Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will begin flying daily to Melbourne in November as it seeks to capture stronger demand during the year-end travel season and further strengthen its foothold on the Philippines-Australia market.
This will mark an increase from the current five weekly flights that PAL operates to Melbourne and make the route its third daily service to Australia, alongside Sydney and Brisbane. The airline also operates three weekly flights to Perth.
PAL’s daily Melbourne service will begin on Nov. 19.
‘Travelers from the Philippines and across PAL’s international network will enjoy easier access to Melbourne, while Australian travelers can connect seamlessly via Manila to destinations throughout the Philippines, Asia, North America and the Middle East,’ PAL said in a statement on Thursday.
Melbourne is an important part of PAL’s international network, having been among its earlier overseas destinations when the flag carrier began serving the Australian city in 1971.
To date, PAL operates the most flights and serves the most destinations linking the Philippines and Australia.
Under the expanded schedule, PAL will depart Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 8:20 p.m. daily and arrive in Melbourne at 7:30 a.m. the following day. The return flight will leave Melbourne at 9:20 a.m. local time and arrive in Manila at 2:25 p.m.
Apart from boosting passenger capacity, PAL said the additional flights would provide more cargo space, helping support Philippine exports and strengthen trade links between the two countries.
In July, the Lucio Tan-led carrier also announced it would add flights to Perth during the holidays and deploy larger aircraft on selected Sydney and Brisbane services.
‘These seasonal enhancements are designed to support the strong demand from Filipino communities in Australia, holiday-makers and visiting friends and relatives traveling during the year-end peak season,’ the carrier said.
In the first half of 2026, PAL’s passenger volume fell 3.1 percent to 8.2 million, while its passenger load factor eased to 78.9 percent from 81.6 percent a year earlier.
Over the same period, the carrier swung to a net loss of $25.1 million as fuel expenses surged to $674.5 million, driven primarily by higher jet fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict.