Monday, August 04, 2014

Guam-Manila flights to run daily

Philippine Airlines will increase its direct flights between Guam and Manila, from five days a week to daily.

The daily service will start in late October, said Josef Fajardo, operations manager for Goodwind Travel and Tours, and general sales agent for Philippine Airlines on Guam.

The airline will add Tuesday and Thursday flights for its Guam-Manila service, Fajardo said.

A U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ruling in April allows the airline to increase the frequency of its Guam-Manila flights, Fajardo said.

The FAA in April upgraded the Philippines' rating, for international safety standards for aircraft operations and maintenance, from Category 2 to Category 1.

When the Philippines was under Category 2, the nation's air carriers were stuck in a status quo, which forbade them from increasing flight frequencies, or starting U.S.-bound flights, Fajardo said.

Under Category 2, Philippine-based airlines that wanted to open new routes into U.S. airports were required to use U.S.-certified aircraft and crew.

Another Philippine-based airline, Cebu Pacific, had planned to start service to Guam, but under the previous safety rating for the Philippines, Cebu Pacific could only lease a U.S.-based aircraft and crew to service the island, Pacific Daily News files show.

Category 1 means Cebu Pacific can use its own aircraft, equipment and crew for direct service to Guam, according to the governor's office in a statement in April when the FAA ruling was issued.

- Source:  http://www.guampdn.com

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