PAL launching direct flights to Chicago

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April 18, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is expanding its US presence by mounting direct flights to Chicago, placing the operator at the heart of one of the world’s most connected airports.

PAL will launch direct flights between Manila and Chicago starting Nov. 9, as it reinforces its grip in the high-cost market for transpacific flights in the Philippines.

PAL president Richard Nuttall said the launch of Chicago flights places PAL at the center of one of the world’s most connected airports with almost 300 destinations on its network.

Based on OAG Aviation’s Megahubs 2025, the Chicago O’Hare International Airport is seventh among the world’s most connected gateways. In the US, it is the most connected, with 65,141 scheduled connections to 297 destinations worldwide.

Nuttall said the Philippines stands to benefit from inbound traffic coming from the most connected airport in the US. From Manila, PAL can fly passengers from Chicago to domestic and regional destinations, opening up fresh opportunities for transit flights.

“Chicago is considered as one of the premier hubs in the US, and our entry into this vibrant city will provide direct connectivity to the US Midwest,” Nuttall said.

PAL will deploy an Airbus A350-900 on a tri-class configuration to serve the thrice weekly flight between Manila and Chicago.

The service will run every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, departing Manila at 4:40 p.m. to land in Chicago at 4:55 p.m., local time.

The return service to Manila departs Chicago at 10:45 p.m. and arrives at 5:25 a.m. the next day. Right now, PAL’s Manila-Chicago flight is set to become one of its longest trips, lasting close to 17 hours for the return service to Manila.

For PAL, adding Chicago to its network boosts its US presence, as it deals with new competitors in the transpacific market, the latest of which could be Delta Air Lines. Chicago will become the airline’s eighth US destination, together with Guam, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, Saipan, San Francisco and Seattle.

PAL is building up its flight frequency for existing flights, as it will increase weekly trips to Los Angeles to 18 times by June 1.

Aside from this, PAL is increasing flight volume for Seattle services to six times a week by June in response to the rising demand for connections to the US West Coast.