A trip to the Philippines for Filipinos in Federal Way can be many things — a chance to reminisce over childhood memories with family, an opportunity to savor the taste of fresh fish caught right out of the ocean and fresh vegetables grown by family members, and sometimes to honor the grief that can accompany the joy of straddling life between the two countries.<\/p>\n
As of Oct. 2, that journey is also going to be much shorter and simpler with the launch of new direct flights from Seattle to Manila from via Philippine Airlines (PAL).<\/p>\n
This marks an exciting moment for those wishing to travel between the two destinations, especially for the large Filipino community in the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n
The inaugural flight landed around 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2 and was greeted on the tarmac at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) by a water turret salute from the Port of Seattle Fire Department, media and influencers to document the moment, and a performance by University of Washington’s Filipino American Student Association group Sayaw.<\/p>\n
PAL’s President and Chief Operating Officer Captain Stanley K. Ng and Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho spoke.<\/p>\n
“This flight has been a long time in the making. The Puget Sound holds one of the largest communities of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the United States. We’re proud of the impact and contributions the Filipino and Filipino American communities have had on our region, and this fight will further strengthen our ties and make it easier to visit friends and loved ones back home,” Cho said.<\/p>\n
Flights will be three times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Before the change, traveling to Manila from Seattle involved transferring in locations like Japan and Korea, adding extra strain and challenge to an already long trip.<\/p>\n
Ciara Medina lives in Federal Way and told the Federak Wat Mirror newspaper she hasn’t visited her family in Manila since 2016, in part because of the challenge of the long trip. After the birth of her son, she made it through two trips with him at ages 1 and 3.<\/p>\n
“It was chaotic trying to transfer in LAX (Los Angeles) with baggage, a stroller and a kid,” she said.<\/p>\n
With the direct flight option, she already has a trip planned for March and is looking forward to seeing her family. For her, the things she is looking forward to most is the chance to see her family and to show her now 11-year-old son the country.<\/p>\n
The Filipino community has a long history in the Seattle area. According to an article on HistoryLink<\/a> by Cynthia Mejia-Giudici, “the first known Filipino in the Seattle area worked at the Port Blakely Lumber Mill on Bainbridge Island in Washington Territory around 1883. His name was Manila, as in the largest city in the Philippines.”<\/p>\n