CANADA --  Philippine Airlines is preparing to mount direct flights from Manila to Toronto starting on November 30, airline executives said.

PAL president Ramon S. Ang told media in Manila that this new route will involve re-aligning its current flight entitlements, which are all currently focused on the Manila-Vancouver route.

“We will serve not only Vancouver but Toronto as well,” Ang told reporters.  PAL is currently the only local airline flying between the Philippines and Canada, which is host to tens of thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

The legacy carrier, which has new owners and is expecting the staggered delivery of brand new planes, is dependent on the agreed number of flights, destinations, type of aircraft to be used that are set during bilateral air negotiations between the Philippine and Canadian governments.

Since PAL has been granted by the Philippine government all the 7 flights a week for the Manila-Vancouver route, PAL officer-in-charge for commercial group Rafael Rollan said they will allocate some of the entitlements to pursue its Manila-Toronto route plans.

Of the 7 allowed flights per week, Rollan said they are looking at using 3 for the new Manila-Toronto service and 4 will remain for its Manila-Vancouver operation.

“There will be 4 entitlements for our Manila-Vancouver and the other 3 will be used to fly Manila-Toronto non-stop. The realignment of flight frequencies will begin on November 30. As we speak, we are finalizing the pricing,” said Rollan in an interview.

“Maybe by mid-September the pricing will be uploaded in our website already. ...“We want to test Toronto. We will try to develop the market,” he added.(The Filipino Post)