Philippine Airlines is getting ready to expand its fleet, with the airline signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus to purchase nine A350-1000s.
They will be used by the airline’s “Ultra Long Haul Fleet project”, the A350-1000 will be operated on non-stop services from Manila to North America, including to the East Coast of the US and Canada.
Philippine Airlines currently operates two Airbus A350-900 aircraft in its long-haul fleet, which fly to destinations in North America, Asia and Australia. As with the A350-900, the PAL A350-1000s will be configured in a premium layout with separate Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class cabins.
The airline indicated that the A350-1000 would be used to fly non-stop transpacific and transpolar routes in both directions all year, such as to New York and Toronto, and provide connectivity to Europe.
In Quotes
Captain Stanley K. Ng, President and Chief Operating Officer of Philippine Airlines, said:
“The A350-1000 combines greater range capability with the higher capacity we need to serve future demand. It’s the perfect aircraft to enable PAL to meet its expansion plans in a sustainable way, while offering passengers the highest levels of onboard comfort. We are committed to offering our passengers the best possible travel experience, and these state-of-the-art aircraft will enable us to do just that as we carry out our mission to connect the world, and grow trade and tourism.”
Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer, said:
“Flying passengers farther and in greater comfort, the A350 brings a step-change in fuel efficiency and an immediate significant contribution to reduced emissions. These are the attributes that have made the A350 the choice of leading airlines worldwide. We look forward to working closely with our long-standing customer Philippine Airlines as it moves forward with its long haul fleet modernisation programme.”
An interesting growth
Philippines Airlines has a long-haul fleet of 10 Airbus A330-300s, 2 Airbus A350-900s and 9 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Interestingly, none of these are earmarked for replacement – pointing to a growth order for the airline, rather than a like-for-like replacement (although the A350-1000 is more than a perfect fit for the Boeing 777-300ERs currently in the fleet).
With long-haul growth on the agenda (and the aircraft starting to be delivered in 2025), these seem to be the instrument that Philippine Airlines wishes to use.
Combined with a three-class configuration, this could be interesting to see in the future.
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