Philippine Airlines said Tuesday it finalized a purchase agreement with Airbus for the firm order of nine A350-1000 long-range aircraft.
PAL president and chief operating officer Captain Stanley Ng and Airbus chief commercial officer and head of international Christian Scherer signed the agreement in the presence of PAL Holdings Inc. president and chief operating officer Lucio Tan III during the Paris Air Show. PAL Holdings is the parent firm of the flag carrier.
“This order will see PAL operating one of the youngest and most modern widebody fleets in Asia. We selected the A350-1000 to give PAL the power to match capacity closely to predicted demand on both the very longest routes to the North American East Coast but also on our prime trunk routes to the West Coast and potentially to Europe as well,” Ng said.
“At the same time the aircraft will use significantly less fuel than older aircraft of a similar size, which also brings an important reduction in carbon emissions,” he said.
The A350-1000 has been selected under PAL’s Ultra Long Haul Fleet project and will fly on non-stop services from Manila to North America, including to the East Coast of the US and Canada.
The new aircraft will join two A350-900s already in service at the airline.
PAL’s A350-1000 fleet will be able to accommodate 380 passengers in a three-class layout, with separate cabins for business class, premium economy and economy class.
“At Philippine Airlines we are committed to offering our passengers the best possible travel experience. These state-of-the-art aircraft will enable us to give them the convenience of nonstop flights on long range routes in a comfortable passenger cabin where our cabin crew can do what they do best – extend gracious service and world-class Filipino hospitality,” Tan said.
“The A350-1000 is our ‘mission aircraft’ to connect the world and boost the Philippine economy and society,” he said.
Scherer said the order is another strong endorsement of the A350 as the world’s long-range leader. In terms of non-stop flying capability, efficiency and passenger comfort it is proven to be best in class, he said.
“It also brings significant reduction in emissions and an immediate contribution to industry sustainability goals. And in the larger widebody category, the A350-1000 has set a standard of its own, with the lowest operating costs and emissions for intercontinental service. We thank Philippine Airlines for its ongoing confidence in Airbus and look forward to working with the airline as the A350 becomes the flagship of its widebody fleet,” he said.
The A350 is the world’s most modern and efficient widebody aircraft and set new standards for intercontinental travel. It offers the longest range capability of any commercial airliner in production today and is capable of flying 9,700 nautical miles or 18,000 kilometers non-stop.
The A350 Family won 967 firm orders from 54 customers worldwide as of end-May 2023, with 535 aircraft currently in the fleets of 40 operators, flying primarily on long-haul routes.
PAL operates various Airbus types on its full service network. In addition to the A350 on long-haul intercontinental routes, PAL flies A330-300s on services to the Middle East, Australia and various points in Asia.
The Philippine flag carrier also operates a fleet of A320 and A321 single-aisle aircraft on its extensive domestic and regional network out of hubs in Manila and Cebu.