Philippine Airlines (PAL) completed its maiden voyage into western China on March 14 with a flight from Manila to Chongqing Municipality.

The country's flagship carrier has begun to offer twice-weekly flights to the southwestern city via an Airbus A320 on Tuesdays and Fridays. A round-trip ticket for the 3.5-hour flight is around 1,400 yuan (US$197), a PAL official said.

Previously, passengers had to transfer in Hong Kong if they were traveling to the city from the Philippine capital.

Starting on March 18, the carrier will also begin offering flights to neighboring Chengdu with a similar frequency. On May 1, it will launch five weekly flights to the Macau Special Administrative Region.

The new routes will boost PAL's China service to 23 flights weekly to five destinations on the mainland. It currently flies to Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, plus Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, according to the company.