Philippine Airlines will fly to Phnom Penh, Hanoi and New Delhi starting early this year, taking advantage of growing demand for air travel, its president, Jaime Bautista said recently.

The airline will fly to Hanoi operating four times weekly starting March 31, 2019 with PR 595 departing at 10:25 PM and arriving at Hanoi at 12:45AM the following day.

Flights between Manila and Phnom Penh will operate five times weekly starting April 1, 2019 with PR 521 departing at 10:10PM and arriving at Phnom Penh at 11:45PM.

Meanwhile PAL is targeting April 2019 as the start of the New Delhi service subject to final slot and operational clearances with the Indian authorities. The new route is slated to run four times weekly nonstop between Manila and New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport using brand-new Airbus A321neo aircraft.

“In opening this new routes Philippine Airlines is making a strategic decision to go beyond our traditional service of point to point market,” Bautista said.

A direct flight to India, an emerging economic power will “improve the Philippines’ connectivity with the global economy,” he said.

The flag carrier recently took deliver of Airbus A350 and 321neo jets as it narrowed its losses in the third quarter of 2018. It also secured a a 4 star rating from industry group Skytrax the first for a Filipino carrier.