News
PAL provides fleet and network update
April 20th 2018
Philippine Airlines (PAL), will take delivery of 15 new aircraft this year: six A321neo and five Bombardier Q400s from May, as well as four A350-900s from June. Read More »
Next year, the Jaime Bautista-led airline plans to introduce six more aircraft, two additional A321neo, two Q400s and another two A350s, into the expanding fleet.
“Our current fleet of 85 aircraft is already the largest in the Philippines,” said PAL president Bautista. “We are aiming for 100 aircraft by 2020, which places us in the category of a major carrier. But we are not merely adding more planes. We are constantly upgrading the cabins, seats, amenities, inflight entertainment and technology. We aspire to become a five star global airline and to be a source of pride for all Filipinos.”
PAL will also make several significant network changes this year. With the arrival of the A350s, the carrier’s Manila-New York route will go non-stop, eliminating a stopover in Vancouver. “By the last quarter of 2018” PAL plans to launch direct flights from Manila to Mumbai and New Delhi in addition to a new Manila-Sapporo route,” the carrier said.
The Filipino government has identified India and Japan as crucial inbound tourism markets. There are currently no direct flights between India and the Philippines.
In line with government plans to boost tourism and connectivity in the Visayas, Luzon and Mindanao, PAL is increasing frequencies on routes from Cebu, Clark and Davao this year.
Cebu-Siargao, launched only last December, will go from daily to twice daily from April 25; Cebu-Busuanga (Coron) from twice to three times daily from April 26 and Cebu-Clark will be upgraded from daily to ten-weekly from April 28. Last month, PAL increased the frequency between Cebu and Bangkok from thrice-weekly to daily.
At Clark, the airline will ramp up Clark-Davao and Clark- Cagayan de Oro to daily “later in 2018” and it will increase flights between Clark and Busuanga (Coron) from four to five daily from April 26.
Starting this month, PAL is upgrading select Manila-Cebu and Manila-Davao flights from A320/A321 aircraft to widebody A330/A340 jets. It also plans to add frequencies between Manila and Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Cebu, Puerto Princesa and Bacolod in coming weeks.
“We are no longer just a Manila-centric airline,” Bautista said during a recent press briefing in Davao City. Our new aircraft and new hubs are a winning combination that will help expand our market reach both domestically and worldwide. This is imperative for a global airline and we must sustain and build on our hard-won four star rating.”
PAL and PAL Express have a combined fleet of 19 A320s, 24 A321s, 15 A330-300s, five A340-300s, ten B777-300ERs and twelve Bombardier turboprops. The incoming A350s will replace the ageing A340s.
