July 31, 1946, PAL becomes first Asian airline to cross the Pacific when it operated a chartered Douglas DC-4 on the first of several flights to ferry home initially 40 US servicemen. Each crossing took 41 hours with fuelling stops at Guam, Wake, Kwajelein and Honolulu.

A regular service between Manila and San Francisco was started in December of the same year.

A year later, it was the first Southeast Asian carrier to fly to Europe, opening routes from Manila to Rome, Manila to Madrid, and eventually to Frankfurt too. The airline was also the first to be awarded for its inflight cuisine, honoured with Les Chaines des Rotisseurs in 1979, the ancient order of gourmets.

International flights to Hong Kong, Bangkok and Taipei followed in April 1953.

Earlier, deeply involved in shaping the course of the country’s historic events, PAL began its flight on March 15, 1941, using a Beech Model 18 aircraft, making one flight daily between Manila and Baguio, amid the specter of a global war.

Today, PAL has become one of the most respected airlines around the world with a young and modern fleet of aircraft and a route network that spans 31 foreign cities and at least 30 domestic points.

Sources:

http://www.philippineairlines.com

http://www.kahimyang.com

http://www.fightcentre.ca

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