Philippine Airlines Contemplates New Aircraft Order

With the extensive news coverage on the retirement of the Philippine Airlines Boeing 747 fleet, it is quite clear that if Philippine Airlines intends to fulfil its plans for expansion, the carrier will need to place an order for long-haul aircraft to replace its retiring fleet.

Image Source: Boeing
According to Philippine Airlines executives, the airline is currently contemplating an order of new generation aircraft that would likely include the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 777X. 

"We are in the process of evaluating the next batch of orders," said PAL President Ramon Ang. "At the end of the day, our aspiration is for PAL to operate at least 100 aircraft so there will be economies of scale." The Airbus A350 offers a range that enables the aircraft to fly for approximately 14 hours, while the Boeing 777X can fly for as many as 17 hours. "If you are going to buy, you don't want to buy the old generation aircraft," added Ang. "You want to buy the new generation aircraft."

Philippine Airlines placed an order in 2012 with Airbus for more than 65 aircraft. However, the majority of aircraft that were ordered from Airbus are unable to meet PAL's expansion plans in the United States and Europe. The airline has already accepted delivery of fifteen A330, fourteen A321, and six A340.

With the arrival of these new aircraft, Philippine Airlines intends to retire and sell 20 aircraft this year. The aircraft slated for retirement including four Boeing 747, eight A330, and four A340. Two of the five Boeing 747-400 aircraft in the Philippine Airlines fleet have already been retired. 

"This year, we will be taking out 20 aircraft because the brand-new aircraft have arrived," said Ang. "In concept, these aircraft have been sold already but I cannot give details because the deal has not yet been closed."

The retirement of the ageing aircraft is a critical component of the airline's strategy to restore long-term profitability and to transform the carrier into Asia's airline of choice through fleet modernization, service innovation, and network expansion. According to Ang, Philippine Airlines remains on track to improve both the company's operational and financial performance.

Image Source: Airbus
"2013 was a clean-up year for PAL as we go through the costly yet necessary fleet renewal process, but we are on track with our goals and we remain committed to improving the airline's financial and operational performance," Ang said. 

As the airline continues to contemplate and evaluate its next batch of new aircraft orders, Philippine Airlines is also making plans to continue with its network expansion. "I think we should be able to go to New York via Vancouver towards October," said Ang. The airline is also considering using Seoul and Tokyo as stopover points for flights to Chicago and Florida. 

Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines intends to continue pursuing additional flights to Europe to possible destinations such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rome, and Paris. However, Ang says that they must wait for the completion of a viability study. "It is now easy to fly anywhere in Europe, the US or any new destination. But we have to wait for the viability study for those destinations," said Ang. He added that the carrier is also in the process of finalizing a code-sharing agreement with Tokyo-based All Nippon Airways. 

When the refleeting program is complete, Philippine Airlines will own one of the youngest fleets in Asia at just 3.5 years of age.
 

11 comments:

  1. I hope pal will make the interior on these airplanes comparable to qatar or singapore. If they still stick to 2 3 2 seating in business class, il never go with them again. I wounder if pal ever think of privacy for business class customers. And plz no 3 4 3 for a350

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope PR makes the right choice this time. Go with a plane that will make the difference for long haul. There's only one true leader in this category of aircraft - Boeing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is a foreign airline allowed to have a stop over in america before proceeding to another american destination? (e.g. Manila-Los Angeles-New York) please answer. thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PAL is not allowed to sell tickets for passengers who wish to travel between two US destinations. However, I think they can carry passengers bound for both New York and LA in a single flight provided that all passengers flew-in with PAL from outside the US.

      Qantas does/has done SYD-LAX-JFK flights so with proper permission, PAL can as well.

      Delete
  4. Then, why would they consider via Tokyo or Korea? if ever, can they carry passengers from Tokyo-New York?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it depends on the freedom of the air agreements our country has with the said nations

      Delete
    2. because they can sell to the Japanese or Korean markets too if PAL goes via TYO or ICN to NYC

      Delete
  5. I took a pr flt in 1984 mnl to sfo via tky but i cant remembet if pal was allowed to pick up passengers in nrt? Series 200 747

    ReplyDelete
  6. Go for Boeing 777x & 787-9 the best plane fit for PAL expansion... PAL 777ER had a nice experience (Vancouver to Manila)....


    ReplyDelete
  7. PAL should buy for his another new fleets like Boeing 747-8 Boeing 777x Boeing 787-9 boeing 797-200 & Airbus A380-800 for his modernization and Iprovement of service

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pilots must have a profound understanding of weather patterns to make informed decisions. AV8 Prep pilot school training

    ReplyDelete

Powered by Blogger.