PAL Express to launch Dubai flights on Wednesday

PAL Express, the budget carrier subsidiary of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), is opening its second gateway to the United Arab Emirates with the launch of its long-haul operations to Dubai Wednesday, Nov. 6.

"Our flights to and from Dubai will give our countrymen a direct, convenient link to their homeland, and allow them to experience the trademark Filipino service PAL is known for," PAL president Ramon S. Ang said in a statement.

"We guarantee that our kababayans, as well as tourists and business people from Dubai traveling to the Philippines, will truly feel special on our flights," he added.

Dubai is the latest addition to the PAL Group's rapidly expanding route network and comes just two days after the airline’s maiden flight to London on Nov. 4, which marks its historic return to Europe after 15 years.

Together with PAL's five times weekly service to Abu Dhabi, PAL Express' new service to Dubai brings the PAL Group's combined weekly frequencies in the UAE's two main hubs to 10, the most among Philippine carriers.

Dubai hosts 450,000 Filipino expatriates, mostly professionals, apart from being a major destination in its own right with its world’s tallest skyscraper, largest shopping mall and largest man-made island. — Danessa O. Rivera/BM, GMA News