LEGACY carrier Philippine Airlines is expecting the arrival of two new Boeing 777-300ER units from Seattle, Washington this month to serve air travelers going to and from London and the United States.
“Two shiny new Boeing 777-300ER, fresh out of Boeing’s manufacturing plant in Seattle, Washington, undergo a series of tests and inspections prior to delivery to Philippine Airlines,” said Ma. Cielo Villaluna, PAL External Communications Group head and spokesperson.
Villaluna added: “They are scheduled to arrive (in) Manila on December 16 and 19. The spacious and luxurious 777—fitted with state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system —is expected to delight passengers on PAL’s long-haul flights.”
The acquisition is in line with PAL’s goal to be the country’s full-service five star airline in five years and part of that plan is to deploy two more Boeing B777-300ER units on flights to London and the United States.
“The Boeing aircraft will serve the Manila-London route, a move designed to primarily enhance the total passenger travel experience and in-flight service deliver. While we already have eight triple 7s serving the West Coast, the incoming units will also augment other trans-pacific flights,” said Jaime Bautista, PAL president and chief operating officer.
Bautista explained “the Boeing 777 is our flagship for long-haul operations. With its range and operational capability, the flag carrier will be at par with other full service carriers along the route.
“We will also increase capacity as the aircraft will have a 370-seating capacity on a two-class configuration (42 on business and 328 on economy) as compared to the 254-seating capacity of the A340.”
The acquisition of the carrier’s 9th and 10th B777s is also based on a long-term lease agreement with Intrepid Aviation.
During the 2016 delivery of PAL’s 7th and 8th B777, Intrepid president and chief commercial officer Doug Winter said: “Intrepid and Philippine Airlines have enjoyed a strong partnership dating back to 2013. The Philippines is currently one of the fastest growing economies in Asia and the airline has been enjoying a strong, profitable growth trajectory over the past few years.”
PAL said the journey towards reaching this goal was the implementation of flagship initiatives such as fleet modernization which includes: the acquisition of six brand new Airbus A350s for delivery starting mid-2018 and the reconfiguration of 8 monoclass Airbus A330s to tri-class layout by mid July.
Currently, PAL has 63 aircraft on its fleet: 10 Airbus A320; A321, 24; A330, 15; A340, 6; and 8 units of B777.