PAL flies back to Vancouver April 3

Philippine Airlines returns to Canada after an absence of three years when it starts a direct service between Manila and Vancouver, British Columbia on April 3, 2001.

PAL will be the only carrier offering non-stop flights between the two points, both ways. After a brief stop in Vancouver, the service continues on to San Francisco, California. The return service to Manila will likewise be routed through Vancouver.

PAL will have full traffic rights between the Canadian and U.S. cities.

“We’re excited to be back in Canada to serve our various markets there – tourists, ship crew, the business sector, Canadian expatriates in the Philippines and, of course, Filipino migrants to Canada,” said PAL president Avelino L. Zapanta.

“Vancouver is our gateway to these vibrant markets and we intend to develop this route to its full potential.”

The service (PR 106) will operate three times a week, with departures from Manila every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Arrival in Vancouver is 12:30 p.m. the same day.

After a one-and-a-half-hour stop, PR 106 continues onward to San Francisco, arriving there at 4:10 p.m.

The return service (PR 107) departs San Francisco every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., arriving in Vancouver at 9:40 p.m.

Departure from the Canadian city is at 11:10 p.m. and touchdown in Manila is 4:10 a.m. two calendar days later. (Manila is 16 hours ahead of Vancouver.)

PAL will deploy Airbus 340-300 aircraft on the route. The well-appointed widebody jet seats 12 in First Class, 32 in Mabuhay (Business) Class and 220 in economy.

Vancouver is PAL’s 17th international destination and first in Canada.

More importantly, the British Columbia hub becomes PAL’s third gateway to North America, after Los Angeles and San Francisco, ensuring more connecting choices for passengers bound for interior and Eastern seaboard points in Canada and the United States.

The city, Canada’s third largest, and its environs are home to over 50,000 Filipino and about a quarter-million Asian immigrants.

Vancouver is also the business, financial and manufacturing center of Western Canada. It is the premier port in the Pacific Northwest region, making it the ideal embarkation point for merchant marine crew as well as tourists booked on the popular Alaskan cruises.

Both groups are major market segments for PAL – Filipinos comprise the world’s largest supplier of commercial-ship crew while leisure cruise itineraries to Alaska are increasingly favored by Filipino and Asian travelers.

PAL first flew to Vancouver on September 19, 1996 in a similar tri-city routing that extended on to Newark, New Jersey. Operational difficulties forced the suspension of the service on June 5, 1998.