Airlines In The Philippines IV

[JNC03]

Philippine Airlines is expanding capacity on key international routes as it responds to rising winter travel demand and seeks to strengthen connectivity between the Philippines and major markets in Japan and Australia.

Starting in late October, the flag carrier will increase frequencies on three Japan routes, lifting Manila–Tokyo (Narita) and Manila–Osaka (Kansai) services from 14 to 21 weekly flights between Oct. 25, and March 27, 2027. Manila–Sapporo (Chitose) will rise from three to five weekly flights from Nov. 24, to Feb. 27, 2027.

PAL is also adding seasonal capacity to Australia during the Christmas and New Year travel period. The airline will operate additional Melbourne and Perth flights on selected peak dates while deploying larger aircraft on selected Sydney and Brisbane services to increase available seats.


https://insiderph.com/pal-boosts-japan-australia-capacity-to-meet-winter-demand-surge

[seven13]

I think PR was successful with the extra JP flights last winter schedule. They were able to fill up 3 daily rotations for KIX and NRT from Manila as well as extra capacity from CEB that’s why they are repeating the same strategy this NW26.

SYD will see the B777 on a daily basis the whole month of January 2027, as published by aeroroutes

On another news. AA is restarting ORDNRT this NW26,  I wonder if PR will funnel some ORD traffic into NRT to ORD and vice versa.

[Arianespace]

JNC03 wrote

PAL is also adding seasonal capacity to Australia during the Christmas and New Year travel period. The airline will operate additional Melbourne and Perth flights on selected peak dates while deploying larger aircraft on selected Sydney and Brisbane services to increase available seats.

https://insiderph.com/pal-boosts-japan-australia-capacity-to-meet-winter-demand-surge

We should also see CTS with 77Ws.

[seven13]

Arianespace wrote

JNC03 wrote

PAL is also adding seasonal capacity to Australia during the Christmas and New Year travel period. The airline will operate additional Melbourne and Perth flights on selected peak dates while deploying larger aircraft on selected Sydney and Brisbane services to increase available seats.

https://insiderph.com/pal-boosts-japan-australia-capacity-to-meet-winter-demand-surge

We should also see CTS with 77Ws.

Similar to last year. They were able to fill up the 42J seats during the last 2 weeks of December. I think I posted here the load factor sometime January.

[JNC03]

Philippine Airlines plans to make its first order for Boeing aircraft since 2007, while possibly splitting a multibillion-dollar widebody jet deal between the U.S. company and Airbus with the announcement coming as soon as this month, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The carrier is lining up a firm agreement for 10 Boeing 787s and 10 Airbus A350s, although it is still finalizing the details, according to the report.

The deal would provide a boost for Boeing, becoming Philippine Airlines' first direct purchase from the company in nearly two decades and ensuring American-made planes retain a foothold in a country dominated by Airbus


https://seekingalpha.com/news/4611927-boeing-set-to-win-philippine-airlines-order-but-loses-to-saab-for-nato-awacs-order

[Spartan117]

Oh wow, an even split. Perhaps it would be 10x B789IGW and 10x A35Ks? either way, new aircraft and new cabins for PAL is always a plus

[poipoi]

Currently, PAL operates 11 A330ceos and 10 Boeing 777Ws. The A330s will most likely be replaced by the Boeing 787-10, while the 777Ws will be replaced by the Airbus A350-1000(exercise the 3 options of 1000s and then others for thinner and low yield routes A350-900). PAL will retrofit the 777-Ws first? Since the new aircraft won't arrive until the 2030 for sure.

[Arembo]

This will result in more widebodies, basically an expansion:

Existing  = Replacement  
10 77W = firm order of 9 A350-1000
11 A330 = 10 787 (expected order)
2 A359 = 2 A359
______  = 10 A350 (9/K) (expected additional order)

ETA: I say this is good, means adding more destinations and more cities in Asia also.  

[ewh1]

I hope they add some options to take into account expansion in the next 10 years. They did say the final composition is not final. So here’s hoping there’s some pleasant and unexpected surprises.

10 A350s and 10 B787s sound great to start and I’m really looking forward to a PAL Dreamliner as they are beautiful!

[Gustavo J Oppenheimer]

Sought for comment by InsiderPH, Philippine Airlines chief operating officer Carlu Fernandez said the airline has yet to finalize its plans.

“No final decision here yet. We’re still in the process,” he said.


https://insiderph.com/bloomberg-philippine-airlines-set-for-first-boeing-order-since-2007

[Solblanc]

On the 77W to SYD, the premium cabin mismatch rears its ugly head again. Plus premium economy is gone for a month. If they can upgrade existing W bookings, hooray.

As for the order, 10 787s is too few, methinks. They really need the 787-9 for routes like MEL, AKL, and FCO which may not warrant a 787-10. And the 787-10 is pretty much ideal for Mideast ops. A 5/5 split is fine for replacement but not growth.

If they get more A359s, however, might be easier to abuse that vs getting the 787-10. So if they only get the 787-9, A359, and the A35K, that would make every single wide body capable of flying any route in the network. That helps with flexibility I suppose.

[Arianespace]

Clue. Take the A330 lessons to North America and make your predictions from there. By the way, the plan is there since Stan lead PAL. How long has that been.

[ewh1]

Solblanc wrote

On the 77W to SYD, the premium cabin mismatch rears its ugly head again. Plus premium economy is gone for a month. If they can upgrade existing W bookings, hooray.

As for the order, 10 787s is too few, methinks. They really need the 787-9 for routes like MEL, AKL, and FCO which may not warrant a 787-10. And the 787-10 is pretty much ideal for Mideast ops. A 5/5 split is fine for replacement but not growth.

If they get more A359s, however, might be easier to abuse that vs getting the 787-10. So if they only get the 787-9, A359, and the A35K, that would make every single wide body capable of flying any route in the network. That helps with flexibility I suppose.

Not unless the 777s are going more premium and not just optimizing for the Middle East?

On a.net someone mentioned that on MEL they unfortunately got a bi-class A330 that was dispatched there so the tri-classes aren’t as consistent as we’d like to realize. They were not happy about it at all and it’s deterring them from flying PAL in the future.  

I wonder what happened to W bookings when WamosAir took over for awhile? They probably had a strategy back then.

[Arianespace]

That was when they have fleet issues.

[JNC03]

If indeed PAL needs more A350-1000, they might order some for other routes that are on high demand during peak season and deploy A359s on lean season. They still have options for the aircraft anyway.

For the 787 the -10 is the choice because it can serve US and mid haul flights easily without sacrificing anything in the capacity. For its engines GE is the obvious choice

[Solblanc]

JNC03 wrote

If indeed PAL needs more A350-1000, they might order some for other routes that are on high demand during peak season and deploy A359s on lean season. They still have options for the aircraft anyway.

For the 787 the -10 is the choice because it can serve US and mid haul flights easily without sacrificing anything in the capacity. For its engines GE is the obvious choice

If the 77W can’t make LAX-MNL year-round, the 787-10 definitely won’t be able to do it.

787-10 is best for high-capacity mid-haul to the Middle East. And what did we learn this year about having a dedicated fleet and config for the middle east?

[seven13]

Solblanc wrote

JNC03 wrote

If indeed PAL needs more A350-1000, they might order some for other routes that are on high demand during peak season and deploy A359s on lean season. They still have options for the aircraft anyway.

For the 787 the -10 is the choice because it can serve US and mid haul flights easily without sacrificing anything in the capacity. For its engines GE is the obvious choice

If the 77W can’t make LAX-MNL year-round, the 787-10 definitely won’t be able to do it.

787-10 is best for high-capacity mid-haul to the Middle East. And what did we learn this year about having a dedicated fleet and config for the middle east?

Can’t the 77W make the return leg fully loaded? I think it can unless they have been offloading cargo to max out pax and their luggage

[Solblanc]

seven13 wrote

Can’t the 77W make the return leg fully loaded? I think it can unless they have been offloading cargo to max out pax and their luggage

370 pax is doable. Anything more than that, it gets difficult. That’s why the Garuda frames with 390 pax go to YVR.

If you notice, PAL’s layout is space-inefficient. There’s a lot of extra pitch in J and in Y. With 42 flat J seats, other airlines can easily fit 400 pax.

The 787-10 can totally fly to the US… if you restrict its seats. But if you’re gonna restrict its capacity, it defeats the point of its advantages.

Anyway, with an additional 10 A350s, additional long-haul capacity won’t be needed. I can understand that the 787-10 can be useful. But in a wider network sense, if you make it premium-heavy, it can go to Australia and Honolulu and maybe the west coast seasonally. If you want the Middle East, you will want to pack it with pax, and it could also do well short-haul instead of abusing the cycles of the bigger planes.

Just thinking aloud on which aircraft would be more versatile. The 789 offers so many new expansion opportunities and also opens up long-haul from CEB. With our airport situation, it’s not exactly easy to create connecting banks in MNL, but they can do it from CEB and even offer a nicer transit experience that oneworld flyers would love.

[Arianespace]

PAL 77w is tailor fit to fly as far as DVO from LAX. Seat restriction has its purpose. It is trading capacity for range.

[Evodesire]

Arianespace wrote

Clue. Take the A330 lessons to North America and make your predictions from there. By the way, the plan is there since Stan lead PAL. How long has that been.

Sir mon ortiz predicts 3 A35K, 7 A359, 10 78X.

I think it is 2 A35K, 8 A359, 6 78X, 4 789.  

With all the growth and developments seen in PAL, does this mean that the Tan family and BOD has allowed the executives to properly run the airline without sticking their noses in?