PAL to start flying to four more international destinations this year

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Sunday announced new routes to at least four international destinations set to begin later this year.

PAL said it will start flying to four new destinations this year -- New York in the United States, New Delhi and Mumbai in India, and Sapporo in Japan.

PAL will start its non-stop flights from Manila to the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on October 28, and its non-stop flights from Manila to New Delhi and Mumbai (Bombay) in the fourth quarter of the year.

It will also start flights from Manila to Sapporo (Chitose) in Japan in the last quarter of the year.

"Our new aircraft and our new hubs are a winning combination that will help expand our market reach both domestically and worldwide," PAL president and COO Jaime Bautista said.

"This is imperative for a global airline, and we must sustain and build on our hard-won 4-Star rating," he added.

Earlier this year, PAL was certified as a 4-Star airline by international air transport rating organization Skytrax.

It also said it expects the delivery of 15 new aircraft worth nearly $2 billion starting this year.

"Our current fleet of 85 aircraft is already the largest in the Philippines... We are aiming for 100 aircraft by 2020, which places us in the category of a major carrier," Bautista said.

"But we are not merely adding more planes, we are constantly upgrading the cabins, seats, amenities, in-flight entertainment, and technology. We aspire to ultimately become a 5-Star Global Airline, to be a source of pride for all Filipinos," he added. —ALG, GMA News