23 December 2018 – On 19 December 2018, Mr. Ryan T. Uy, Vice President for Sales of Philippine Airlines, together with Mr. Ofer Reinhardt, CEO of Maman Aviation, called on Philippine Ambassador to the State of Israel Neal Imperial to discuss the possibility of opening non-stop flights between Manila and Tel Aviv.

“Direct flights between our two capitals will be a game-changer for two-way tourism and business connectivity. In 2017, a total of 17,446 Israeli tourists visited the Philippines. This year we expect the figure to rise to 20,000 tourist arrivals. Recent figures also show that Filipino tourists visiting Israel reached about 28,000,” said Ambassador Neal Imperial in supporting the vision of Philippine Airlines.

“The figures for two-way tourism, overseas Filipino workers in Israel, and business-related travels tell us that there is great potential for Philippine Airlines to expand its operations to the Holy Land and showcase our world-class air services and hospitality. Cargo shipment is also a commercially viable activity for Philippine Airlines considering that there are about 29,000 Filipinos working and living in Israel and the growing interaction between the business communities of Israel and the Philippines,” said Mr. Uy.

PAL said it hopes to cut travel time to only about 10.5 hours via a special flight route still being negotiated.

Direct flights would reduce the cost of airfare and shorten travel time between the two countries, allowing business travelers efficient use of their time and more possible adventures to explore for Israeli tourists. – END -

(In photo) Ambassador Neal Imperial (center) with Philippine Airlines officials, Mr. Ryan T. Uy, Vice President for Sales, (left center) and Ms. Shiela Lim Yuliong, AVP – GSA/DTP Relations & Charter Service (far left), and Mr. Ofer Reinhardt, CEO of Maman Aviation (right center). Ambassador Neal Imperial is joined during the meeting by the Embassy’s Economic Officer, Vice Consul Judy Razon (far right).