The proposed A320 services to Australia's three largest cites will see PAL access Brisbane and build on existing B777 service to provide Sydney with a daily service and increase Melbourne services to five per week.
While a start date for the Brisbane flights is possibly 1 December, Felix Cruz, PAL Vice President Marketing Support, has been quoted as saying that the Darwin services could start by early next year. There would be considerable value for PAL to start before Christmas to capture the seasonal flow of Filipinos headed home for the festive season and this may be behind the early Brisbane start.
In addition Darwin has a sizable and rapidly growing Filipino community, including an emerging Fly-in Fly-out workforce associated with resource projects, including the enormous INPEX LNG plant.
PAL's use of Darwin as a stepping stone to southern cities will be most welcomed by Darwin International Airport and add to Darwin's role as a narrow-bodied hub linking Australia with Asia.