Philippine Airlines adds flights to Taiwan

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Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has expanded its codeshare deal with Chinese counterpart China Airlines to add Manila flights to Kaohsiung and Cebu trips to Taipei.

In an advisory, PAL said that it agreed to improve its codeshare agreement with China Airlines to promote travel between the Philippines and Taiwan.

Codeshare refers to the industry practice of two or more carriers publishing the same flight under their own designator, meaning seats for a trip handled by one operator may be sold by its partner airlines.

For PAL, this means that it will offer four times a week of flights between Manila and Kaohsiung through a China Airlines service. Flight PR3300/CI 712 departs Manila at 10 in the morning on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving in Kaohsiung two hours later.

On the other hand, Flight PR 3301/CI 711 leaves Kaohsiung at 7:15 in the morning and lands in Manila two hours after. China Airlines will use a Boeing 737-800 to complete both routes.

Further, the expanded codeshare arrangement allows PAL to sell China Airlines flights for Cebu to Taipei and vice versa utilizing an Airbus A321neo.

Flight PR 3302/CI 706 flies out of Cebu at around noontime every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, reaching Taipei at three in the afternoon.

Flight PR3303/CI 705 takes off from Taipei at 8:10 in the morning and touches down in Manila three hours later.

The addition of new routes broadens the codeshare partnership between PAL and China Airlines for Manila to Taipei and vice versa. Under this, PAL and China Airlines ply the route 14 times a week each.

Taiwan extends visa free privilege for Filipinos with the goal of netting at least 320,000 tourists from the Philippines annually. The Philippines, in return, aims to attract around 200,000 visitors from Taiwan every year.

For China Airlines, the expansion of the codeshare agreement provides it with the opportunity to access PAL's network of domestic flights from Manila and Cebu.

PAL and China Airlines, both flag carriers, have started sharing several of their flight codes since 2015 to boost tourism exchange between the Philippines and Taiwan.