PAL to launch Cebu-Los Angeles direct flights in 2016

MANILA, Philippines – People in the Visayas and Mindanao can soon fly to the United States without passing through Manila once flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) begins its direct flights to Los Angeles from Cebu.

PAL will launch non-stop flights between the central Philippine city and Los Angeles in the first quarter of 2016, as part of the airline’s US route expansion.

“Our customers in the Visayas and Mindanao have long clamored for direct flights between Cebu and the US due to the travel convenience this will bring,” PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Jaime Bautista said in a statement released by the airline.

He added, “One can simply take a short hop to Cebu from any point in the Visayas and Mindanao and connect to Los Angeles, instead of flying all the way to Manila.”

PAL said the Cebu-Los Angeles flights will start on March 15, 2016 – PAL’s 75th founding anniversary – using its 254-seater Airbus A340, equipped with both business and economy class seats.

Flights will be thrice weekly, PAL said.

This new route will be the airline’s 38th weekly flight to the United States and its territories, and will be the 34th international flight originating from the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

From Cebu, PAL also flies to Nagoya, Osaka, Seoul, and Tokyo’s Narita airport. – Rappler.com