Philippine Airlines to Lease Four Airbus A340-300

Philippine Airlines has announced that it was able to finalize a deal with Airbus enabling the airline to lease an additional four Airbus A340-300 aircraft. The four aircraft were previously part of the Iberia Airlines fleet in Spain.

At a special stockholder's meeting in March, Ramon Ang, the President of Philippine Airlines stated that the airline was looking to acquire an additional four long-range Airbus aircraft for delivery in as early as April if possible. He said that the airline wanted to acquire A330 aircraft for long haul flights to Australia, Japan, or Honolulu. Alternatively, he said that acquiring A340 aircraft would enable the airline to deploy the aircraft on trans-Pacific sectors such as Canada and the United States or possibly even bound for Europe.


pal a340
The four A340's will soon be repainted and join the existing four A340 aircraft in the PAL fleet.
Photo Copyright: Angelo Agcamaran/PPSG

It is clear that Philippine Airlines was able to secure a deal for A340 aircraft. What is not yet clear is where the aircraft will be deployed. At a late April launch event for Philippine Airline's 12 new routes, Ramon Ang said to a reporter on the sidelines that the PAL board has approved the acquisition of four A340-300 aircraft in preparation for long haul services going to Europe. But a conflicting report suggests that the aircraft will be used to strengthen PAL's US operation increasing frequencies to Honolulu, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. It was reported that Philippine Airlines would like to operate a twice daily service to Los Angeles.

Although the ban on travel to the European Union has not yet been lifted, Philippine Airlines has already expressed interest in other European sectors applying for permission to fly to the non-EU cities of Moscow, Russia and Istanbul, Turkey signifying PAL's return to Europe and its initial destinations. Perhaps Philippine Airlines may choose to send two of the aircraft to Europe and two to the United States. The official deployment has yet to be confirmed by the airline. While we anxiously await whether these new aircraft will be headed East or West, here are pictures of the ex-Iberia aircraft that are now Philippine bound.

The Four Airbus A340-300 Aircraft Bound for Philippine Airlines


philippine airlines airbus a340
Iberia Registration: EC-KSE
Photo Copyright: Alfonso S/PlanePictures.net

philippine airlines airbus a340
Iberia Registration: EC-HGU
Photo Copyright: Javier Gonzales/PlanePictures.net

philippine airlines airbus a340
Iberia Registration: EC-HGX
Photo Copyright: JF Aleman/PlanePictures.net

philippine airlines airbus a340
Iberia Registration: EC-LHM
Photo Copyright: Alejandro Hernandez/PlanePictures.net


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18 comments:

  1. I cannot understand why PAL wants to upgrade itself more in line with other Asian carriers, should it lease such old aircraft that Airbus has stopped producing? I have always preferred 4 engine aircraft , how I wish they would instead order 747-800i which is clearly bigger, more elegant than those boring 777 ER or A330s

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    1. I think the decision to go with these aircraft is practicality rather than trying to obtain the flair of being in line with other Asian carriers. They are looking at fuel efficiency in the twin engined heavy jets and as for the older A340's, this is merely to assist PAL to expand while maintaining their current service levels on US routes in the Category 2 position. Don't rule out an order for B747's or even the A380 in the future. This is just the beginning of a bright future...

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    2. Philippine airlines is a very tight ass carrier but still expensive too fly

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  2. I agree with Darryl. I think PAL is positioning itself to be a leader in the Airline industry particularly in the Asian-Pacific region. With the older A340's jets, PAL can utilize them for their US market while the PH government waits for the removal of the category 2 status. I am hoping PAL will consider the A350XB or the 777X. I was hoping PAL will order the 787'S but with the new acquisitions of the A321s, I doubt if PAL will consider the 787's in the near future. I just wish PAL would change/upgrade it's logo.

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  3. Will PR be allowed to reconfigure these aircrafts? IB's A343s don't come with PTVs, let alone AVOD in Y and it will show that PR is inconsistent if they don't apply the IFE upgrade to the other aircraft. In relation to this, does anyone know what IFE the upcoming A330s of PR will have especially in Y? That has been an area PR has been mum on until now.

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  4. I don't understand why the A340? i do realize that it might be because it's the only plane available at the moment to be leased "cheaply". But the 40 is a guzzler for jet fuel. The A330 made it obsolete already. simple as that.

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    1. The reason they brought in additional A340 is to supplement their current flight operations to the United States. Under Category 2 regulations, PAL can only fly their Boeing 747 and A340 aircraft to the USA. Until they are upgraded to Category 1, they can't even utilize their new Boeing 777. Once everything falls into place, PAL will likely phase them out.

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  5. That's a good thing that PAL will retain it's A340 fleet. I think they should also get a B line for Iberia Airlines A340-600 series, that would be a great deal.

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    1. PAL should go for the 787s shit go pal always expensive too fly.

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  6. Philippine Airlines is not keeping those aircrafts for a long time. Those 4 ex-iberia a340-300s will be phase out with their other a340s when the 20 new a330 enter service.

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  7. Seems Philippine Airlines are leasing these 340s with out considering the travelling public. They are being used now on the Australian routes to Melbourne and Sydney after scheduling the 777s to longer routes. While obviously this is a good decision, the travelling public from Melbourne and Sydney to Manila and vice versa get stuck with the 340s no individual screens etc. While the flight is approx. 8 hours it deserves modern aircraft with proper entertainment systems etc. Hope this will change soon.

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  8. I think they must renew the cabin of there A340 because some long haul flights will be boring they need IFE in each seats

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    1. They need more than just new interior....Think about it iberia is one of the worst run airlines that has significant state funding to keep it afloat and even they knew it was a good idea to get rid of those old dogs....

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  11. I don't understand why the A340? i do realize that it might be because it's the only plane available at the moment to be leased "cheaply". But the 40 is a guzzler for jet fuel.thanks for sharing.
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