Philippine Airlines has announced that it will launch flights from Manila to Perth next year, in what will be the Philippines’ first-ever direct link to Western Australia. The three-weekly service will begin on March 27th, 2023, and will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A321neo aircraft.

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The route between Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) and Perth Airport (PER) had been planned to start in March 2020, but it never came to fruition due to the pandemic.

The flight schedule

  • Flight PR223 will depart Manila at 00:05, arriving in Perth at 07:15
  • Flight PR224 will depart Perth at 08:30, arriving in Manila at 15:30

Flights will operate on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with a block time of seven hours and 10 minutes on the outbound leg, and seven hours and 20 minutes on the return.

Manila to Perth route map
Photo: GCmap.com

Western Australia’s Minister for Tourism, Roger Cook, welcomed the news, saying,

“The Southeast Asia region has been leading the recovery of our international visitor economy since reconnecting with the world earlier this year, and this new service will provide an important connection between WA and the Philippines. It also opens up a major market for international education and helps cement the growing relationships between businesses in WA and the Philippines. We expect to see the Philippines visitor market continue to grow.”

Philippine Airlines and the Airbus A321neo

Philippine Airlines currently has eight Airbus A321neos in its fleet, with a further 13 on order to replace the older Airbus A320s, which were retired or transferred to its low-cost subsidiary PAL Express.

The carrier operates its Airbus A321neos to a range of medium-haul destinations, including Tokyo and Brisbane. Each aircraft seats a total of 168 passengers in a two-class configuration – 12 in business class and 156 in economy class.

Philippine Airlines  Airbus A321neo
Photo: Airbus

Take a closer look at Philippine Airlines’ Airbus A321neo in this flight review by the Simple Flying team.

Elsewhere in Australia, Philippine Airlines currently operates direct flights to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Filipino low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific also operates from Manila to both Sydney and Melbourne.

Philippine Airlines is not the only Asian carrier to commence flights to Perth next year. The launch of flights to Manila will come just one day after All Nippon Airways resumes flights to Tokyo Narita (NRT), offering Western Australia’s only direct connection to Japan.

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A return to profitability

Earlier this week, Philippine Airlines announced that it expects to return to profitability in 2022, following some serious economic challenges as a result of the pandemic. In the first nine months of the year, the airline made 6.76 billion pesos ($122 million) in profit, and bookings for the upcoming holiday season are reportedly very strong.

Philippine Airlines Airbus A321neo
Photo: Airbus

Following its arrival in Western Australia, the Filipino flag carrier is reportedly looking at commencing the country’s only direct flights to India in the near future.

Have you traveled between the Philippines and Western Australia? Which route did you take? Do you expect to see Philippine Airlines expand further in Australia? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below.