In late October 2023, United Airlines became the first non-Philippine-based carrier to launch a non-stop route between the US mainland and the Philippines with its San Francisco-Manila service. The new route was not only seen as a game-changer for travel between the Philippines and the US, but also for the highly competitive trans-Pacific market. Manila become part of United's Asia network – which includes major Asian cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, and Hong Kong – with trans-Pacific routes to at least one of its US mainland hubs. United expects to continue to expand in the Philippines with the highly anticipated launch of its new route between Tokyo Narita Airport in Japan to Cebu in the central Philippines in late October. While United has made recent headlines in the Philippine aviation space, the Chicago,IL-based airline is no stranger to the Philippines and the western Pacific.
Beyond the headlines, United has had a long history of service in the western Pacific. Inherited by United following its merger with the former Continental Airlines in the early 2010s, its Guam hub serves has continued what can be described as a tradition of connecting the island to Japan, Hawaii, and neighboring islands. The Philippines is another major part of that history, where for decades the airline has continued to operate flights from both Guam and Palau to Manila. While aviation geeks and travelers passing through may see Guam as just a small United hub, the hub on the tiny US territory in the western Pacific might be an important piece of the airline's growth plans in Asia.
Recently, I got the chance to ask some questions to Walter Dias, United Airlines Director Greater China, Korea and Southeast Asia on United's upcoming route launch between Tokyo and Cebu, the history of its route between Manila and Palau, and the role of the airline's Guam hub going forward.
As the only airline to offer direct flights from the Philippines to the island nation of Palau, how does United see its role in that market?
We have been serving the Palau market for 56 years from the island of Guam. Our Micronesia operation is an important lifeline to many of the islands in the region providing critical passenger and cargo transportation to the islands. We partner with the local stakeholders and governments, not only to facilitate people to people connections, but also to support the tourism industry and raise awareness of the breathtaking scenery and vibrant people of the islands. We are honored and privileged to be one of the first airlines to serve the beautiful island of Palau. We promote Palau in the U.S., Japan, Asia, and Europe with our travel agency partners.
We have also had the privilege to serve the people of the Philippines for 42 years beginning with service from the island of Guam. Our Manila-Palau flight offers the island great connections to the Philippines for business activity, health care needs and tourism from the Philippines. Our Manila flight to Palau is also a gateway for some of our customers from Asia and Europe who want to visit Palau and the other Micronesian islands.
Why was Tokyo Narita Airport selected as the first connection to Cebu?
We selected Tokyo Narita Airport as the first connection to Cebu complementing our range of flights between Narita and the United States combined with the availability of our nearby aircraft and crew based in Guam. Given the large number of seats available in the Narita-US market, it makes sense to make this airport the first connection to Cebu, providing customers with greater travel choice. United operates five daily flights from Narita to our hubs in the U.S. mainland including San Francisco, Newark, Denver, Houston and Los Angeles. These flights offer easy connections to hundreds of flights throughout the U.S. mainland [throughout North America and Latin America]. In addition to offering Cebuanos easy access to Tokyo, this new flight will offer convenient connections to the United States as well. The flight will also attract more U.S. and Japanese travelers to visit the beautiful island of Cebu. We are able to utilize our aircraft and crew that are based in Guam to serve this flight.
Is United open to partnerships with airlines based in the Philippines?
We do have interline agreements with Philippine Airlines offering the ability for our customers to connect to/from Mactan-Cebu Airport.
With United having a long history of flights between Manila and Guam, what has UA learned about the Philippines from inheriting the former Continental Airlines route?
We have proudly operated our Manila-Guam flight since 1982. Our Pacific hub of Guam has a long and close relationship with the Philippines. We understand warm and friendly service is an important feature to properly serve our customers in the region. We combine this hospitality with a strong focus on reliable service which we know our customers in the Philippines value.
Powered by Froala Editor
