Cairns Airport welcomes the exciting announcement by Philippine Airlines that they will operate direct services between Manila and Cairns and Auckland and Cairns.
The service will commence on Tuesday 1 December with four return services per week.
Cairns Airport Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Brown, said the new service will further increase international connectivity for Cairns, giving tourists new options to reach the destination and giving locals more choice for international travel itineraries.
“Through Manila the new Philippine Airlines service will offer even more Asian connections for visitors coming to Cairns and Great Barrier Reef,” Mr Brown said. “The Auckland service will provide us with year round direct connectivity with New Zealand once again linking us with this important neighbouring tourism market and through connections via Auckland.”
“We recently hosted a delegation of Philippine Airlines representatives who came to Cairns to experience our destination and to meet with local travel agents to promote Manila and other locations in the Philippines to the people of the Cairns region. Resort islands such as beautiful Boracay are sure to prove popular with Cairns locals.”
The Manila – Cairns – Auckland service will be operated using A320 aircraft and will feature Philippine Airline’s signature full service offer. Cairns will be the latest addition to their extensive route network that spans 37 foreign cities and 30 domestic points.
“We look forward to the December launch of this new service and to a long and successful partnership with Philippine Airlines,” Mr Brown said.
Mayor of Cairns, Councillor Bob Manning welcomed the addition to the Cairns Airport flight network.
“This is another significant link for our city’s international airport and highlights the importance of Cairns as both a tourist and business destination,” Cr Manning said.
“With our proximity to south-east Asia, we expect the Philippines to grow as an incoming market on the back of these direct flights. They will also open up travel routes for people from other parts of Asia and Europe.
“I congratulate Cairns Airport and Philippine Airlines on this fantastic announcement.”
Philippine Airlines (PAL) President and Chief Operating Officer, Jaime J. Bautista said, “Our new service allows PAL to cater to the travel needs of business and leisure travellers and showcase our distinct brand of service marked by Filipino warmth, charm and hospitality.”
“Upon arrival in Manila, passengers may enjoy the capital city for a few days then connect to any of the 67 other destinations (30 domestic and 37 international) in the PAL network. In the long term, the service will drive traffic from Southeast Asia,” he added.
The six-hour flight to Cairns – PAL’s fifth Australian destination – departs Manila at 11:45 PM (MNL time) arriving in Australia at 08:00AM (local time) the following day. The one-hour stopover allows PAL to pick up passengers from Cairns for the continuing journey to Auckland. Arrival in New Zealand is at 4:00PM (local time).
Flights from Auckland depart on the same days at 6:30 PM (local time), arriving Cairns at 10:30 PM (local time). After a brief stopover, flights depart from Cairns, arriving Manila at 3:30AM (MNL time), the following day.