan.

The top six markets for Japanese tourism were South Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, the USA and Thailand.

Important gateway

Cebu Airport has been an important gateway for leisure travelers, offering direct flights to various international destinations, including Hong Kong, Taipei in Taiwan, Narita, Tokyo in Japan, Seoul and Busan in Korea, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Singapore, and Bangkok in Thailand.

PAL announced the launch of new services between Manila and Seattle on Tuesday.

The Manila-Seattle-Manila flights will initially operate three times a week, departing from Manila's Terminal 1 at 10:40 p.m. local time on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and arriving at Seattle Tacoma International Airport at 11:40 p.m. local time.