PAL to fly overseas on Oct. 29

PAL to fly overseas on Oct. 29

MANILA (Bloomberg): Philippine Airlines Inc. said it will resume international flights on Oct. 29, more than a month after financial problems forced a halt in service to foreign cities.

Asia's oldest commercial airline had delayed restoring international flights to give potential investors a chance to finish their evaluations of the carrier.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. of Hong Kong is studying whether to buy 40 percent of PAL, which shut down for two weeks beginning on Sept. 23 under the weight of $2.1 billion in debts.

Cathay may pay as little as $130 million for the stake in PAL if it assumes all the struggling carrier's debts, DBS Securities in Hong Kong said.

PAL's first international flight will take passengers from Manila to Los Angeles and San Francisco on a 264-seat Airbus 340- 300. The service will be offered three times a week.

The national flag carrier will add daily service to Tokyo beginning Nov. 11 and gradually add more flights as the Christmas holidays approach.