Direct Manila-Paris flights eyed before end of ’24
Filipinos may be able to hop on a direct flight to Paris before the year ends as the Philippine government finalizes its talks with the French counterpart—a move that is seen to beef up tourism between the country and Europe.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, in an event at the French Residence in Makati on Tuesday, said they would “make some announcements maybe in a few weeks.”
“A direct flight is very important because it will give comfort to our passengers. And with direct flights, we’ll have more tourists visiting the country,” he added.
Bautista said they were hoping the country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL), would be able to mount direct flights to Europe “soon” following the delivery of additional aircraft to boost passenger capacity.
PAL president Stanley Ng, on the sidelines of the event, told reporters they were open to responding to the DOTr’s request. He observed that demand for flights to Europe has been on the rise.
“People are traveling to Europe more these days. And we will continue to grow,” he said.
Prior to this, PAL shared its plans of possibly launching direct flights to Italy and Brussels as it seeks to restore its European network.
PAL used to service direct flights to London but were discontinued when the pandemic struck in 2020.
The Lucio Tan-led airline is expanding routes as it increase its aircraft fleet. PAL budgeted $450 million this year for its capital expenditures, allocating 80 percent of the funding to the refurbishment of its A321ceo units, maintenance and upgrades of other jets and payments to new aircraft order.
French Ambassador Marie Fontanel said a direct flight between the countries is one of the items in their Christmas wish list.
“Let’s see what happens. It’s been a topic for many times, many years already,” she said.
Inquirer previously reported that Air France was also talking with aviation authorities and San Miguel Corp. for a possible direct flight offering to Paris. This, as the conglomerate is set to take over the operations and maintenance of Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
On Tuesday, France’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines inked a partnership for capacity-building.
