The Philippine Airlines’ recent relaunch of its business class in its Dubai route has been picking up, said a top official of the flag carrier, who also disclosed plans to expand the service across the region.
“We are having a 50% to 60% load factor,” Genaro “Bong” Velasquez, SAVP/regional manager for Europe and the Middle East.
The 18-seater business class, he said, is having nine to 10 passengers per flight, he said. “It’s doing well.”
Velasquez said PAL will open the service to its Riyadh flights this month. “Then from Riyadh, it will be Dammam in September, then Jeddah. In November, business class will be offered in Abu Dhabi flights,” Velasquez said.
The airline official said passengers are mostly expats and local nationals. “Meron ding mga family passengers,” Velasquez said.
The move to relaunch business class was brought about by increased demand for leisure and travel among Arabs and Filipino expatriates in the region.
Velasquez noted that visitor arrivals to the Philippines from the Middle East have seen a consistent upward trajectory, growing by 9.6 percent in 2015 at 83,546 over 2014. Tourist arrivals from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Philippines’ two largest markets in the region were at 50,884 and 16,881, respectively, according to latest statistics from the Philippine Department of Tourism. (Jojo Dass)
