Flag carrier Philippine Airlines has begun non-stop services between Manila and Auckland using an Airbus A330.

The nine-hour non-stop journey is expected to increase overall capacity by 22 percent for this route.

PAL replaced the original 414 economy seats with three new cabin sections, resulting in a more spacious cabin of only 309 seats, all fully-equipped with in-seat video monitors, offering wider legroom and fewer seats on each row.

The refurbished A330 has 18 Business Class, 24 Premium Economy and 267 Regular Economy seats.

PAL also uses the A330 for its Honolulu, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore and Osaka flights.