Philippine Air Adds Direct Service To Manila

<FONT SIZE="+3"><B>Philippine Air Adds Direct Service To Manila</B>

By Robert Selwitz

<I>Manila </I>- The Philippines, long the subject of negative headlines due to political instability and socioeconomic problems, is now undergoing a nationwide infrastructure upgrade. The most noticeable improvement to the U.S. traveler, however, is better air service to, and within, the country.

For Manila-bound travelers flying from the East Coast, the roughly 22-hour trip is now getting easier thanks to a direct Philippine Airlines flight, introduced last September, that stops only in Vancouver.

Flying PAL, whose flights depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, could be less trying than either choosing a U.S. carrier, which requires stops in Los Angeles or San Francisco, or flying Northwest via Tokyo for a layover and plane change before reaching Manila.

Travelers in Canada also can access the new PAL service via Canadian Airlines connections from Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Chicago and New York.

Within the Philippines, several new airlines will offer connecting service on routes formerly dominated by PAL as part of a nationwide privatization program. The new carriers-Airspan Corp., Air Philippines, Asia Aircraft Overseas, Asia Spirit, Air Philippines, Cebu Air, Grand Airways, Pacific Airways and Star Asia-now link Manila with destinations on the islands of Cebu, Luzon (where Manila is located) Mindanao and the Visayas Islands. According to local industry sources, the competition has spurred Philippines Airways to jettison its domestic service.

PAL already has launched a 36-airplane, $3 billion refleeting program that, it claims, "will give it the distinction of having the youngest fleet of sophisticated aircraft in all of Asia by 1998."

The carrier recently acquired its fourth Boeing 747-400; seven more are on order, and they are scheduled to be joined by 28 Airbus Industrie planes. PAL also is considering a purchase of a dozen more Airbus and/or Boeing aircraft between 1998 and 2000.

Groundside, Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport completed a major security upgrade in time for the arrival of dignitaries attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting. Improvements include better access roadways and fencing, the installation of closed-circuit cameras, new x-ray machines, portable electronic vapor detectors for sensing explosives, and a security and crisis control center. NAIA now handles 3.8 million passengers annually, with an expected yearly growth rate of 7 percent.

But even bigger airport news is making headlines away from the capital. Several cities have new international airports, allowing visitors from Australia, Hawaii, Indonesia, Malaysia, Indonesia and other regional capitals to bypass Manila.

The new facilities include Lawag International airport in Ilocos Norte, Cebu International Airport, Davao in Mindanao, General Santos City in Mindanao, Subic Bay-where APEC was held-and at the former Clark Air Force Base.

Subic, the Asia hub for Federal Express and once home port for the largest U.S. naval fleet outside the country; and Clark, a former U.S. Air Force base, are expected to offer passenger services within the next two years. Both airports would be ideal for travelers to northern Philippine destinations because both facilities are slightly over an hour's driving time from heavily congested Manila.

Incidentally, the new General Santos City airport-part of a critical economic development plan promised by President Fidel Ramos-is an example of better times for the Philippines. As part of the terms that recently ended a 24-year-long civil war pitting Moro National Liberation Front secessionists against the government, Ramos pledged extensive infrastructure aid to the region. Today, Mindanao is again safe for visitors while the airport-vital to the district's future peacetime growth-is widely considered to be among the nation's best.