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Looking at being back at the forefront of Asian aviation, Philippines national carrier Philippine Airlines just placed an order for 54 Airbus aircraft.
TOULOUSE- Philippine Airlines (PAL) has placed a firm order with Airbus covering 34 A321ceo, 10 A321neo and 10 A330-300s. The aircraft are being purchased under a major fleet modernisation programme at the airline, with deliveries starting in 2013. The order represents an investment of US$ 7 billion.
The single aisle A321 aircraft are being purchased to enhance the airline’s product offerings on domestic and regional routes, as well as to support alliances with its partner airlines. The widebody A330s will be operated on higher demand regional routes and longer range services to the Middle East and Australia. PAL will announce engine selections for all the aircraft at a later date.
“The orders we are placing with Airbus will play a key role in revitalising PAL and growing trade and tourism in the country,” said PAL Chairman Lucio Tan and PAL President Ramon S. Ang. “With these aircraft we will be able to offer more passengers the best the industry has to offer across our Asia-Pacific network. At the same time, we will benefit from the low operating costs associated with new generation aircraft and the reduced impact on the environment.”
“We are extremely pleased that Philippine Airlines has placed its confidence in our aircraft to meet its future requirements,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer, Customers, Airbus. “This announcement demonstrates once again the popularity of both the A320 Family and the A330, which remain the leaders in their size categories in terms of operating economics, reliability and passenger comfort.”
PAL management indicates to order up to 100 aircraft over the next few years as part of its efforts to modernize its fleet and lower fuel consumption per aircraft with new fuel-savvy models. The balance could now go to Boeing, but the deal will most probably be linked to Philippines being restored into Category 1 status by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The country has been downgraded a few years back into Category 2 status, which prohibits PAL to fly new aircraft model than the ones registered for operations in the US prior to the downgrade. It also impeaches PAL to open new routes to the USA, despite strong demand for additional frequencies.
PAL currently has a fleet of 31 Airbus, including 4 Airbus A340-300 and 8 Airbus A330-300 for long-haul flights as well as 8 Boeing aircraft, 3 Boeing B777-300ER and 5 ageing Boeing 747-400.
Last week, PAL’s parent firm, PAL Holdings, reported that it had posted a net income of P 489.2 million (US$ 11.6 million), marking a turnaround from the P 475.1-million loss (US$ 11.3 million) in the same three-month period of 2011.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
