I have just flown in from Toronto, having joined the second inaugural flight of Philippine Airlines for its new Manila-Toronto-Vancouver-Manila service every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Toronto is PAL’s 27th international destination and the second Canadian gateway, after Vancouver. Toronto has the highest concentration of Filipinos in Canada, though the new Toronto service of PAL is intended to serve also Filipinos and other Asians in the US East Coast, especially New York.

Without the direct Toronto-Manila flight, Filipino Canadians have to spend a day traveling, making at least two stops, (thru Hong Kong or Seoul) on the way to Manila.

I was one of the guests of PAL President Ramon S. Ang invited to join one of the two inaugural flights, on Nov. 30 and on Dec. 2, to mark the national flag carrier’s first foray into the Canadian East Coast.

Our flight, PR 118, lifted from Manila on time at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2 and arrived in Toronto the same day, just before 5 p.m., slightly ahead of schedule, a 15-hour journey of 13,222 kms., with the jet running at 900 kms per hour.

Over Japan, the brand-new Boeing 777-300ER, piloted by PAL’s chief Boeing pilot Captain Armis Cruz, met turbulence for about 20 minutes, giving some passengers a chance to call for help to the Lord.

You know us, Catholics, we are trained all our lives to be close to the Lord and prepare to meet Him anytime but when the hour seems to appear, we are afraid to die, unlike the Muslims who are just too happy to die for Allah at any given notice or even without notice. Allah trains his followers better than the Pope trains Catholics. Why are Catholics almost always afraid to die when it is their only chance to meet the Lord?

I understand the first Manila-Toronto PR 118 which left Manila Nov. 30 almost encountered the same turbulence over Japan. In any case, turbulence or air pockets are seldom dangerous, according to pilots, who also say the bigger the aircraft, the less prone it is to turbulence.

The Nov. 30 Manila-Toronto flight, said PAL President RSA at the launch at NAIA, “is Philippine Airlines’ first foray into the North American East Coast after 15 years. This was made possible with the full support of the Philippine government, particularly the Department of Transportation and Communication, Department of Tourism, Civil Aeronautics Board, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Manila International Airport Authority and many others.”

“We at Philippine Airlines are glad to fly the Philippine flag to Toronto, Canada, where there’s a huge concentration of Filipinos. Together with the Department of Tourism, we will promote the best that the Philippines has to offer,” RSA enthused.

In early December, a composite team from PAL and DOT conducted a series of Business-to-Business meetings not only in Toronto but also in Montreal, all the way to New York. The objective, Ang explained, “is to promote what we have, attract more visitors to our country and prove that it is truly ‘More Fun in the Philippines’.”

Ang said the brand-new Boeing 777-300ER, delivered just a few weeks ago, “is a marvel of engineering, especially built to fly ultra-long distances like Manila-Toronto non-stop on just two engines.”

The PAL president has ordered 65 new aircraft for delivery in the next four years. “When we take delivery of more planes in the coming months, we can expect more events like these as we launch new routes to more exciting destinations,” RSA vowed.

At Toronto’s International Airport, PAL VP for Marketing Support Bong Cruz declared on Nov. 30: “We also bring you warm greetings from Manila. This inaugural flight that just landed here at Pearson International is the first of many PAL flights that will bind our two cities closer together.”

Bong assured those traveling back to Manila from Toronto “a restful and enjoyable flight across Canada and the Pacific. The aircraft we just flew on – the same one you’re about to board – is a brand-new Boeing 777-300ER, barely three weeks old. This aircraft is a marvel of engineering, especially built to fly ultra-long distances like Manila-Toronto non-stop on just two engines.”

More importantly, the 777-300ER “has all the passenger comforts you can ask for – well-appointed seats, digital inflight entertainment, gourmet cuisine – complemented by PAL’s signature inflight service. So sit back, relax and enjoy the flight.” PAL has also the best of its best in-flights crews for the Canadian service.

At the inaugural cocktails Dec. 3 at the Toronto Shangri-La, PAL OIC for Commercial Group Rafael Rollan put in context RSA’s three-fold strategy for PAL: 1. Fleet modernization, 2.Service network expansion, and 3.Improvement in customer experience.

The launch of our Manila-Toronto-Manila Service using brand-new Boeing 777s, he explained, “brings to life these directions and reinforces the commitment of Philippine Airlines, Asia’s first airline, to provide the best possible flying experience.”

With 65 new aircraft on order, plus possibly 35 more, PAL will have one of the youngest fleets in the world. “These new aircraft should allow us to fly from Manila to more cities, more often and most importantly, non-stop,” gushed Rollan. Toronto fits the bill for such PAL focus.

Toronto has a number of Asian-Canadians, including over 200,000 Filipino Canadians. PAL’s Toronto-Manila air service “is an airbridge that will bring our two countries even closer,” Rollan told some 200 guests at the inaugural reception attended by some 80 moguls from Philippine media, travel industry and government.

Toronto is the largest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area, and Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe. The new Toronto service is on promo for just $1,200, return.

Must see places in Toronto according to PAL’s no-nonsense Canada Country Head Allan Coo include the CN Tower, a 553 meter prominent landmark and tallest free-standing land structure in the world; the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada’s largest museum; and the Toronto Zoo which is the largest zoo in Canada that features more than 5,000 animals in a 710 acre park.

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