Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is reinforcing its presence in the United States (US) by opening new flight routes from San Francisco and Seattle through an expanded codeshare agreement with American Airlines.

PAL will be connecting Filipinos to more US destinations after its request to amend its existing codeshare deal with American Airlines was granted by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) last week, an April 9 document seen by Manila Bulletin showed.

Under the enhanced agreement, PAL may connect passengers to flights from San Francisco to Miami and New York, and from Seattle to Miami, which are operated by American Airlines.

PAL will also codeshare with American Airlines on flights from Los Angeles to five new US destinations, including Honolulu, Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.

PAL is currently offering American Airlines flights from Los Angeles to Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, and Washington, DC.

Meanwhile, American Airlines will codeshare with PAL to provide travelers access to flights from Manila to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York.

At present, American Airlines provides access to PAL-operated flights to Manila and Cebu via Tokyo, as well as flights to Manila from Honolulu and Guam.

As an industry practice, codeshare refers to an arrangement in which two or more airlines offer the same flight route, allowing one carrier to place its designator code on another airline’s flights.

This enables passengers to book a more seamless itinerary under a single ticket while traveling across the flight networks of different carriers.

Amid growing demand, PAL and American Airlines expect the amended agreement to broaden travel options for passengers between the Philippines and the US and across the Pacific.

Both carriers plan to begin offering the new codeshare flights during the summer schedule of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which runs from March to October.

These new flights further strengthen PAL’s coverage in the US, especially amid growing competition in connecting Filipinos from Manila to American destinations.

Last month, Delta Air Lines announced plans to launch flights between Los Angeles and Manila beginning next year’s summer season.

For its part, PAL is working on new direct services to the US, including the much-anticipated route to Chicago.

As reported by Manila Bulletin, the US DOT has approved PAL’s application to mount direct flights from Manila to Chicago for a one-year term.

Among local carriers, PAL currently offers the widest flight network to the US, with nonstop flights to Guam, Saipan, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York.