We’ve lost count of the ‘airline joins alliance’ announcements that change precisely nothing for the average flyer. This one’s different, though, at least if you collect Avios. Philippine Airlines joins Oneworld in 2027, and that quietly opens a few doors for UK air travellers.
PAL signed a memorandum of understanding at the IATA annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro on 6 June 2026. The carrier accepted an invitation from the Oneworld Governing Board, and full membership should complete some time in 2027. No firmer date than that, sadly.
The basics
PAL becomes Oneworld’s 16th member, and only the second based in Southeast Asia after Malaysia Airlines. It brings 31 new cities to the network, serving 29 destinations at home plus 40 across Asia, North America, Australia and the Middle East. So the map gets a proper Manila-shaped hole filled in.
We’ve watched this alliance add members at a fair clip lately. If you want the recent precedent, our piece on Alaska Airlines joining Oneworld covers how these things tend to play out, while LATAM heading the other way shows it’s not all one-way traffic.
Why Philippine Airlines joins Oneworld
Because PAL has spent years cosying up to the right airlines, that’s why. It already partners with five Oneworld members, including a deep codeshare with American Airlines dating to December 2023. Add tie-ups with Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Alaska and Qantas, and the foundations were already laid. Star Alliance and SkyTeam never really got a look in.
Avios & status: the real prize
Here’s the part that matters for us. Once PAL is fully in, you should be able to earn and spend Avios on its flights, and BA Club tier points should count too. That turns a previously awkward carrier into a useful one for reaching the Philippines without resorting to cash fares or fiddly partner bookings.
We’d temper the excitement a touch, mind. Earning and redemption rates are not confirmed, and these things rarely arrive as generously as the launch graphics suggest. We’ll dig into the actual numbers once Oneworld and BA publish them. For now, file it under ‘promising’. If you want to get ahead, our Avios earning guide is a good place to start.
Why PAL stopped flying to London
A bit of history helps here. PAL served London Heathrow nonstop from late 2013, latterly five flights a week on the A350. The route never really made money, though, despite repeated changes to aircraft, frequency and routing. The deeper problem was feed: PAL had no strong partner network to fill the plane, so it flew Heathrow largely on its own.
Then came 2022. Russia closed its airspace, which forced a longer and costlier routing, and PAL’s London flights had relied on overflying Russia. The service withered to once a week before disappearing. As things stand, there’s no nonstop between Manila and London at all.
The Qatar clue
Here’s the telling bit, and it landed just before the Oneworld news. On 1 June 2026, Qatar Airways and PAL switched on a much wider codeshare. PAL now stamps its PR code on Qatar flights from Manila, Cebu, Clark and Davao to Doha, then onward to 20-plus European cities including Paris, Rome and Frankfurt. Qatar returns the favour on PAL’s domestic routes, feeding inbound traffic to the likes of Boracay.
The loyalty schemes link up too, and Qatar’s Privilege Club already runs on Avios, the same currency as the BA Club. So PAL gets Europe back without flying it. That’s the model now: partner via Doha rather than burn cash at Heathrow.
It also shows membership cuts both ways. Influential members like Qatar, and American before it, clearly see PAL as useful feed into their hubs and a route into Southeast Asia. This isn’t charity; it’s a network land grab.
Will London-Manila come back?
Naturally we keep getting asked whether this means a London relaunch. Maybe, but don’t hold your breath. The Doha workaround already hands PAL European reach without the cost and risk of flying Heathrow itself. Joining Oneworld, with BA, Iberia and Finnair on hand, only deepens that connecting option.
A nonstop Manila-London could still happen if the loads and the economics stack up. We’d argue the partner-feed route looks more likely than PAL betting on Heathrow again. Either way, UK flyers end up better connected to Manila than they’ve been in years.
What’s PAL business class like?
Fair question, and the honest answer is that it depends heavily on which aircraft you draw. At its best, PAL is properly competitive. The flagship A350-900 carries 30 business seats in a 1-2-1 layout, fully flat, with direct aisle access for everyone. It’s the Thompson Vantage XL, the same seat Qantas and Virgin Atlantic fit, and reviewers rate it highly. Add the warm Filipino crew, for which PAL is rightly known, and the cabin holds its own against the big Asian names.
Here’s the catch, though. There are only two A350-900s, plus a single new A350-1000, so most long-haul runs on the older 777-300ER. That seat lies flat, but it’s an ageing 2-3-2 arrangement, which means no aisle access for the middle pair. The A330s carry a different flat bed again, so you’re facing a proper version lottery. Maintenance can be patchy too, with reviewers flagging tired seats and the odd broken control.
The better news for future flyers is the timing. PAL plans to refurbish both the 777s and the A330s from 2027, the very year it joins Oneworld. So the hard product should sharpen up just as the Avios and status perks switch on. Our advice for now is simple: chase the A350 where you can, and always check the aircraft type before you book.
The politics nobody mentions
A bit of background for the alliance nerds among you. ANA holds a minority stake in PAL, while its great rival Japan Airlines sits comfortably inside Oneworld. That’s an awkward family dinner. Meanwhile Taiwan’s Starlux has been knocking on the Oneworld door for ages, reportedly blocked by Cathay Pacific over competition worries. PAL got the nod; Starlux is still outside in the rain.
Our take
For UK readers, this is a slow burn rather than tonight’s headline. Nothing changes until 2027 at the earliest, the earning rates are unknown, and a direct London relaunch is far from guaranteed. Still, more ways to earn and burn Avios are always welcome.
It’s been a long time since we flew Manila to Cebu with Philippine Airlines, so when it joins Oneworld, we’ll be watching the redemption charts closely. With any luck, it’ll give us the excuse we need to visit again soon.
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