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The Philippine Airlines fleet is composed of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft from five families (excluding PAL Express fleet): Airbus A321ceo, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A330, their flagship Airbus A350, and Boeing 777. As of 24 October 2024, there were 114 aircraft registered in the PAL fleet.[1]

Current fleet

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Philippine Airlines Passenger Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers[2] Notes
F J S Y Total
Airbus A321-200 24 12 18 169 199
Airbus A321neo 10 12 176 188[3]
32 33[4] 16 209 225[5] Equipped with Airbus Cabin-Flex (ACF) layout.
To replace A320-200.[4]
Airbus A330-300 15 18 27 323 368
24 267 309
Airbus A330-900neo 2 14[6] 10 35 25 290 360 Deliveries started on October 12, 2019.[7]
Airbus A350-900 18 18 8 30 24 241 303 Deliveries started from July 14, 2018.[8]
Two with special "Love Bus" decal[9]
Airbus A350-1000 6 8[10] 30 30 340 408 Deliveries started on October 12, 2019.[11]
Boeing 777-300ER 10[12] 42 320 370
Total 117 73

Aircraft types

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Airbus A321

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The Airbus A321 is the main workhorse aircraft for the short haul flights that serve South East, East Asia, Pacific (Guam), and Domestic destinations. They are deployed in Manila-Brisbane route and vice versa.

On August 28, 2012, Philippine Airlines ordered 34 Airbus A321-200 equipped with 2x IAE V2533-A5 engines, and 10 Airbus A321neos equipped with 2x Pratt & Whitney PW1133G-JM engines. The orders were randomly changed, PAL took 11 of the 34 Airbus A321ceo orders and changed them to order 11 A321neos and added one Airbus A321ceo order to its fleet.[13] The first Airbus A321ceo (Current Engine Option) was delivered in August 2013. On March 29, 2015, The airline said that it will be delivering the A321neo starting 2017 but agreed to postpone them and move to May 2018 due to problems with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines.[14]

These Airbus A321neos will serve Philippine Airlines' medium-long haul routes such as Sapporo in Japan and Mumbai and Delhi in India.[15] Philippine Airlines announced that it would only take two Airbus A321neos in Airbus Cabin Flex (ACF) this year while the airline undergoes more plans on re-fleeting.[16]

Airbus A330

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The Airbus A330-300 are primarily deployed in Middle East, Australia, and South East and East Asia routes like the cities of Dubai, Riyadh, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, and many more cities. They are also deployed in US territories like Honolulu and Guam.[17]and domestic flights like Puerto Princesa, General Santos City, Cebu and Davao (flights starting with 1 (i.e. PR 1811/1812).

Philippine Airlines introduced the Airbus A330-300 on July 30, 1997, with the delivery of their first aircraft (F-OHZM). Philippine Airlines bought eight Airbus A330-300 in order to fill the gaps that the Airbus A300B4 will leave during its gradual retirement. In 2012, Philippine Airlines ordered 10 Airbus A330-300HGW,[18] but later expands orders to 15.

The newer A330 HGWs (8 of the 15 A330s were refurbished with a tri-class layout) uses a pair of Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, unlike previous A330s which uses a pair of General Electric CF6-80E1. The last A330s equipped with GE engines were retired on August 31, 2014.[19]

Airbus A350

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The Airbus A350-900 is primarily deployed in North American destinations such as New York and Toronto and in airline's only European destination, London. They are also used in regional Asian flights such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and Tokyo. PALs A350-900 has an MTOW of 278 tons, enabling non-stop Manila-New York City flights without payload limitations in either direction, a 7,404 nmi (13,712 km) flight which began in October 2018.[20]

On April 9, 2016, Philippine Airlines (PAL) finalized the purchase agreement with Airbus covering the firm order of six A350-900s, plus six options. The contract firms up a Memorandum of Understanding announced during the 2016 Singapore Airshow. The A350-900, which will have a three-class configuration, are scheduled to be deployed on new routes to North America and Europe. The A350-900 also replaced the aging Airbus A340-300.

As of February 2018, Jaime Bautista, president of the airline's holding company, PAL Holdings Inc, stated they were also interested in the larger Airbus A350-1000 variant.[21]

On July 14, 2018, PAL received its first A350-900.[22]

In February 2019, Philippine Airlines took delivery of their fifth A350 with the iconic Love Bus decal, representing the 40th anniversary of their partnership with aircraft manufacturer Airbus. It flew to Bangkok in March 2019.[9]

Expansion with Airbus

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On July 15, 2018. Philippine Airlines ordered a total of 66 aircraft composing of 20 additional Airbus A321neo ACF-LR version, 16 Airbus A330-900neo and 30 Airbus A350-900 aircraft as the airline announced to retire the Airbus A320s and open additional routes to the European region. The newly order aircraft will fly to Paris and Toulouse in France, Berlin in Germany, Zurich in Switzerland, Moscow in Russia, Tel Aviv in Israel, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Yangon in Myanmar. While additional routes to Japan and China are still getting planned.[23][24][25]

Routes from Davao to Tokyo, Davao to Hong Kong, and more routes from Cebu to East Asia and Europe are still getting planned.[26]

Boeing 777

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The Boeing 777-300ER is primarily used for North American destinations such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto. It was also used for service to London, but that service is now operated by the A350. Sometimes, they are deployed in Asian and Australian routes like Bangkok, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, and Melbourne.[27]

In 2009, Philippine Airlines leased 2 Boeing 777-300ER to replace the former flagship Boeing 747-400 from GECAS. The first aircraft was delivered in 2009. On March 12, 2007, Philippine Airlines finalized the purchase agreement with Boeing covering the firm order of 2 Boeing 777-300ER, plus 2 options. The first PAL-owned aircraft was delivered on 20 June 2012,[28] with it being the third Boeing 777-300ER for the airline.

The purchase of Boeing 777s effectively signals the end of additional 747-400 orders and production of the said aircraft in passenger configuration and a win for Boeing versus the Airbus A340-600 that was also being considered. In December 2016, 2 more B777s were delivered, leased from Intrepid Aviation. In March 2017, 2 more B777s were leased from Intrepid Aviation with both aircraft being delivered in December 2017.[29][30]

Philippine Airlines is eyeing to acquire the Boeing 777X to replace their aging Boeing 777.[31]

Former fleet

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Aircraft Total Year Introduced Year Retired Replacement Notes Refs
Airbus A300B4 14 1979 2001 Airbus A330-300 [1][32]
Airbus A319-100 4 2006 2014 Airbus A320-200 [1][33]
Airbus A340-200 4 1996 1999 None Leased from AFS.
Aircraft are from Cathay Pacific
[1][34][35][36]
Airbus A340-300 4 1996 1997 None Leased from Gulf Air
4 1997 2014 None
6 2013 2018 Airbus A350-900 Leased from AFS. Former Iberia aircraft.
Last A340-300 operator in Asia.
BAC One-Eleven 400 4 1966 1971 BAC One-Eleven 500
BAC One-Eleven 500 13 1971 1992 Boeing 737 Classic
Boeing 727-100 2 1981 1984 Boeing 737 Classic [1]
Boeing 737-300 17 1989 2008 Airbus A320-200 [1][37]
Boeing 737-400 3 2000 2007 Airbus A320-200
Boeing 747-200B 17 1979 2000 Boeing 747-400 EI-BWF was damaged during the Flight 434 incident, which was a test run for Bojinka plot. [1][38]
Boeing 747-400 4 1993 2014 Boeing 777-300ER
Boeing 747-400M 1 1996 2014 Boeing 777-300ER Originally Kuwait Airways's second 747-400M, 9K-ADF, which was cancelled by the intended airline in favor of Boeing 777's.
Douglas DC-3 14 1946 1978 Un­known
Douglas DC-8 16 1962 1979 Airbus A300 [1]
Fokker 50 11 1988 1999 Airbus A320-200 [1]
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 7 1974 1996 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 [1][39]
McDonnell Douglas MD-11CF 2 1996 1998 None Leased from World Airways. [1][40]
McDonnell Douglas MD-11ER 2

Fleet maintenance

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The entire Philippine Airlines fleet of Airbus and Boeing jets were formerly maintained in-house at the PAL Technical Center, which consisted of two hangars. The hangars contained an engine overhaul shop, two engine test cells, and test shops. The responsibility of maintaining the fleet, as well as all the facilities, was subsequently transferred in 2000 to Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP), a joint venture of Hamburg-based Lufthansa Technik AG, a leading maintenance provider in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, and Macro Asia Corporation, one of the Philippines' leading providers of aviation support services and catering for foreign airlines, owned by Lucio Tan, the majority owner of PAL.[41] LTP currently maintains an 8-bay hangar and workshops occupying 110,000 square meters in Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport.[41][42]

Currently, some of the A320 fleets are being handled by PAL Express Maintenance and Engineering, including all A321 aircraft that are already delivered and those to be delivered. PAL Express is the budget arm of PAL and has overtaken PAL last 2012 in domestic seats second only to Cebu Pacific (5J).[43]

On May 18, 2018, Philippine Airlines signed a deal with Lufthansa Technik Philippines to maintain its new Airbus jets for 12 years. The deal, which took effect on May 31, is estimated to be worth P13.6 billion ($260 million) during its lifespan.[44]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Philippine Airlines Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  2. ^ philippineairlines.com - PAL Aircraft retrieved 25 October 2017
  3. ^ INQUIRER.net. "Philippine Airlines receives its first A321neo aircraft". Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  4. ^ a b "Mabuhay". Retrieved 2019-08-01.
  5. ^ https://www.philippineairlines.com/en/ph/home
  6. ^ Oks
  7. ^ PAL330NEO
  8. ^ "PAL taking delivery of 1st A350-900 jet | Philstar.com". philstar.com. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  9. ^ a b "PAL's 5th A350: 'The Love Bus'". www.philippineairlines.com. Retrieved 27 Jan 2019.
  10. ^ shutahoy
  11. ^ ok
  12. ^ Recto Mercene (March 23, 2017). "PAL beefing up long-haul fleet with two new B777s". Airbus. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  13. ^ "PAL orders 54 aircraft worth $7B". Retrieved 2012-08-28
  14. ^ "BusinessWorld | PAL defers delivery of A321NEO planes". www.bworldonline.com. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  15. ^ "PAL sustains 4-Star rating with major projects". www.philippineairlines.com. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  16. ^ "Philippine Airlines to take delivery 6 aircraft in 2019". www.philstar.com. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Philippine Airlines adds A330 Guam service in W18". Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  18. ^ "PAL orders 54 Airbus aircraft worth $7B". rappler.com. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  19. ^ "Philippine Airlines". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  20. ^ "PAL inaugurates non-stop New York to Manila flights". usa.inquirer.net. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Philippine Airlines looking at acquiring A350-1000 aircraft - Airliners.net". www.airliners.net. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  22. ^ "PICTURES: Philippine Airlines receives first A350-900". Flightglobal.com. 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  23. ^ po
  24. ^ hi
  25. ^ naintindihan
  26. ^ diba
  27. ^ "Philippine Airlines launches B777". buyingbusinesstravel.com. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  28. ^ "Boeing - Orders and Deliveries".
  29. ^ "PAL's 9th B777". www.philippineairlines.com. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  30. ^ "Philippine Airlines receives 10th Boeing 777-300ER from Aviation PLC". Travel Daily Media. 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  31. ^ "PAL eyes new Boeing aircraft". philstar.com. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  32. ^ "Philippine Airlines Fleet of A300 (History) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  33. ^ "Philippine Airlines Fleet of A319 (History) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  34. ^ "Philippine Airlines Fleet of A340 (History) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  35. ^ "Philippine Airlines A340 (RP-C3438)".
  36. ^ "A340 fleet: last Asian operator, Philippine Airlines, bows out". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  37. ^ "Philippine Airlines Fleet of B737 (History) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  38. ^ "Philippine Airlines Fleet of B747 (History) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  39. ^ "Philippine Airlines Fleet of DC10 (History) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  40. ^ "Philippine Airlines Fleet of MD11 (History) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  41. ^ a b "Key Facts - Lufthansa Technik Philippines". www.lht-philippines.com. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  42. ^ "Facility - Lufthansa Technik Philippines". www.lht-philippines.com. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  43. ^ Lufthansa Technik Philippines Archived 2008-06-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 22, 2008.
  44. ^ News, ABS-CBN. "Philippine Airlines taps Lufthansa Technik for Airbus maintenance". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2018-05-24. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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Media related to Philippine Airlines at Wikimedia Commons


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