Since the opening of the Manila to Paris flights last December 2024 — the only non-stop flights from the Philippines to Europe — a significant increase in the European market has been logged, according to an official of Air France.

“The market increased by 25 percent based on our data. We are seeing a lot of tourists coming in, especially Europeans taking Air France flights," said Pamela Villangka, country manager of Air France, at the sidelines of the France-Philippines Business Forum in Makati City on Friday.

"We see more and more Filipinos travel to France and we carry those passengers directly to Paris. Since the launch in December, Air France flights have been progressively increasing. So, we’ve had good take-ups, approximately 80-90 percent seat factor going to France,” she added.

Inbound flights needing a push

“Admittedly, there are still a lot of improvements in terms of the inbound sector that we need to fill, but generally, we’ve seen quite good performance since the launch,” she stated.

Villangka also said they observed high bookings of Filipinos going to Paris this coming Lent, as Filipinos love to travel during the said season.

“We see a lot of book load for April and throughout summer. April and May are generally good months for airlines, especially the Filipino market. As the only carrier from Manila to Europe, we have a very good market for it — of course not just for the French community but also for the Filipino community who would love the convenience of traveling to Europe with a non-stop flight,” she underlined.

To increase inbound flights to Manila, Villangka said they are tying up with inbound travel agents and operators to bring in more European and French tourists.

“It is not that the Philippines is not a priority for the French and European visitors, but maybe because there are other options in the Southeast Asia region where Europeans are inclined to go, such as Bali, Indonesia, and Thailand. But the Department of Tourism, I believe, is working very hard to make the Philippines a main destination in Southeast Asia for European tourists,” she said.

But for now, Villangka said Air France has no concrete plans yet to increase inbound flights.

“Hopefully, there will be an opportunity for that, but as of now, there are no plans yet. We are trying to stabilize the frequency so that we have to ensure that it remains profitable. Any further increase will be subject to further assessments,” she said.

She revealed that most airlines serving Europe are usually filled with Filipino seafarers.

“A huge chunk of our travelers are seafarers as there are a lot of ports in Europe, though we fly Filipino seafarers not just in France, in Europe, but all over the world,” she said.

She said Air France flies thrice a week from Manila every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and arrives in Paris the next day.

On the other hand, return flights depart Paris on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday night.

French deals with Phl

Meanwhile, six deals were sealed by the French and Philippine governments during the visit of Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin in the country.

The deals that were sealed include the joint declaration between Saint-Martin and Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon, aiming to advance the ties between Manila and France in supporting the Philippines’ rail and maritime capacity.

The Philippine Coast Guard also signed an agreement with French shipbuilding firm OCEA for the maintenance of vessels built by OCEA for the Philippine government.

Another deal in maritime transport was finalized, namely a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Transportation and French company Hydrogène de France for decarbonization efforts.

In the aviation sector, two partnerships were sealed, including the agreement between Air France and Cebu Pacific, as well as the letter of intent between France’s Ascendance Flight Technologies and the Philippines’ PhilJets Aero Charter Corp.

Finally, the French Development Agency and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development are extending a 1 million euro grant to the Philippines to implement research on climate-resilient agriculture and support for Geographical Indications, through the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.