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To set itself apart from its competitors, Philippine Airlines
(PAL) is to change its flight schedule between Jakarta and Manila so as
to better suit the market.
PAL president Jaime J. Bautista said Wednesday that starting March 1,
the airline would operate a same-day schedule for its four weekly
flights to Jakarta, with one aircraft departing every Monday,
Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7.30 a.m. from Manila and arriving
in Jakarta at 12.30 p.m.
The return services depart Jakarta on the same days at 1.20 p.m. and
touch down in Manila at 8.45 p.m. All flights have a one-hour stopover
in Singapore.
Currently, PAL operates a split schedule, with flights arriving from
Manila late in the evening and departing Jakarta early the next morning.
"The earlier arrival and later departure from Jakarta benefits tourists
traveling to Indonesia's popular interior destinations, such as Bali
and Borobudur," Bautista said in a statement.
He said the new timetable would also better suit passengers traveling
from Jakarta and transferring to PAL's trans-Pacific services to Los
Angeles and San Francisco.
PAL first flew to Jakarta nearly 30 years ago using Douglas DC-8
aircraft. Flights were suspended on June 4, 1998, following operational
and financial difficulties resulting from the Asian currency crisis.
Services were resumed on Dec. 2, 2000, with the current
four-times-weekly schedule via Singapore.
On March 25, 2001, PAL and the Indonesian national flag carrier, Garuda
Indonesia, implemented a code-sharing agreement, with Garuda receiving
seat allocations on PAL flights serving the Jakarta-Manila route.
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