American Airlines and Philippine Airlines have entered into a reciprocal codeshare partnership covering destinations on both carrier’s networks.
The agreement marks the first time that a Philippines-based airline can market flights to multiple US destinations, while American Airlines’ customers can now travel on one ticket to the Philippine capital city of Manila (known as ’The Pearl of the Orient’) as well as other destinations across the Philippines archipelago, including the coastal resort city of Cebu.
Under the new arrangement, American Airlines customers can now book tickets via the company’s website on codeshare flights operated by Philippine Airlines to Manila (MNL) and Cebu (CEB) via its hub in Tokyo (HND). Additionally, American customers can also connect to Manila from both Honolulu (HNL) and Guam (GUM).
“We are excited to partner with Philippine Airlines, which will provide our customers seamless connections to Manila, the capital and economic hub of the region, and Cebu, the gateway to countless tropical islands with pristine beaches,” said Anmol Bhargava, American’s Vice President of Global Alliances and Partnerships. “The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, and we look forward to continuing to enhance our partnership with Philippine Airlines.”
While American Airlines passengers can now book directly onto Philippine Airlines flights operating with an ‘AA’ prefixed flight number, Philippine Airlines has placed its ‘PR’ flight code on American Airlines flights between Los Angeles and seven US cities – Atlanta (ATL), Denver (DEN), Houston (HOU), Las Vegas (LAS), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO) and Washington Dulles (IAD).
With its array of connection options through Los Angeles, the codeshare enables passengers from both carriers to access multiple connectivity options with Philippine Airlines trans-Pacific service from the airport.
“This partnership with American Airlines unlocks more options for customers traveling between Asia and the United States,” said Eric David Anderson, PAL’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We are delighted to deliver on our long-term strategy of continuing to build our global reach. We look forward to creating more opportunities for travelers to discover the wonders of the Philippines.”
Philippine Airlines operates twice-daily nonstop flights from Manila to Los Angeles (LAX) plus daily flights to San Francisco (SFO) and multiple weekly flights to New York (JFK), Honolulu, and Guam.
While the flights to both Los Angeles and San Francisco see Philippine Airlines using its nine-strong fleet of Boeing 777-300s, services to New York are operated by the carrier’s Airbus A350-1000s.
The regional flights from Manila to Guam are operated by the company’s Airbus A321neos, while the longer flights between Manila and Honolulu are operated by the larger, higher-density Airbus A330-300.
Philippine Airlines is the Philippines’ only full-service network airline and operates scheduled nonstop flights out of hubs in Manila, Cebu (CEB), Clark (CRK), and Davao (DVO) to 33 destinations in the Philippines and 39 destinations in Asia, North America, Australia, and the Middle East.