Philippine Airlines will need to overcome challenges with new London Heathrow service

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is planning to launch services to London in early Nov-2013, the first step in an ambitious plan for resuming flights to Europe. PAL has secured Heathrow slots but the flight times are not ideal as they do not support connecting services, which the carrier will likely need to sustain the new route.

PAL will face intense competition from several carriers in the Manila-London market as well as in planned new services to continental Europe. While PAL will be the only airline offering non-stop service between the Philippines and Europe, the market is well served on a one-stop basis by several Asian and Gulf carriers.

PAL announced on 17-Sep-2013 that London Heathrow will be its first European destination since 1998 with flights beginning on 4-Nov-2013. The Manila-London Heathrow route will initially be served with five weekly frequencies using 777-300ERs.