Western Australia’s position as the country’s Western Gateway has been further strengthened with new non-stop flights between Manila and Perth set to take off in March next year.
The service is the result of a partnership between the WA Government, through Tourism Western Australia, Philippine Airlines and Perth Airport.
The first direct flight will leave on 27 March next year, with tickets on sale from today.
Philippine Airlines will operate three flights a week on an Airbus A321 neo, which has 12 business class seats and 156 economy seats.
It will be departing Manila at 12.05am and arriving in Perth at 7.15am. The flight will then leave Perth at 8.30am and land in Manila at 3.50pm.
The new route will inject more than 52,000 seats into the market each year.
Pre-COVID-19, 45 per cent of visitor arrivals to WA from the Philippines were visiting friends and relatives, while 21 per cent visited for business, and 21 per cent for a holiday.
The new direct route opens up the potential for increasing the number of Filipino students in WA, which now accounts for about seven per cent of the visitor numbers.
Department of Home Affairs figures show Filipino arrivals to WA have recovered to around 54 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels, making the Philippines the 9th largest international market for WA arrivals since the State’s border reopened.
The flights are expected to be a major boost for the growing Filipino community in WA, as well as for businesses that trade across the two regions.
The new flight had been scheduled to begin operating in March 2020 but was disrupted due to COVID-19.
As stated by Tourism Minister Roger Cook:
“I’m delighted this new non-stop flight has been scheduled for take-off from early next year, which has been delivered in partnership between the WA Government through Tourism Western Australia, Philippine Airlines and Perth Airport.
“The Southeast Asia region has been leading the recovery of our international visitor economy since reconnecting with the world earlier this year, and this new service will provide an important connection between WA and the Philippines.
“It also opens up a major market for international education and helps cement the growing relationships between businesses in WA and the Philippines.
“We expect to see the Philippines visitor market continue to grow, and we extend a warm welcome to all as this new route encourages more visitation and makes it easier than ever for Filipinos to walk on a dream in WA.
“More direct flights to WA means more opportunities for visitors to start their Australian holiday in Perth and then travel to our fantastic tourism regions across the State, boosting local businesses and helping to create jobs.”
