Philippine Airlines (PAL) is considering further expansion of its flights to southeast China, specifically to Sichuan Province, a newspaper reported on Monday.

 

PAL president Jaime Bautista told reporters that the airline is seriously studying the possibility of flying to either Chengdu or Chongqing, two of the most prosperous cities of Sichuan Province in southeast China, the daily newspaper Philippine Star said.

 

Sichuan province has a huge potential passenger traffic to the southeast Asian country, Bautista said, adding that tourists from the Chinese mainland are now being recognized as a new "goldmine" for future travel industry growth.

 

Lucio Tan, the Chinese-Filipino taipan who owns PAL, already has extensive businesses including a bank branch in Sichuan province, according to the newspaper.

 

PAL currently flies to Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and Hong Kong from Manila. As the national airline of the Philippines, it is also the first commercial airline in Asia and the oldest of those now in operation.

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2007)