Dubai, UAE, and Manila, Philippines: Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Emirates have signed an interline agreement to boost connectivity for passengers of both air carriers to new points on each other’s networks via Manila and Dubai, using a single ticket and a common baggage policy.
Now in effect, the reciprocal interline partnership will provide Emirates’ passengers access to 19 Philippine domestic destinations operated by Philippine Airlines, including Cotabato, Davao, Iloilo, Kalibo and more, as well as two (2) Asian regional points via Manila. Philippine Airlines’ passengers will benefit from access to Emirates’ global network and seamlessly connect to 21 cities operated by Emirates including Cairo, Frankfurt, Casablanca and London via Dubai.
Travel itineraries can be booked on philippineairlines.com, emirates.com, the Emirates and PAL mobile apps, and with travel agents as well as online travel agents (OTAs).
Bud Britanico, Philippine Airlines Vice President for Sales commented: “We are happy to embark on this new interline partnership with Emirates that expands the choices available to Philippine Airlines passengers, who now gain easier access to more destinations across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa via our flights to Dubai. We are eager to expand our reach to various international markets and exciting destinations and help stimulate business and tourist travel for global citizens, as well as provide better service to our fellow Filipinos living and working in overseas nations.”
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer commented: “Philippines is one of our strongest consumer markets and we’re pleased to sign a new interline agreement with the country’s flag carrier. The partnership with Philippine Airlines will help open new links for trade and tourism that will drive more inbound traffic into the Philippines, and expand Emirates’ footprint in East Asia. We look forward to serving our partner airline’s customers with additional travel choices to Emirates destinations across the Middle East, Europe as well as the Americas, and to expanding our cooperation with plans to include additional points via Cebu in the coming months.”
Philippine Airlines, the Philippine flag carrier and full-service airline with the largest international network, first served Dubai on August 7, 1982 as part of a growing Middle East route network that now includes flights to Doha (Qatar) and to Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia. Currently, PAL operates daily flights between Manila and Dubai with Airbus A330 widebody aircraft offering Business Class and Economy Class service. PAL’s “Buong Pusong Alaga” (whole-hearted care) service philosophy is demonstrated in the gracious and uniquely caring Filipino service extended by the airline’s cabin crew and service teams around the world.
Philippine Airlines operates an extensive network of domestic routes to 32 destinations across the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao regions of the Philippines, with major hubs in Manila and Cebu and an increasing number of flights out of Davao and Clark as well. In addition to the Middle East, PAL offers the only nonstop flights linking the Philippines with the West and East Coasts of the United States and Canada as well as Hawaii, and the most flights between the Philippines and multiple destinations in Japan and Australia.
Emirates first started operations in Manila in 1992, and has since expanded its network to include Cebu and Clark. The airline currently serves the Philippines with 25 weekly flights to the three gateways.
Emirates operates its modern Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration on flights to Manila, and two-class configuration on flights to Cebu and Clark, offering 8 private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 304 spacious seats in Economy Class. Travellers to and from the Philippines benefit from Emirates’ award-winning service and industry-leading products in the air and on the ground across all classes, with regionally-inspired dishes and complimentary beverages and the airline’s ice inflight entertainment system which offers up to 5,000 channels of on-demand entertainment in over 40 languages, including movies, TV shows, and an extensive musical library along with games, audio books and podcasts.
With the addition of its interline agreement with Philippine Airlines, Emirates takes its commercial partners up to 27 air carriers. These partnerships enable Emirates to respond with agility to the dynamic travel industry, meeting the ever-evolving air travel needs of its customer.