United Airlines is optimistic about the expansion of its operation in the Philippines given the surge in travel demand to and from the United States.
The airline, which has been operating in the Philippines for over 40 years, is set to expand its operation in the country with the launch of new daily nonstop service from Manila to San Francisco beginning October 30, eastbound.
“We’re seeing the demand really bounce back this year , (and) by the end of the year, it will probably be within maybe 9 percent or 7 percent of 2019 levels,” said Walter Dias, United Airlines regional director for sales in Greater China, Korea & Southeast Asia.
“We’re really looking forward to serving our customers in the US coming here, but also from the Philippines to the US. I think having a US carrier service the market will generate more traffic to the Philippines because we have a large customer base in the United States,” Dias added.
Pam Navarro, United Airlines country manager for sales in the Philippines, said the new nonstop service will increase the company’s weekly flight operations from nine to 16 starting October.
The new flight will be the airline’s first trans-Pacific service from Manila, since it started its Manila operation in 1982. The first westbound flight from San Francisco to Manila will depart on October 29.
All flights will utilize the B777-300ER aircraft offering 60 seats in the United Polaris business cabin, 24 seats in the United Premium Plus cabin and 266 seats in the United Economy cabin.
San Francisco is United’s largest hub airport on the US West Coast and a gateway to Asia-Pacific. United operates more than 200 daily departures from San Francisco International Airport, taking customers to more than 100 destinations around the globe, including the most international service with flights to 31 different international cities.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter of the year, the country recorded304,289 arrivals from the US, making up 18 percent of the total international visits, according to data from the Department of Tourism.
Last year, the US was the biggest market for international tourists traveling to the Philippines with over 500,000 visitor arrivals.
