Philippine Airlines (PAL) is opening a new nonstop fight between capitals of Cambodia and the Philippines.
The new five times weekly service that commences in April will be the first direct air link between Phnom Penh and Manila.
PAL President and Chief Operating Office Jaime J. Bautista said: “This brand new PAL service is an exciting venture that will help increase Cambodia's connections to the rest of the world. We are eager to promote tourist travel and economic exchanges between our two countries.”
Starting April 2, 2019, PAL will fly five times weekly from Phnom Penh International Airport to Manila (Tuesdays/Wednesdays/Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays), with flight PR522 departing at 12:45AM and landing in Manila at 4:20AM.
The return service, PR521 from Manila departs from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturdays starting April 1, 2019 at 10:10PM and arriving in Phnom Penh at 11:45PM on the same day.
For the Phnom Penh-Manila service, PAL will operate Airbus A320 aircraft with a seating capacity of 156 seats (12 Business Class and 144 Economy seats), upgrading to a higher-capacity Airbus A321 aircraft that offers 199 seats (12 Business and 187 Economy) when necessary to serve increased passenger demand.
“We recognize that Cambodia is a treasured tourist market and Phnom Penh is the hub of a growing economy. PAL is looking forward to introducing Filipino, Asian and American travelers to the unique tourist attractions of the Kingdom and its capital city,” said Mr. Bautista. “We hope this will help strengthen the robust friendship and ASEAN solidarity that makes the Philippines-Cambodia relationship special."
The Philippine flag carrier also hopes to encourage more Cambodian travelers to visit Manila and enjoy the city’s major shopping and entertainment attractions. They can likewise connect to a vast network of PAL flights from Manila to many of the Philippines’ top domestic destinations for beach holidays or eco-tourism adventures.
The PAL service will offer a convenient connection for travelers flying to Cambodia from the United States and Canada. The Philippine carrier has the most extensive network of any Southeast Asian airline to North America, as PAL flies nonstop 57 times weekly to Manila from New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Vancouver, San Francisco and Honolulu. For these long-haul flights, PAL is deploying a full fleet of high-technology aircraft, such as the Airbus A350-900 and the Boeing 777-300ER.
For the rest of the CLMV region, PAL is also opening a Hanoi-Manila route on March 31 and maintains a regular route between Manila and Ho Chi Minh City.
Philippine Airlines was awarded SKYTRAX certification as a 4-Star Global Airline in 2018, and voted 2nd Most Improved Airline in the 2018 SKYTRAX worldwide passenger survey. Most recently, AirlineRatings.com rated PAL as the World’s Most Improved Airline for 2019, citing the major transformation of the Philippine carrier into a premium quality service airline.
