Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will purchase nine new wide-body aircraft in the next four years to be deployed for long-haul services to North America and, possibly, to Europe.

PAL signed a memorandum of agreement with aircraft manufacturer Airbus for the procurement of nine A350-1000s in a deal that seeks to expand the airline's fleet of long-haul flights.

As part of the plan, PAL eyes to deploy the A350-1000s for its non-stop services from Manila to North America, including Canada and the US East Coast.

Under the agreement, PAL will receive the initial batch of A350-1000s by the close of 2025. The deliveries will continue until all of the aircraft are brought to PAL by 2027.

The A350-1000s is the latest and largest model of the A350 family of wide-body aircraft that carriers frequently use for their long-haul services. Once delivered, the aircraft will join two of PAL's A350-900s that the airline is using for flights mainly to North America.

Likewise, PAL secured the right to purchase three additional A350-1000s in the future should the airline open new routes and require extra aircraft.

The flag carrier will configure the A350-1000s similar to the design of A350-900s, wherein the interior features business class, premium economy and economy class cabins.

PAL president and chief operating officer Stanley Ng said the A350-1000s can do non-stop flights to some of the longest routes of PAL like New York and Toronto and it can even allow the airline to serve Europe again.

'The A350-1000s combines greater range capability with the higher capacity PAL needs to serve future demand. It's the perfect aircraft to enable PAL to meet its expansion plans in a sustainable way,' Ng said.

Airbus chief commercial officer Christian Scherer said the use of A350s brings PAL closer to its goal of reducing carbon emissions as part of its sustainability program. On the operational side, the A350 offers the longest capability of 8,700 nautical miles or 16,100 kilometers non-stop.

Based on records, Scherer said the A350 has received a total of 928 orders from 54 customers as of March, with at least 520 of its kind flying for 39 airlines worldwide.

For the year, PAL plans to reactivate all of the 75 aircraft in its fleet within the year, as it looks to stay profitable by capturing the recovering demand for air travel.

 

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