Airlines In The Philippines II

[Arianespace]

It seems CEB is not the only one looking at the MAX for A320 replacements.

[JNC03]

Well A320neo family production have long lines now according to a source Airbus is offering Cebu Pacific 2028 deliveries onwards while Boeing offers earlier delivery dates.

Meanwhile 737max have some NTU going to other airlines like ex Air China max going to Air India Express

[chowpau]

Evodesire wrote

Yes. Or they can also do Air India - Air India Express, and Qantas - Qantaslink. You still have the sunriser logo but at least the market knows that its the "more affordable" subsidiary of PAL.

There used to be like that with PAL Express...sunriser logo and brand on the fuselage "PAL Express" but it was changed to "Philippines" on the Q300/400

[Evodesire]

It started out as PAL Express with some painted with a Nemo livery, then became AirPhil Express, then back to PAL Express but with the full PAL livery except for a marking near the nose. Really no clear distinction between PAL and PAL Express. Even fares are now more expensive. Unless they adapt a new strategy, Cebu Pacific will always hold a bigger domestic market share. Let's not forget that domestic travel can never be downplayed, especially after how the pandemic changed air travel behavior.

[JNC03]

Another Q400 with registry RP-C5903 messed up again due to an oil leak, it is now grounded in Davao

Fire extinguishers are on standby in case

That is the same aircraft deployed from CEB-LAO inaugural, the aircraft was grounded in LAO due to technical reason as well

[JNC03]

Amid Embraer E190 certification works on CAAP two former Bamboo Airways Embraer E190 are in Clark.

The registries are OE-IQG and OE-IQF and both of them are owned by CDB Aviation.

[Arianespace]

Interesting.

[JNC03]

Z2 is now utilizing some PAL Express flights to accommodate delayed passengers amid aircraft shortage and limited manpower of the LCC. AirAsia Philippines is now facing 5 hours+ delay

According to a source, MRO providers in the Philippines are not accepting their planes anymore due to growing debt.

[xzibit31]

so sad that Z2 has fallen into hard times. hopefully they can pull out of that slump.

[Arianespace]

That is what happens when your plane which usually arrives on time delays its arrival due to runway and airspace congestion affecting its turn around time. I remember back the days when the turn around time used to be 90 minutes. Nowadays, its shortened to 60. If you missed that window your airline is kaput. That has plagued AAP not just this week but almost a year now. You can look at the fleets rotation and you will take notice of a "hit". I doubt the average passenger knew that.

"Domino Effect" is recurrent every year at this time. It would be stupid of you not to prepare. Next time book an airline which has a bigger plane at its disposal when things like this happens as they would, which then usually flies a bigger plane when worst comes to worst relative to scheduling.

https://bilyonaryo.com/2023/12/24/panira-ng-pasko-airasia-moves-flights-at-the-worst-possible-time/business/

Better yet, have a standby plane ready on the ground for this eventuality. Both PAL and CEB have it. AAP unfortunately doesn't have that luxury.

[JNC03]

That's why 5J and PAL are utilizing more widebody planes this month to accomodate more passengers

Meanwhile Z2 have limited planes, some of them grounded in Manila and having maintenance in Malaysia

[Arianespace]

AAP usually have maintenance window around 4-6 hours between 2200-0400. That does not happen nowadays because by the time they were supposed to be on ramp at domestic, they were still flying their last legs. Like I said domino effect. It does not affect only passengers but the frame as well because by the time they visit the ramp it usually cost them a day of non rev.

This AAP dilemma was reported already last year. But Fernandes wants a healthy balance sheet for eventual IPO next year which I think is rosy achievable on their part as they are operating an old fleet not dependent on PWs problem. AXM still has plenty of stored A320s. If you take a closer look, they are actually doing what PAL did before after C11. Maximize fleet usage and rationalized domestic network. They left DGT, ZAM and GES already due to fleet issues.

[Evodesire]

So what are the chances now that they will acquire A330s? I heard financially, they are not doing well. They owe a lot.

[Arianespace]

They are doing okay. Parts is just hard to come by. There are old pre-covid debts due that are still being paid. At least the outlook of being paid is better now than last year.

Initial company reports indicate they are doing fine now, economically. Although they are short of planes due to maintenance issues. That is why you see an evening flight to CEB, DVO and ILO arriving early morning instead. PAL and CEB had that issue before and managed to addressed them. If AAP doesn't address this issue I doubt their passengers would want to ride them again. That is the drawback of maximization. Delays will bite you eventually costing more damage to the airline.

The chances of them operating A330 are still there considering they are a Malaysian airline now. Fernandes wants Romero to operate the 330s. The latter declined. For good reasons. They could have died. At least some capital came back to them, and some of that income is paid now to its former owners.

Wait when they have the A321neo replacements with LEAP engines coming next year I suppose.

[JNC03]

A321neos will help Z2 a lot because there will be a lot of travel demand again during the summertime. There are plans to bring more A320s back to the fleet while waiting for the new aircraft types


I hope PAL can get replacements for their A321neos to be grounded next year, and maybe additional widebodies aside from the two ex Garuda 77W. For Cebu Pacific they prepared a lot for the PW issue by leasing more planes.

The future fleet of Philippine-based airlines will be revealed next year, including the direction of where they will go in terms of dealing with aircraft manufacturers. There might be some plot twist that we expect and don't expect, but this forum always reveals the unexpected in the industry. We might see a more diverse Philippine airspace with more aircraft type flying in the skies. For me narrowbodies will be the most exciting

[JNC03]

Did PAL issued and RFI or similar stuff to Boeing and Airbus like Cathay Pacific did this year?

They have same aircraft looking for, A330 replacement

CX is interested with 787, A330N and A350
Meanwhile PAL is interested in the same aircraft except for A330N

[Evodesire]

I hope they did already. All their neighbors including one from the Philippines have sent RFPs to Airbus and Boeing. CX and TG are also weighing in on mid-size widebody jets. I feel 787s are looming for CX.

[Evodesire]

With the recent groundings again of 737 MAX 9s, will 5J now reconsider their interest in Boeing a inch towards Airbus again?

[fr_kingst]

when are the 2 ex garuda 777 finally joining PAL? there were some rumors last year that they are coming before holiday seasons, but it didn't happen.

[7gorf]

If 5J were to order B737s, in their business model, I'm assuming they won't order the MAX9, they'd order the MAX8-200 which doesn't have the door plug, similar to what RyanAir and some LCCs here in the US. The MAX9 is the 2nd least-selling variant of the 73M and was mostly bought by full-service carriers with the door plug option.

If I were 5J, I'd ask for more discounts or concessions from Boeing now that they're not in a good position to play hard ball.