Philippine Airlines will be introducing a major product upgrade on the Manila-Auckland route by way of nonstop flights beginning December 6 this year.

The nonstop service will operate via PR 218 three times a week – every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday – departing Manila at 11:15 p.m., and arriving at Auckland, New Zealand, at 2:05 p.m. local time the following day. PR 219 leaves Auckland every Friday, Saturday and Tuesday at 12:30 a.m. local time and touches down in Manila at 5:45 a.m.

The new product makes PAL the only Philippine carrier which offers the quickest and most convenient flight option between Manila and Auckland. With the forthcoming nonstop service, travel time to Auckland will be reduced to 10 hours from the current 12.15 hour flight via Cairns route.

PAL will be flying its twin-aisle dual class 254-seater A340s from its single-aisle 156-seater A320s, thus increasing capacity by 60 percent.

Passengers arriving in Manila from Auckland can conveniently connect to PAL’s domestic and international network such as Manila-London, Asia, North America and the Middle East.

PAL will continue operating the Manila-Auckland via Cairns route until December 5, 2017.

The introduction of nonstop Manila–Auckland flights on December 6 will coincide with the suspension of the Manila-Auckland via Cairns service.

Passengers with confirmed tickets for Manila–Cairns vv., flights dated December 6, 2017 onwards may reroute to Manila–Darwin/Brisbane/Melbourne/ or Sydney and connect to Cairns via other airline and vice versa. Passengers with confirmed tickets for Cairns-Auckland vv., flights will be endorsed to other airlines.

Passengers with confirmed tickets for Manila-Auckland (via Cairns) dated December 6 onwards will be automatically accommodated on the nonstop flights. All affected passengers due to the suspension of the Manila–Auckland (via Cairns) service have the option to rebook on the dates of their choice or to refund their tickets.

For more flight information, passengers may call PAL Hotline (02) (+632) 855 – 8888, log on to www.philippineairlines.com or visit the nearest PAL ticketing office or partner travel agent.