246 passengers join PAL’s historic inaugural direct flight to Manila

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Passengers to the inaugural flight drag luggages and frisky children to check-in counter at JFK International Airport. Photos by Josh Vasquez

Passengers to the inaugural flight drag luggages and frisky children to check-in counter at JFK International Airport. Photos by Josh Vasquez

By Cristina DC Pastor

Consul General Claro Cristobal is not a layover kind of guy. A diplomat who has lived out of suitcases, he knows what he wants in his airport and airline.

“I don’t like stopovers,” he declared before an audience of travel executives, community leaders, and journalists who attended the recent launch of Philippine Airlines’ nonstop flights New York-Manila, which debuted on October 30 (October 29 in the Philippines).

He never enjoyed the half hour layover in Vancouver, he said, because the vendo machines were often out of order. Missing a connecting flight can be a traveler’s biggest nightmare, and this happened to him on his return to New York from Manila after visiting relatives last Christmas. “I made the tremendous mistake of not flying PAL.” His thoughts on layovers was shared by many. Hours wasted, lousy airports, the hassle of clearing customs, are just some of the reasons straight-through flights can be appealing to some travelers.

Inaugural flight
A total of 246 passengers joined PAL’s historic inaugural flight between New York City and Manila. “It is a good number,” said Josh Vasquez, PAL area manager for New York. The Airbus A350 has a seating capacity of 295. In command of the aircraft were Captain Ruel Isaac and Captain Randolf Kier. Joining them at the flight deck were First Officer Philimerif Vinarao and First Officer Leo Parcon. Flight Purser Roberto Casuela leads the Cabin Crew roster, according to the PAL corporate communications office.

 PAL’s New York team, led by area manager Josh Vasquez (foreground, wearing company jacket),  with cabin crew before the inaugural flight. With Vasquez are Charisse Arboleda, Gina Arguelles, and Erwin del Rosario.


PAL’s New York team, led by area manager Josh Vasquez (foreground, wearing company jacket), with cabin crew before the inaugural flight. With Vasquez are Charisse Arboleda, Gina Arguelles, and Erwin del Rosario.

For now, passengers from New York City will be flying direct to Manila for a little more than 16 hours. The jet stream shortens by about two hours the return flight to New York, PAL’s flagship route. This is the first direct flight for PAL after it resumed operations in NYC in 2015. The Asian financial crisis of 1998 and union activities forced the flag carrier to “pull out of most routes and drastically reduce its fleet.” It will also be PAL’s longest flight. Always, its long-haul flights from JFK International Airport made stopovers in Vancouver. The New York-Manila route will operate four times a week, and will run five times in December.

“(This is) the longest route ever to be served by a Philippine carrier. What’s in store for travelers is a journey unparalleled — an ultra-comfortable flight on one of the world’s most advanced commercial airplanes,” said PAL President and COO Jaime J. Bautista in a statement. The nonstop journey is “marked by comfort, convenience and efficiency,” he added.

PAL flights will leave JFK airport at 1:45 a.m. and arrive in Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 6:25 a.m. the following day. The schedule will give passengers enough sleep time through the flight and allow them to arrive feeling refreshed and ready for their morning meetings. Also, they get to skip traffic which is common during rush hours.

PAL also announced it is partnering with Wolfgang’s Steakhouse as it prepares “elegant steakhouse-style” inflight dining. The New York to Manila menu offers Beverly Hills chopped salad, mushroom soup, Wolfgang’s striploin steak, grilled Chilean Seabass, and key lime pie.

“This nonstop flight by PAL is going to be lovely,” said ConGen Cristobal. “You will be in the new terminal in Manila when you land. I’m excited about the four-star service.”

PAL has been certified a four-star airline by the international air transport rating organization Skytrax.

© The FilAm 2018

Historic flight deserves a send-off cake.

Historic flight deserves a send-off cake.



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