Emirates Deepens Philippine Airlines Partnership With Expanded Interline Agreement

Emirates and Philippine Airlines have strengthened their partnership in the form of a beefed-up interline agreement that should make travel more convenient for passengers on both carriers.

The carriers have already had an interline agreement for connections via Manila (MNL), but it’s been expanded to cover Cebu (CEB) and Clark (CRK) as well. Now, the agreement covers all 3 Philippine cities served by Emirates.

Let’s take a look at the details.

Emirates, Philippine Airlines Strengthen Ties

Essentially, interline agreements are partnerships between 2 or more airlines that allow them to cooperate on passenger-facing elements of the travel experience so that passengers can travel seamlessly when their itineraries involve flights on more than 1 airline.

In the majority of cases, interline agreements allow for bags to be checked to a passenger’s final destination even if the itinerary spans more than 1 airline, for single tickets across multiple airlines, and for a coordinated check-in experience.

In the context of the Emirates-Philippine Airlines agreement, it means that Emirates passengers can expect “a single ticket and convenient baggage policy” to destinations throughout the Philippines.

In addition to Philippine Airlines destinations served from Manila, the expanded interline agreement covers the following destinations served from Cebu (CEB):

• Bacolod (BCD)
• Butuan (BXU)
• Cagayan De Oro (CGY)
• Caticlan (MPH)
• Davao (DVO)
• Iloilo (ILO)
• Puerto Princesa (PPS)

It also covers the following destinations served from Clark (CRK):

• Cebu (CEB)
• Caticlan (MPH)
• Busuanga (USU)

And for Philippine Airlines passengers, the agreement covers the following destinations served from Emirates’ hub in Dubai (DXB):

• Amman (AMM)
• Birmingham (BHX)
• Cape Town (CPT)
• Dammam (DMM)
• Dublin (DUB)
• Lisbon (LIS)
• Manchester (MAN)
• Muscat (MCT)
• Riyadh (RUH)

Philippine Airlines operates daily nonstop service from Manila to Dubai, meaning its passengers can check in for their flights, receive their boarding passes, and check their bags to their final destination (if it’s one of the cities listed above) at the beginning of their journey in Manila.

Emirates, on the other hand, boasts 25 weekly flights between Dubai and Manila, Cebu, and Clark in the Philippines. Notably, the Dubai-based carrier is the only one to offer a true first class product on flights to the Philippines, according to a press release.

Final Thoughts

Interline agreements aren’t the flashiest, but they’re an essential part of the “glue” that keeps the global commercial aviation industry running smoothly by allowing for seamless travel across multiple airlines for passengers.

Emirates and Philippine Airlines passengers alike should be pleased to learn of an expanded interline agreement between the 2 carriers as it should provide easier travel experiences to destinations across both airlines’ networks.