News
PAL readies for A350-900 arrival and mulls -1000 order
February 23rd 2018
Philippine Airlines (PAL) is “considering” the A350-1000, the largest variant of the A350XWB Family, airline president, Jaime Bautista, has told Reuters. Read More »
The PAL chief is unlikely to place any such order until later this year, however, given the carrier is due to receive its maiden A350, a -900, in June and wants to test whether the aircraft’s operational performance matches what has been promised by Airbus.
PAL placed an order for six A350-900s, plus six options, during the 2016 Singapore Airshow.
“After a thorough commercial and technical evaluation, we decided the A350 will best meet the requirements of our expanding operations,” Bautista said at the time.
PAL’s first A350 will be delivered this June, with subsequent deliveries in August, September and December, and March and June 2019.
Bautista has previously said the airline would initially roster the A350 on the Manila-New York route.
The flight to JFK covers a distance of more than 8,500nm, exceeding the -900s range of 8,000nm. It is thus unclear if PAL is willing to accept payload restrictions on the route or whether it will operate the route via Vancouver. Airbus confirmed on Tuesday that until now Singapore Airlines was the only customer for the A350 ultra-long-range variant which would have the legs to perform the route nonstop at full payload.
The flag carrier is looking to grow its U.S. network with the introduction of the A350. Bautista has previously flagged Seattle, Chicago and Miami as potential new destinations.
PAL might also boost its European network, currently limited to flights to London’s Heathrow Airport; Paris and Rome have been shortlisted.
Another potential route to receive A350 service is Cebu-Los Angeles, cancelled last May after just a year.
“We stopped it because we were not using the right kind of aircraft, the A340 – there are many times of the year where we stopped in Guam. We promised the market it would be a nonstop flight, but there are some limitations with the range of the aircraft, especially during times of strong wind in the Pacific. With the A350, I think we can revisit Cebu-Los Angeles, which is a good market,” Bautista has told FlightGlobal.
PAL’s six on-firm-order A350-900s will replace an equal number of ageing A340-300s. The -900s will feature 41 additional seats compared to the A340s.
In separate PAL news, the airline will boost flights to Mainland China from 99 to 103 weekly frequencies from March 25, the result of converting hitherto five-weekly flights between Guangzhou and Jinjiang, respectively, to daily.
PAL now has a fleet of 58 aircraft, comprising eight A320s, 19 A321s, 15 A330-300s, six A340-300s and ten B777-300ERs.
