Airlines In The Philippines II

[Evodesire]

It looks like Boeing is making a "comeback", granting the potential of a 5J MAX and PR 787 order.

[JNC03]

Cebu Pacific is finalizing bidding plans for a major aircraft order from manufacturers such as European industrial giant Airbus and US planemaker Boeing to meet demand for flights in the latter part of the decade.

Cebu Pacific chair Lance Gokongwei said they were preparing to solicit bids from the companies, known as a request for proposal (RFP), for the purchase order. Because of the long lead time caused by ongoing supply chain problems, the planned order was for the delivery of new planes after several years

“We’re still designing the RFP but this is for planes probably in 2028 and 2029,” Gokongwei told the Inquirer in a recent interview. “It’s really for growth by then.”

Gokongwei said they remain focused on domestic and regional flights and had no near-term plans to acquire long-haul aircraft.

“We have no plans to go to the States,” he said.

He added that new aircraft orders were meant for expansion and they would not cancel any deliveries from Airbus that were scheduled over the next four years.


https://business.inquirer.net/425545/cebu-pacific-seeks-bids-for-2028-plane-orders

[Arianespace]

There goes the El Al flight to the Philippines. Postponed indefinitely.

BREAKING:

Saudi Arabia ends "all negotiations" on normalisation with Israel.

Saudi Arabia has informed the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, that it is "ending all negotiations" on normalising relations with Israel, reports the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, echoed by the Saudi media outlet The Saudi Post, published in the United States.

That simply means, this would be gone too, even for PAL. PR can still fly to Jordan though via KSA.

[chowpau]

Arianespace wrote

There goes the El Al flight to the Philippines. Postponed indefinitely.

BREAKING:

Saudi Arabia ends "all negotiations" on normalisation with Israel.

Saudi Arabia has informed the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, that it is "ending all negotiations" on normalising relations with Israel, reports the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, echoed by the Saudi media outlet The Saudi Post, published in the United States.

That simply means, this would be gone too, even for PAL. PR can still fly to Jordan though via KSA.

Could this the reason why Hamas attack Israel because of the normalisation of Israel and KSA that they want to stop?

[Darkknight85]

Most probably. They wanted it to stop. Peace in the middle east is a very complex and complicated thing. Achievable but hard to get.

[Arianespace]

chowpau wrote

Could this the reason why Hamas attack Israel because of the normalisation of Israel and KSA that they want to stop?

No. Its actually more complex than that. Although admittedly the "reaction" of Israel against its Arab neighbor is part of the displeasure of the Saudi government. Remember, Palestine is an Arab country. And they are united by one religion, Islam. If you see the movie "Kingdom of Heaven", you'll understand better the politics of it. It's a conflict as old as time.

Problem for us is we cannot be made to favor one over the other. Our government's policy was always that of "neutrality". While we are bound with Israel on our faith, our prosperity as a nation is also bound by the middle east Kingdom.

[markpaul]

Impressed with pax load fully booked business and premium economy sa  Bali last night, I wish they add more frequency to Bali.

Anyway I’m surprised 1 boxed meal ang kanina, no usual tray with desserts etc ,maybe because it was a midnight flight DPs to Manila .
‘

[seven13]

markpaul wrote

Impressed with pax load fully booked business and premium economy sa  Bali last night, I wish they add more frequency to Bali.

Anyway I’m surprised 1 boxed meal ang kanina, no usual tray with desserts etc ,maybe because it was a midnight flight DPs to Manila .
‘

The trayless service is meant for sub 2 hours flight like HKG CAN TPE. I’m guessing the A321 utilized had some compartments unusable so meal service needs to be amended to accommodate all the meals needed for the flight with limited storage space.

BTW, 4 of 6 A21N are currently grounded and I think 2 CEOs too so here we go again with cancelations and retimings of some Asian flights and BNE for the following week, and may be next week.

[Arianespace]

It looks like the A320CEO would be in the airline's fortfolio a little bit longer than originally planned.

Cebu Pacific and Lufthansa Technik AG have recently signed an Engine Maintenance Services contract. Under the new contract, Lufthansa Technik will provide Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Services for three of Cebu Pacific CFM56-5B engines alongside with Cyclean Engine wash and Aircraft Transition Services (ATS) for two A320ceo aircraft.

Cebu Pacific Vice President of Engineering & Fleet Management, Shevantha Weerasekera said: “Lufthansa Technik has given us the confidence that our aircraft will be well taken care by the world’s best engine repair service provider. With the robust expansion plan on increasing the leasing of the A320ceo and A320neo fleet size and international routes to more countries, we need a trustworthy partner to achieve the milestones for success together. We look forward to being fully supported through this partnership.”
https://asianaviation.com/cebu-pacific-enters-cfm56-5b-engine-mro-partnership-with-lufthansa-technik/

[JNC03]

Due to engine recalls in the coming months I think

A320ceo and A321ceo saved PAL as they don't feel the P&W issues so much unlike other airlines that expedited the retirement of their A320ceo family.

[Evodesire]

Its hitting them a lot too. PER and BNE flights are affected, which they most of the time fly their A321N.

[markpaul]

That’s why B777 flew Brisbane the other day

[AnonBoy]

seven13 wrote

markpaul wrote

Impressed with pax load fully booked business and premium economy sa  Bali last night, I wish they add more frequency to Bali.

Anyway I’m surprised 1 boxed meal ang kanina, no usual tray with desserts etc ,maybe because it was a midnight flight DPs to Manila .
‘

The trayless service is meant for sub 2 hours flight like HKG CAN TPE. I’m guessing the A321 utilized had some compartments unusable so meal service needs to be amended to accommodate all the meals needed for the flight with limited storage space.

BTW, 4 of 6 A21N are currently grounded and I think 2 CEOs too so here we go again with cancelations and retimings of some Asian flights and BNE for the following week, and may be next week.

I remember this push for cost savings pre-covid. Due to the nature of the red-eye flight and the high food wastage, it was proposed that the food offerings for these flights be reduced. That is unless PR opted to do double-catering load ex-MNL (possibly due to cost or some other factors in DPS), then that would be because of galley limitations.

[JNC03]

Cebu Pacific will order 100 to 150 narrow body passenger jets in a deal that the Gokongwei family-controlled firm estimates would be worth up to $12 billion based on currently published prices — the single biggest aircraft order in the country’s history.

According to the budget airline’s CEO Michael Szucs, Cebu Pacific will send out an official request for proposals by the end of this week to Boeing of the US and Europe’s Airbus to allow the rival aircraft manufacturers to make their best offers.

The Cebu Pacific chief said it is unlikely that the airline will accommodate both manufacturers to supply portions of the record-breaking transaction. Instead, he described it as a “winner-take-all deal” with the manufacturer that would offer the best package to be awarded the entire contract.

https://business.inquirer.net/426776/cebu-pacific-to-buy-100-150-jets-worth-12b-in-biggest-aircraft-deal-in-ph-history

[Evodesire]

Just a thought, if Cebu Pacific chooses to go for Boeing, then that means majority of their planes will already be 737 MAX. How will this impact costs if majority of their facilities, training equipment, and pilot type ratings are for Airbus? That 100 to 150 order is a lot. I was only expecting around 50 Boeings if ever. Or will Airbus once again have the edge on this? I have this feeling that those planes may all go on a sale-leaseback agreement.

[Eurest]

5J plans to diversify risk by adding other aircraft aside from the A32N family

They won't go all A or all B anymore

The funding is secure, the recent news of JOLCOs are for the upcoming (7? *knock on wood*) NEO deliveries, as those instruments do require the asset itself

Sale and lease backs would only be viable if they can purchase the jets at a huge market discount, but they may forego discounts in favor of early deliveries

[Evodesire]

I notice a lot of aggressiveness and long-term planning on the side of Cebu Pacific. I wish PAL also had the same aggressiveness. Still awaiting their widebody order. That 100-150 plane order from Cebu Pacific should send a strong message to PAL. Lets not forget Z2's A330 and A321neo plans beginning in 2024. And AA's NEOs are LEAP-powered.

[JNC03]

AirAsia Philippines has taken a nosedive, racking up a jaw-dropping P14 billion in losses over the past two years. Isla Lipana & Co., the auditing firm of the airline is openly questioning whether Fernandes can navigate AirAsia through financial storm clouds.

In the firm’s latest annual report, Isla Lipana said AirAsia’s massive losses -P7.9 billion in 2022 and P6.4 billion in 2021 – have pushed its capital deficiency to P39.9 billion or 60 times its original capital. Beyond these losses, AirAsia is grappling with unpaid obligations to creditors and aircraft lessors. As of 2022, the LCC is mired in a liability quagmire, with P11 billion in dues and demandable payments and another P24 billion due within a year.

AirAsia’s Philippines parent company, Malaysia’s Capital A, submitted a letter to Isla Lipana mapping out a plan to lift the carrier out of its deep financial hole. Isla Lipana, however, remained steadfast in its assessment, with the auditing firm stating, “Our opinion remains unchanged on this matter”. Apparently, the auditor gave little weight on the financial capacity of Capital A, where Fernandes sits as CEO and executive director, which itself is facing serious financial problems of its own.


https://bilyonaryo.com/2023/10/23/tony-fernandes-literally-loses-his-shirt-isla-lipana-red-flags-air-asia-philippines-after-hemorrhaging-p14b-in-last-2-years/business

[Arianespace]

Airbus recently released the  35K 322t MTOW variant ordered by PAL, with 10 abreast configuration. The EASA regulatory document was issued on 25 October. The seating configuration can be found at page 25.



The 319t variant was known to be incapable of crossing the pacific at the 385 seat configuration.

[JNC03]

PAL should decide what will be the final configuration of their A35K before SG airshow