Philippines Airlines in major route expansion

MANILA: Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced a major route expansion on
Friday to better serve the army of Filipino expatriate workers in the
Middle East.


As well as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
PAL added new routes to Australia, China and Malaysia as the company
pursues a US$10 billion fleet overhaul that will more than double its
current fleet of 44 aircraft.


PAL president Ramon Ang said the push into the Gulf states starting
in October would serve the region’s large Filipino workforce, which
includes many domestic helpers, construction workers and medics.


"From UAE, for example, overseas Filipino workers can easily connect
to other key cities or countries through PAL’s airline partners in the
Gulf," Ang said in a statement.






PAL’s route expansion comes with the Philippine government expressing
hope that its aviation safety regime will soon pass audits by
regulators in the US and European Union (EU).


The US blacklist prohibits Philippine carriers from adding additional flights in the US apart from their existing services.


The EU bar prevents Filipino airlines from serving European routes at all.


The PAL group now serves 28 overseas destinations including four US
cities: Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.-- AFP