Last Tuesday, July 17, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte attended the rollout of Philippine Airlines’ brand-new aircraft —the Airbus A350 XWB and Airbus A321neo at the Lufthansa Technik Philippines hangar in Pasay City. The event coincided with the birth anniversary of the legendary PAL Chairman and CEO Dr. Lucio C. Tan.
“May God grant you a thousand years more of your life. Happy birthday, Mr. Tan. You are 83 years old and still a success story on all fronts. I wish you a happy birthday and may you continue to be endowed with good health, countless blessings, and greater success in all endeavors,” said the President.
The Kapitan has been PAL chairman since 1995. The President and Tan were joined by other PAL officials led by PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime J. Bautista.
The Airbus A350 XWB and Airbus A321Neo are two of the most advanced planes in PAL’s fleet. They will be used for longer-range routes to North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific.
Enthused Tan at the rollout of the jets: “As the PAL family works together to achieve our dream of becoming a 5-star global carrier, we have achieved great strides in support of this goal. We are in the midst of a fleet modernization program. We are also focused on route network expansion and have improved our services to our passengers. I am happy to welcome the A321neo and A350 to our fleet.”
The new planes are the first of several aircraft deliveries which PAL said are industry game changers with their longer range, lower fuel burn emissions, and lower operating costs.
Explained PAL President Jimmy Bautista: “through these new airplanes, we aim to reclaim our stature as one of the world’s best airlines—to be a beacon of hope … that Filipinos can set the standard of excellence and be the best at what we do. This is the vision of our chairman, Dr. Tan. This is the legacy of Philippine Airlines to our country.”
Added Eric Schulz, chief commercial officer of Airbus. “The A350 XWB has set new standards for long haul flights, combining extra-long range capability with the lowest possible operating costs and the highest standard of comfort. We are confident that the A350 XWB will be a great success with Philippine Airlines and will enable the airline to reinforce its position as one of Asia’s leading international carriers.”
Chimed in Peter Barret, CEO of SMBC Aviation Capital, the aircraft leasing company that financed PAL’s A350-900 XWB:
“This delivery is an important milestone for SMBC Aviation Capital as it marks the first delivery to our new customer, Philippine Airlines. The Asia-Pacific region is one of the fastest growing markets in terms of air travel and we are delighted to have the opportunity to continue to expand our footprint here with the delivery of the first two A350s to Philippine Airlines.”
PAL’s pacesetting A350 allows the carrier L to fly nonstop almost halfway around the world on the longest routes to be flown by a Philippine carrier.
According to PAL, the A350’s range and efficiency are the result of its all-new design and state of the art technology, starting with advanced Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines.
The A350 can fly up to 8,000 nautical miles (14,800 km.) and boasts of quieter cabin (up to four times less noise), making it the quietest twin-aisle aircraft to-date.
About 70 percent of A350 XWB’s structure is made of advanced material, including 53 percent composites.
This makes A350 not only light weight and very strong but also costs significantly less to maintain.
PAL’s A350 has 30 Business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout giving every passenger direct access to the aisle. There will be no need to jump over other passengers just to get to the aisle. Seat pitch is at 44 inches and seat width is up to 24 inches. The business seat reclines to a full-flat bed measuring 78 inches in length and has an adjustable air cushion to adjust seat firmness, lumbar massage feature, additional storage for personal items, power ports and augmented reading lights.
The Premium Economy has 24 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration in an exclusive cabin. Seat pitch is at 38 inches and seat width is at 19 inches. Premium Economy seats recline of up to 8 inches and are equipped with leg-rest and footrest, additional front pockets for personal items, bottle holders, reading lights and power ports.
Economy class cabin seats total 241 in a roomy 3-3-3 symmetry, with seat pitch of 33 inches, width of 18 inches and a recline of up to 6 inches.
Features include a 4-way headrest and USB power ports.
All seats on the PAL Airbus A350 have personal TV screens with dual screen functionality, which means that passengers can pair their screens with their mobile device via the myPAL Player app to select content to be displayed on the screen or track the flight’s progress through the Flight Map.
Wi-Fi service is free for all passengers (subject to time and volume caps), with affordable renewal plans.
The A350 will be flown nonstop Manila-New York JFK and Manila-London Heathrow routes by end October 2018.
Flights to other points in North America and/or Europe are planned, as more aircraft join the fleet over the next 12 months, including possible routes to Seattle, Chicago and a point in Western Europe.
PAL had placed six firm orders for Airbus A350-900s, and options for additional six. Four will be delivered in 2018, and other two in mid-2019.
Apology
May I end this column with an apology to the spokesman of the Philippine National Police Col. Benigno “Bong” Durana. On July 24, he took the place of his boss, PNP chief Oscar Albayalde as guest speaker of the Manila Overseas Press Club. The day before, July 23, the chief’s mother died. Our condolences po.
At the open forum following his speech, Durana claimed illegal drugs is the No. 1 concern of most Filipinos, citing a Pulse Asia survey. As moderator I said that was a lie and implied Durana was lying.
I am sorry to Colonel Durana for my misapprehension and mistake.
The Pulse Asia survey said 69 percent of Filipinos cite eradicating the problem of illegal drugs as Duterte’s No. 1 achievement. The same survey showed Filipinos wanting Duterte to address three concerns in this order of importance: jobs 56 percent; inflation 52 percent; pay hike 48 percent; reducing poverty 33 percent; and end endo 27 percent. Drugs was only No. 5.
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