Philippine Airlines (PAL) said Tuesday it is increasing its capital expenditures (capex) by 164 percent this year as it revives long haul flights, beginning with non-stop service from Manila to Seattle in the United States in October 2024.
PAL chief financial officer and senior vice president Anna Isabel Bengzon told reporters in a briefing that the airline budgeted about $450 million for 2024 capex, higher than $170 million it spent in 2023.
Bengzon said the airline would use about 80 percent of the capex for aircraft refurbishment, maintenance upgrade and payments for delivery.
She said the capex would be funded through internal generated funds and local and international borrowings.
PAL recently acquired an additional 777-300 ER aircraft as a first step towards renewing its long-haul fleet.
“We are progressively renewing our fleet. We ordered nine airbus A350 1000s for routes to North America. Deliveries will start in 2025,” said PAL senior vice president and general counsel Carlos Luis Fernandez.
The new aircraft include 13 Airbus 321 NEOs which are scheduled for delivery until 2029.
Fernandez said PAL would start flying from Manila to Seattle on Oct. 2 this year to become the first carrier to link the Philippines and US Pacific Northwest region with direct flights that would help stimulate business and leisure travel between the two countries.
More than 900,000 Americans visited the Philippines in 2023, making the US the country’s second largest source of tourists.
PAL will also serve the growing number of Filipinos visiting family and friends in Washington and Oregon, which are home to more than 240,000 Filipino-Americans.
“Our Manila-Seattle-Manila flights give us a valuable opportunity to promote our beautiful island country as a flourishing tourist and business destination for American travelers,” said PAL president and chief operating officer Captain Stanley Ng.
“We also look forward to serving Filipinos who hope to reunite with family members or experience new travel adventures in the vibrant US Pacific Northwest,” he said.
The Seattle flights will provide connectivity via Manila to PAL’s extensive domestic and regional international network including cities such as Cebu, Davao, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.
The Seattle flights will add up to 60 tons of cargo capacity every week that will further contribute to increased trade and economic activity between the US and Asia.
Seattle is PAL’s eighth destination in North America. The Philippine carrier already operates 46 weekly flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Toronto, Honolulu and Guam.
The Philippine carrier will deploy Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to perform the Seattle services, with full-flat seats in Business Class and PAL’s hallmark inflight service featuring Filipino and Western meal specialties.
PAL is offering a special introductory all-in roundtrip fare at $771 for Economy Class and $3,071 for Business Class. The introductory fare is available until April 30, 2024 and for travel from Oct. 2 to Nov. 30, 2024 as well as from Feb. 1 to March 22, 2025.