Philippine Airlines will be introducing a major product upgrade on the Manila- Auckland route by way of non-stop flights beginning December 6 this year.

The non-stop MNL – AKL service will operate via PR 218 thrice weekly – every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday - departing Manila at 11:15PM, and arriving Auckland at 2:05PM local time the following day. PR 219 leaves Auckland every Friday, Saturday and Tuesday at 12:30AM local time and touches down in Manila at 5:45AM.

The new product makes PAL the only Philippine carrier which offers the quickest and most convenient flight option between Manila and Auckland. With the forthcoming non-stop service, travel time to Auckland will be reduced to 10 hours from the current 12.15 hour Manila – Auckland via Cairns route.

PAL will be utilizing its twin-aisle dual class 254-seater A340s from its single-aisle 156-seater A320s thus increasing capacity by 60%.

Passengers arriving in Manila from Auckland can conveniently connect to PAL's domestic and international network such as Manila-London, Asia, North America and the Middle East.

PAL will continue operating the Manila-Auckland via Cairns route until December 5, 2017.

The introduction of non-stop Manila – Auckland flights on December 6 will coincide with the suspension of the Manila-Auckland via Cairns service.

· Passengers with confirmed tickets for Manila – Cairns vv., flights dated December 6, 2017 onwards may reroute to Manila – Darwin / Brisbane/Melbourne/ or Sydney and connect to Cairns via other airline and vice versa. Passengers with confirmed tickets for Cairns-Auckland vv., flights will be endorsed to other airlines.

· Passengers with confirmed tickets for Manila-Auckland (via Cairns) dated December 6 onwards will be automatically accommodated on the non-stop flights. All affected passengers due to the suspension of the Manila – Auckland (via Cairns) service have the option to rebook on the dates of their choice or to refund their tickets.