Philippine Airlines Considering Non-Stop Flights to Israel

Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial (center) with Philippine Airlines officials, Vice President for Sales Ryan T. Uy (second from left), and Assistant Vice President – GSA/DTP Relations and Charter Service Shiela Lim Yuliong (leftmost), and Maman Aviation CEO Ofer Reinhardt (second from right). Ambassador Imperial is joined during the meeting by the Embassy’s Economic Officer, Vice Consul Judy Razon (rightmost). (Tel Aviv PE photo)

TEL AVIV 11 February 2019 — Philippine Airlines (PAL) is considering of opening non-stop flight services between Manila and Tel Aviv. 

This was discussed during the call of PAL Vice President for Sales Ryan T. Uy and Maman Aviation CEO Ofer Reinhardt on Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial on 19 December 2018.

“Direct flights between our two capitals will be a game-changer for two-way tourism and business connectivity. In 2017, a total of 17,446 Israeli tourists visited the Philippines. This year we expect the figure to rise to 20,000 tourist arrivals. Recent figures also show that Filipino tourists visiting Israel reached about 28,000,” Ambassador Imperial said in supporting the vision of PAL.

“The figures for two-way tourism, overseas Filipino workers in Israel, and business-related travels tell us that there is great potential for Philippine Airlines to expand its operations to the Holy Land and showcase our world-class air services and hospitality. Cargo shipment is also a commercially viable activity for Philippine Airlines considering that there are about 29,000 Filipinos working and living in Israel and the growing interaction between the business communities of Israel and the Philippines,” Mr. Uy said.

PAL said it hopes to cut travel time to only about ten-and-a-half hours via a special flight route still being negotiated.

Direct flights would reduce the cost of airfare and shorten travel time between the two countries, allowing business travelers efficient use of their time and more Israeli tourists to visit the Philippines. END

For more information, visit www.telavivpe.dfa.gov.ph, www.philippine-embassy.org.il or https://www.facebook.com/PHinIsrael/.