Philippine Airlines resumes a long-awaited service to Riyadh on March 28, heeding the clamor of the large Filipino community in the Middle East and marking a return to the region after an absence of four years, it said it its website www.philippineairlines.com. The non-stop service will operate four times weekly, with flight PR 658 departing Manila every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 6:20 P.M. It arrives in the Saudi capital at 11:00 P.M., Riyadh time. The return service, PR 659, departs Riyadh at 12:30 A.M. every Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and Monday, and arrives in Manila at 3:00 P.M., Manila time. Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which seat 50 passengers in Mabuhay Class (business) and 383 in Fiesta Class (economy), will be deployed on the service. PAL last served Riyadh, its final destination in the Middle East, on March 2, 2006. The service was suspended for commercial reasons. The flag carrier's return to the Middel East has been welcomed by Filipino expatriates, who number about two million – one of the largest foreign communities working in the region. PAL first flew to Riyadh on March 1, 1987 and over the decades the Saudi capital became one of its most important points. From March 28, with the addition of Riyadh, the PAL network will count 25 international destinations as well as 29 points in the Philippines.
