It seems that Philippine Airlines has been caught unawares by the strong demand for its reward seats since striking up new partnerships. Point Hacks understands the airline is reviewing the number of reward seats it makes available after seeing stronger-than-expected demand from frequent flyers.
Speaking to Point Hacks on the side of a oneworld event recently, a Philippine Airlines executive – who did not wish to be named – said the airline had been ‘surprised’ by the uptake in reward bookings through partners.
The executive said Philippine Airlines is now analysing the data to determine whether its current approach to partner award inventory remains ‘sustainable’.
Could PAL reward seats become harder to find?
The comments come just weeks after Philippine Airlines launched its new Qantas Frequent Flyer partnership. Since late May 2026, members have been able to redeem Qantas Points across PAL’s network. Philippine Airlines also has partnerships with carriers such as Qatar Airways and Alaska Airlines.
It’s too early to say whether the review will result in fewer reward seats becoming available. However, the airline’s comments suggest Philippine Airlines is closely monitoring how many seats it releases to partner loyalty programs, now that significantly more points collectors globally are aware of them.
That interest is only likely to grow following Philippine Airlines’ recent invitation to join the oneworld alliance. Once the airline formally joins, it will also become bookable by members of all the oneworld partner airlines. This will almost certainly only add to the demand.
Philippine Airlines’ push in Australia
In line with increased demand, PAL is upping capacity on Australia routes over the Christmas and New Year season. Sydney will see a Boeing 777 come in January 2027, massively boosting Business Class capacity. There are 42 Business Class seats on the 777, compared to just 18 on the current A330.
While that’s a huge increase in seat count (and potentially reward seat availability), the onboard experience will take a hit. PAL’s Boeing 777 Business Class is an older-style 2-3-2 layout. There’s also no Premium Economy, which might cause issues if you’re trying to connect to/from a flight with that cabin.
Philippine Airlines will boost Brisbane to ‘a larger aircraft’ (presumably an Airbus A330-300), while also increasing Melbourne and Perth frequencies during peak periods.
‘These seasonal enhancements are designed to support the strong demand from Filipino communities in Australia, holidaymakers, and visiting friends and relatives travelling during the year-end peak season,’ said a spokesperson.
Summing up
Philippine Airlines’ partnership with various oneworld member airlines has clearly exceeded the airline’s initial expectations, at least when it comes to reward bookings.
We don’t know whether it means that PAL will ultimately trim reward seat availability. For now, the airline says it is simply reviewing the numbers before making any decisions.
But frequent flyers hoping to redeem Qantas Points on Philippine Airlines may want to book sooner rather than later while availability remains strong. In fact, that’s always our general advice – points are for using, not hoarding!
So far I couldnt find business rewards seats on Philippines Airlines using Qantas points for Autumn 2027