CAPA: Philippine Airlines To Order A350-900 HGW

Although no formal announcements have been made, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation has revealed that Philippine Airlines is most likely to commit to a purchase of at least six A350-900 HGW aircraft as part of its future expansion and fleet renewal plans.

Image Source: Airbus

In a report released on its website, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation indicated that Philippine Airlines is expected to announce an order by the end of 2015 with deliveries of the new generation Airbus wide-body aircraft beginning in 2017.

The acquisition of the new aircraft will enable Philippine Airlines to permanently retire its Airbus A340-300 fleet, which consume more fuel than modern aircraft and incur higher maintenance costs. PAL has selected the high gross weight version of the A350-900 as it will enable the carrier to operate non-stop flights from Manila to New York in both directions without any payload restrictions.

According to Airbus, Philippine Airlines does not require the A350-900ULR, which Singapore Airlines has ordered to operate non-stop flights to the United States. Flight across the Pacific from the Philippines are generally three hours shorter than flights originating in Singapore. However, despite the shorter distance from Manila, destinations on the east coast of North America are still out of range for PAL's existing Boeing 777-300ER fleet and the Airbus A350-900.

Once Philippine Airlines is able to launch non-stop flights to New York, it is believed that it may also begin operating its Toronto flights non-stop. In addition, a new destination in the United States may also be added with the arrival of the new aircraft such as Chicago. Currently, PAL flights to New York and Toronto are routed via Vancouver. If both routes eventually transitioned to non-stop flights, it remains unclear what kind of weekly frequency Philippine Airlines would maintain in Vancouver.

According to CAPA, if Philippine Airlines was to acquire six A350-900 HGW aircraft, it would enable the carrier to pursue modest growth of its long-haul network, which will remain primarily focused on North America. European expansion is currently on-hold until PAL can improve its performance on its London route. Meanwhile, if PAL opted to obtain additional A350 aircraft beyond the six it intends to order, growth should be manageable without compromising the utilisation rate of its long-haul fleet.

Source: CAPA