PAL closes deal for 9 A350-1000s

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has signed a deal for the purchase of nine Airbus aircraft that it plans to deploy for long-haul flights.

PAL yesterday signed the firm order for the procurement of nine Airbus A350-1000 at the Paris Air Show, finalizing the agreement for the addition of new aircraft to its fleet.

PAL president and chief operating officer Stanley Ng said the wide-body aircraft would enable the flag carrier to serve its longest routes, particularly North America.

The fresh order of A350-1000 will also allow PAL to explore opportunities to fly again to Europe.  PAL expects the purchase of the wide-body aircraft to broaden its network of long-haul services, especially to Canada and the US.

“This order would see PAL operating one of the youngest and most modern wide-body fleets in Asia. PAL selected the A350-1000 to give itself the power to match capacity closely to predicted demand on both the very longest routes to the North American East Coast, but also on our prime trunk routes to the West Coast and potentially to Europe as well,” Ng said.

“At the same time, the aircraft will use significantly less fuel than older aircraft of a similar size, which also brings an important reduction in carbon emissions,” he added.

In a text message to reporters, PAL spokesman Cielo Villaluna said the addition of nine aircraft would bring PAL’s fleet close to 80 units.

“At present, we have 69 aircraft on our fleet, although prior to the pandemic we had 98 planes,” Villaluna said.

“The nine brand-new orders will bring the fleet count to close to 80. That will address the current need for more planes and widen our flight route network,” she said.

The A350-1000 is considered as one of the most efficient wide-body aircraft in the world. It can fly up to 9,700 nautical miles, or around 18,000 kilometers, nonstop.

Airbus chief commercial officer and head of international Christian Scherer said the aircraft would allow PAL to make intercontinental flights at the lowest possible costs and emissions.

For 2023, PAL aims to reactivate all of the 75 aircraft in its yard, as it looks to stay profitable by serving the resurgent demand for air travel.