The Philippines eyes holding discussions with US aviation officials in the first quarter next year to further boost the air links between the two countries, a high-ranking official of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said.
“We hope to sit down with the US in the first quarter next year to improve the network, the routes that can be operated by our airlines,” Carmelo Arcilla, executive director at CAB, said.
“(We have) open sky agreements with the US. This is more of improving and increasing the routes that can be accessed by our airlines,” he added.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) offers direct flights to the United States via San Francisco, New York, Guam, Los Angeles and Honolulu.
PAL recently signed an agreement with Airbus for the purchase of nine A350-1000s which will be used in non-stop services from Manila to North America, including to the East Coast of the US and Canada.
The first of the nine A350-1000s is scheduled for delivery to PAL by the fourth quarter of 2025, continuing until 2027.
Arcilla said the US is a huge market for the Philippines with about 3.5 million migrant Filipinos living there.
Data from the Department of Tourism show visitor arrivals from the US reaching 715,744 in the first nine months this year.
In 2022, a total 505,089 US visitors came to the Philippines.
Last September, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates agreed to expand their air service agreement (ASA) to 21 flights per week from 18 flights weekly.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) includes the increase in air cargo from 200 to 600 tons a week for every national carrier and the operation of Airbus A380 aircraft. In exchange, the Philippines granted three flight entitlements between Manila and UAE.
