Vol. XXI, No. 207 [ Business World Online ]
Thursday, May 22, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
FLAG CARRIER Philippine Airlines (PAL) is offering a new round of fare promotion starting at P88 for domestic destinations and $88 for international flights.
The P88 one-way fare, exclusive of taxes and surcharges, is applicable to flights between Manila on the one hand and Cebu, Bacolod, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, General Santos, Kalibo, Laoag, Legazpi, Puerto Princesa and Zamboanga on the other hand.
Booking for domestic flights is until June 2, and is effective for trips from June 15 to Dec. 15, the airline said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the $88 roundtrip fare for international flights, also exclusive of taxes and surcharges, are offered for trips to Chongqing and Chengdu in China, and select flights to Jakarta for travel until Nov. 30.
A $98 promo for select roundtrip flights from Manila to Singapore is open for booking until May 31 and valid for travel from June 16 to Oct. 13.
Roundtrip flights to other foreign destinations like Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh, Taipei and Xiamen are also offered at a promotional rate of $108.
Round trip flights from Manila to Shanghai cost $168, $268 for Beijing, and $428 for Melbourne and Sydney.
Booking for the promo flights will be from June 1 to 15, and is valid for travel between July 1 to Oct. 13.
Meanwhile, in General Santos City, company officials said PAL is now serving the General Santos City-Cebu City route via PAL Express, the flag-carrier’s budget brand.
Air travelers from Central Mindanao no longer have to go to Davao City to avail themselves of low airfares for Cebu from rival Cebu Pacific.
Fernando Mandanas, local PAL manager, said PAL Express’s maiden voyage on Monday from Cebu to General Santos carried 52 passengers. The brand new plane can carry up to 76 passengers, he said.
"It’s good. I paid P2,100 only for my ticket," passenger Pablo Bondaug said, adding that he used to pay P3,500 for a one-way trip from Cebu to General Santos.
Air Philippines, a PAL sister company, serves the General Santos-Cebu route thrice weekly as a stopover point for Manila.
Domingo T. Duerme, PAL senior vice-president for Mindanao, said PAL Express would now fly daily between Cebu and General Santos. "It’s called a Q airplane for ’quiet.’ Inside the plane you can’t hear noise [while flying]. It’s like riding a jet aircraft," Mr. Duerme said.
Estimated time of arrival of PAL Express in General Santos from Cebu is 11:55 a.m, and the plane then flies back 25 minutes after noon. PAL launched PAL Express early this month through a flight from Manila to Caticlan in Aklan, the gateway to the resort island of Boracay.
PAL President Jaime J. Bautista earlier said the low-fare flights would serve 22 interisland routes at the outset, including some provincial points now without air service or underserved by other players.
He noted that with PAL Express, Philippine Airlines is reassuming its traditional mandate of providing quality, affordable air service to outlying communities.
PAL Express will expand its network over the next two months, with service scheduled to be launched on 22 routes, the company said in a statement. Thirteen of those new routes emanate from PAL Express’s main hub in Cebu City, where operations started on Monday with services to five points — Caticlan, Bacolod, Tacloban, Butuan and General Santos. — A.B.L. Lorenzo and R.S. Sarmiento
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