Flag carrier Philippine Airlines will expand routes to Japan with the opening of new services to Osaka and Nagoya via Cebu.
By December 19, PAL will begin operating four weekly flights (Mondays/Thursdays/ Fridays/ Sundays) between Cebu and Osaka on PR 410. The next day (Dec.20), PAL will begin operating three weekly flights (Tuesdays/ Wednesdays/ Sundays) between Cebu and Nagoya on PR 480.
The new routes to be launched in December this year will bring to 67 the total number of PAL flights to Japan per week.
At present, PAL operates from Manila 11 weekly flights to Haneda (Tokyo), 14 weekly flights to Narita (Tokyo), seven weekly flights each to Nagoya, Osaka (Kansai), and Fukuoka. From Cebu, there are 14 weekly flights to Narita (Tokyo).
The launching of the new air services is the flag carrier’s response to strong public clamor for new routes to Japan, considered the third biggest source of visitor arrivals to the country.
Data from the Department of Tourism shows that as of January – August 2014, arrivals from Japan have reached 310, 901, an increase of 5.95% from the 293,445 tallied during the same period the year before.
The new routes will commence nine months after the air carrier launched flights to Haneda, PAL’s fifth gateway to Japan after Narita, Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya.