Philippine Airlines now serves Qatar

Philippine Airlines has enhanced its offering in the Middle East by adding Doha (DOH) to its network. The Qatari capital will be served five times weekly from Manila (MNL) via Abu Dhabi using the airline’s A330-300s. The first flight operated on 28 March and faces direct competition from Qatar Airways (14 weekly flights) and Cebu Pacific Air (twice-weekly flights). There are plans for the service to become non-stop in the near future according to David Lim, SVP Commercial at Philippine Airlines. The airline now serves seven airports across the Middle East with the others being Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Dubai, Kuwait, Jeddah and Riyadh. Jaime J Bautista, President of Philippine Airlines, said: “Following the successful launch to Jeddah and Kuwait last January, PAL continues to grow its routes in the Middle East by opening a new route to Doha. Our overseas Filipino workers in Qatar can now enjoy that distinct Filipino service that will bring them much closer to home.” Some 200,000 Filipinos live and work in Qatar.