Manila International Airport

[airline_builder]

ewh1 wrote

Arianespace wrote

Here is a satellite view yesterday



And here is the actual view weeks ago



And a video a month ago. Hope it helps


https://youtu.be/ax9estxXDsw?t=159

This one is a good video that shows the perimeter. Also, kinda a realistic look at transiting terminals
https://youtu.be/H_JXUBo9ygw?si=cD-gf8Zw1xtrh2gI

great video - finally we get to see the parallel taxiway up-close and that would be of great taxi traffic relief for airlines taking off of that runway and hopefully they can reinstate the landings there as well not on special schedules only. Before any protest on this page - with advance traffic management - nothing is impossible on intersecting runways.

[Solblanc]

Since PAL has some spare 77W capacity now, they might wanna consider quickly launching a 3x/weekly European route, be it LHR/LGW/CDG/AMS/FCO basically any port where they can get slots ASAP. They’ll be able to take advantage of people trying to bypass the gulf in the near term, and it might sustain good loads while the ME3 is out of commission. Otherwise, all that traffic is gonna go to Chinese carriers

[filipinoavgeek]

The issue isn't the market, it's geopolitics. As what AS said before, PR would love to return to Europe and either relaunch London or launch CDG, the problem is that the EU is unhappy about PR using Russian airspace.

[Solblanc]

filipinoavgeek wrote

The issue isn't the market, it's geopolitics. As what AS said before, PR would love to return to Europe and either relaunch London or launch CDG, the problem is that the EU is unhappy about PR using Russian airspace.

The 77W has the range. It doesn’t need Russian airspace. LHR even started without Russian airspace.  It was only an issue before because the ME3 could easily undercut PAL. Right now, the ME3 doesn’t exist. So many Gulf hubs are out of commission. And Iran is on full devolved meltdown right now. So much traffic is being rerouted through any airline that can bypass the gulf. That situation will not normalize anytime soon, and even if it does, it doesn’t take a lot to shut down the airspace again. Time for PAL to dip its fingers and be a little opportunistic.

[filipinoavgeek]

The 77W is too much plane for London. There's a reason why it was usually an A340 and later an A350 route. If PR had more A359s or even 787s, perhaps it could relaunch London. Right now they are lacking in aircraft.

[ewh1]

I know BA is supposedly leasing PAL slots, but they’d need lead time to cancel or retime affected flights no? Unless your timeline isn’t necessarily right away but within 3+ months?

[Arianespace]

filipinoavgeek wrote

The 77W is too much plane for London.

London can fill 4 77w in 2019.  With ME3 out of the way for a period of time, that is good proposition for PAL. Even with flight plan diversions to Kazakstan, it would still be 2 hours less than eastern seaboard flights. And you can certainly fill it. If this situation stands for a month or so, prepare to see Air France-KLM flying their 77ws daily. Otherwise CX would benefit this opportunity tremendously.

[ewh1]

I think it would be smart to launch a route in the EU Schengen zone as well, since visas are still an issue when transiting in the UK. Maybe FCO?  

Still, it would be nice to see a partnership happen with Iberia, so they could utilize MAD as a hub; however, yields/traffic to Spain might not be sustainable. Still, it's the easiest EU migration option for Filipinos (with the means and/or opportunity of course), which Spain is actively encouraging in general, an emerging destination for Filipino tourists, and I can see future traffic growth from Spaniards visiting the Philippines.

If DOT gets its act together, it could be a good growth opportunity, along with many Latin American countries. But more importantly, Iberia is trying to strengthen its Asia-Pacific network so it could be a win-win.

Since PAL aligns itself with Oneworld more often than not, a partnership with Finnair could be interesting too, as they too have a focus on Asia-Europe transit traffic and stand to benefit from more connections.

I realize these are possibly out of left field, but still interesting to ponder, considering all the rapid changes happening with the global markets.

[filipinoavgeek]

According to a post I saw online, PAL will be transferring to T3 in June. Is that premature? I don't think T4 will be ready by then, meaning I don't think the current T2 can accommodate both PR and 5J. I also passed by T2 yesterday and noticed that there was already construction work and cranes on the former Nayong Pilipino site, though it was late so I wasn't able to take any pictures. Has construction on T5 already started?

[romantic_guy08]

filipinoavgeek wrote

According to a post I saw online, PAL will be transferring to T3 in June. Is that premature? I don't think T4 will be ready by then, meaning I don't think the current T2 can accommodate both PR and 5J. I also passed by T2 yesterday and noticed that there was already construction work and cranes on the former Nayong Pilipino site, though it was late so I wasn't able to take any pictures. Has construction on T5 already started?

 I was the one who posted that in SSC...

I first posted that info here last month...

romantic_guy08 wrote

Just talked to a ground staff of PAL when I arrived today.

Memo was already circulated of their impeding transfer to T3.

PAL is set to move to T3 by June this year. Seems this is final as memo was already issued and circulated.

They are wondering though on the process of the transfer and how they will be set up in T3.

[filipinoavgeek]

I don't know if NAIA is ready for PR to move from T1 to T3. Not only do they have to get the lounge ready, but that also would involve Cebu Pacific's domestic operation needing to move to T2 as well, assuming the domestic gates will be used for PR now. I imagine it will be a mess especially if T2 doesn't have the capacity yet to absorb all of 5J's domestic flights, and when T4 isn't ready yet and in fact appears to be delayed (meaning no AirAsia move either).

[chowpau]

T2 cannot accommodate the volume of 5J and 2P domestic passengers at the same time if T4 or T5 is not yet available

[filipinoavgeek]

chowpau wrote

T2 cannot accommodate the volume of 5J and 2P domestic passengers at the same time if T4 or T5 is not yet available

Unless T4 will be ready by June, I hope they consider delaying the shift until when T4 is ready, so that AirAsia will not need to share with 5J. I also feel like T2 doesn't have enough gates for 5J's domestic operations, so unless T2 itself is expanded (as seen with the under-construction annex), I imagine there will be more bus gates involved.

Speaking of bus gates, if PR moves to T3, assuming that they will take over the current domestic wing, would that not mean that many of PR's flights will require remote stands? T3 doesn't seem to have enough gates to accommodate PR, even taking into account AirAsia moving to T2 to free up a couple or so gates.

[filipinoavgeek]

airline_builder wrote

ewh1 wrote

Arianespace wrote

Here is a satellite view yesterday



And here is the actual view weeks ago



And a video a month ago. Hope it helps


https://youtu.be/ax9estxXDsw?t=159

This one is a good video that shows the perimeter. Also, kinda a realistic look at transiting terminals
https://youtu.be/H_JXUBo9ygw?si=cD-gf8Zw1xtrh2gI

great video - finally we get to see the parallel taxiway up-close and that would be of great taxi traffic relief for airlines taking off of that runway and hopefully they can reinstate the landings there as well not on special schedules only. Before any protest on this page - with advance traffic management - nothing is impossible on intersecting runways.

Are there actually plans to finish the parallel taxiway and/or reopen that runway for landings? If either happen, would that help open up NAIA to more slots?

[Arianespace]

Here is the satellite view yesterday


Taxiway Juliet extension is almost complete. The T2 apron extension is 60% complete. Once completed it can accommodate 6 stands for narrows. T2 North would all be PAL. T2 South would all be CEB. Under the original T2 extension designs they are with gates. But would be remotes for the time being at the time of airline reallocations. T2 north extension (aka Terminal 5) is still nowhere in sight at this time. According to MIAA construction should start in April if plans don't miscarry. It was supposed to start January of this year. I personally would like to think that it would start construction August of this year. Add 3 years for its operations.

[Arianespace]

Arianespace wrote

filipinoavgeek wrote

The 77W is too much plane for London.

London can fill 4 77w in 2019.  With ME3 out of the way for a period of time, that is good proposition for PAL. Even with flight plan diversions to Kazakstan, it would still be 2 hours less than eastern seaboard flights. And you can certainly fill it. If this situation stands for a month or so, prepare to see Air France-KLM flying their 77ws daily. Otherwise CX would benefit this opportunity tremendously.

And CX just did. Of course you realized most of their passengers are coming from NAIA.

Cathay Pacific in April 2026 schedules extra service to Europe, including London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Hong Kong – London Heathrow 02APR26 – 30APR26 Increase from 32 to 35 weekly, CX239/256 operated by 777-300ER/A350-900
CX239 HKG1105 – 1810LHR 77W 246
CX239 HKG1105 – 1810LHR 359 35

CX256 LHR2015 – 1545+1HKG 77W 246
CX256 LHR2015 – 1545+1HKG 359 35

Hong Kong – Paris Charles de Gaulle 07APR26 – 21APR26 Increase from 7 to 8 weekly, additional flight by A350-900
CX261 HKG0005 – 0755CDG 351 D
CX2261 HKG0110 – 0900CDG 359 2

CX2260 CDG1120 – 0515+1HKG 359 2
CX260 CDG1220 – 0615+1HKG 351 D

[filipinoavgeek]

Arianespace wrote

Here is the satellite view yesterday


Taxiway Juliet extension is almost complete. The T2 apron extension is 60% complete. Once completed it can accommodate 6 stands for narrows. T2 North would all be PAL. T2 South would all be CEB. Under the original T2 extension designs they are with gates. But would be remotes for the time being at the time of airline reallocations. T2 north extension (aka Terminal 5) is still nowhere in sight at this time. According to MIAA construction should start in April if plans don't miscarry. It was supposed to start January of this year. I personally would like to think that it would start construction August of this year. Add 3 years for its operations.

I had passed by T2 not too long ago and I noticed there were already fences, construction company structures, and cranes in what used to be the old Nayong Pilipino area. I'm guessing that is where T5 will be?

[romantic_guy08]

New Round of Terminal Reassignments...

[Arianespace]

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1264542072471073


https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1328957055930924&set=pcb.1328957129264250

Note on the flight numbers. Its for Southeast Asia. Saipan & Palau. Not 1xx like Agana

Hope these routes stays long enough to be sustainable in the long run. This is the airline's third iteration to fly the Marianas islands.

[seven13]

Why is it coded in 5 and not 1? I was surprised that its flight number is with the SEAsia routes