Philippine Airlines, which for the past four years has been the only carrier to fly nonstop between Manila and Honolulu, will add 1,100 more seats a month on the route beginning next month.
The Manila-based carrier is swapping out its aircraft and will bring in to Honolulu an additional 55 seats per flight beginning June 15.
Philippine Airlines flies the route five days a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The switch to the 309-seat A330 from the 254-seat A340 also will feature a third class of service, premium economy, that will allow passengers to increase the weight of their checked luggage to 55 pounds a bag from 50 pounds, offer seats that recline farther than other sections of the plane, provide double frequent flier miles for those passengers enrolled in the Mabuhay Miles frequent-flier program, and offer a larger selection of in-flight entertainment.
“As the flag carrier of the Philippines, we want to serve our countrymen here and we want to sustain the flights,” Sol Solleza, area manager of Hawaii for Philippine Airlines, said in a recent interview. “The Filipinos in Hawaii are not a huge market. It doesn’t occupy the whole Hawaii and the volume can just sustain a five-times-a-week flight.”
The Filipino population is the largest Asian community in the state. In 2015, there were 213,439 pure Filipinos in Hawaii, accounting for 14.9 percent of the state’s total 1.43 million population, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. If mixed Filipinos are included, the total was 368,883, or 25.8 percent of the state’s total population.
Eddie Flores Jr., who is half-Filipino and president of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, said he was thrilled to hear that a new aircraft would be used and additional seats would be added.
“It’s a fantastic idea,” he said. “Right now, there is only one direct flight from Honolulu to the Philippines. I’ve flown on the airline quite often and most of the aircraft are pretty old. So bringing in a new airplane is a great plus for everyone, especially the Filipino community in Hawaii.”
Philippine Airlines, which had been offering just business class and economy class, has been the only carrier with a nonstop flight between Manila and Honolulu since Aug. 1, 2013, when Hawaiian Airlines ended its four-days-a-week service after a five-year run.
Flores, who was aboard Hawaiian’s inaugural flight to the Philippines in 2008, said he was saddened to see the state’s largest carrier pull out of that market.
“It was pretty disappointing because it brought down prices,” he said. “The two airlines were very competitive at the time and they competed basically on prices. Filipinos are very sensitive to prices. I’ve seen Filipinos fly to Taiwan or to Korea just to save 10 bucks to go to the Philippines.”
Philippine Airlines, founded in 1941, began flying from Manila to Honolulu in 1946 as a fueling stop on its way to San Francisco.
For 2017, the total air seat capacity from Manila to Honolulu is scheduled to be 73,709, about 0.6 percent of the total air seats to Hawaii, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Philippine Airlines is promoting the new Honolulu-Manila service by offering a special premium economy class round-trip fare now through May 31 of $1,122 per person, including taxes and surcharges, for a minimum of two passengers if tickets are purchased through online travel sites or through travel agencies, Solleza said. There also will be a promotional fare of $1,322, with no minimum number of passengers, that will be available for purchase on the Philippine Airlines website starting Tuesday, Solleza added. The premium economy fare is expected to go up to $1,572 round trip during peak season, according to Solleza. She said the lowest fare class, budget economy, sells for between $724 and $1,144 round trip depending on the season.
