Emirates, Philippine Airlines codeshare offers travellers access to these destinations

Travellers to and from the Philippines will benefit immediately from Emirates’ latest interline agreement.

The new partnership with Philippine Airlines will boost connectivity for passengers of both air carriers to new points on their respective networks via Manila and Dubai – all with a single ticket and one baggage policy.

The Dubai-based carrier started operations to Manila in 1990, and has since expanded its network to include Cebu and Clark. The airline currently serves the Philippines with 25 weekly flights to the three gateways.

Now in effect, the reciprocal interline partnership provides Emirates’ passengers access to 19 Philippine domestic destinations operated by Philippine Airlines.

These destinations include Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Cotabato, Davao, Iloilo, Kalibo and more, as well as two Asian regional points via Manila.

Enjoy seamless travel via Manila to 19 new domestic destinations across the Philippines, thanks to our new partnership with @flyPAL. https://t.co/QTYEMUGdWR pic.twitter.com/hiA3q25Lx8

— Emirates (@emirates) March 3, 2023

Philippine Airlines’ passengers also benefit from access to Emirates’ global network and seamlessly connect to 21 cities operated by the airline to European destinations, Kuwait, as well as to Jeddah and other points in the Middle East, Africa and India.

Travel itineraries can be booked on the airlines’ websites, mobile apps, or via both online and offline travel agents.

Emirates and Philippine Airlines’ partnership will drive traffic

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ chief commercial officer, said: “The Philippines is one of our strongest consumer markets and we’re pleased to sign a new interline agreement with the country’s flag carrier. The partnership with Philippine Airlines will help open new links for trade and tourism that will drive more inbound traffic into the market, and expand Emirates’ footprint in East Asia. We look forward to serving our partner airline’s customers with additional travel choices to Emirates destinations across the Middle East, Europe as well as the Americas, and to expanding our cooperation with plans to include additional points via Cebu in the coming months.”

Bud Britanico, Philippine Airlines VP Sales commented: “We are happy to embark on this new interline partnership with Emirates that expands the choices available to Philippine Airlines passengers, who now gain easier access to more destinations across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa via our flights to Dubai.  We are eager to expand our reach to various international markets and exciting destinations and help stimulate business and tourist travel for global citizens, as well as provide better service to our fellow Filipinos living and working in overseas nations.”

Philippine Airlines is the Philippines’ flag carrier and only full-service network airline. It was the first commercial airline in Asia and will celebrate its 82^nd anniversary in March this year.

With the addition of its agreement with Philippine Airlines, Emirates takes its interline partners up to 120 air carriers. The airline also has 27 codeshare partners.

 In November, Emirates and Bahrain’s Gulf Air signed a unilateral codeshare partnership.

Read: Emirates and Gulf Air launch codeshare partnership

In other news, Emirates said it aims to invest $135m to build an advanced training facility, slated to open in March next year.

The facility spanning 63,318 square feet, will accommodate six full flight simulator bays (FFS) for its future Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X aircraft.

“This $135m investment to build a new pilot training centre will ensure Emirates’ readiness to commence its pilot training ahead of the delivery of its new aircraft fleet starting from 2024,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group.

Read: Dubai’s Emirates to invest $135m in new pilot training facility

The new centre will be adjacent to the existing Emirates training facilities in Dubai.

Pilot trainees will benefit from “being able to set-up and configure the cockpit environment using bespoke devices as part of the pilot training module and upload the data to the full flight simulator (FFS) prior to commencing their training session,” Emirates said.

The new facility, when ready, will have the potential to expand Emirates’ pilot training capacity by 54 per cent annually.