Airlines in the Philippines

[Arianespace]

It seems both are gonna fly the Philippine skies soon!

[Evodesire]

Wow, this really looks exciting. I hope PAL takes advantage of the slots left by EK. And yeah, it seems like the 777 will still be the ruler of the ultra-long range market. Good choice for PAL if they go for the 777X for its long term needs. I hope they won't strip it down and make its interiors bare should they order some.

[romantic_guy08]

Evodesire wrote

EK just cancelled 70 A350 orders. Seems like the 777X is still the favorable large ultra-long range widebody. But anyhow, if PAL decides to use the slots EK left if they decide to order the A350, how soon would they be able to get them?

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27791448

The first A350 for EK was supposed to be delivered on 2019... just a year or so earlier than the EIS of the 777X...

I think there's a short difference between the A350 and the EIS of 777X... so not much advantage really in terms of timing, they'd be able to get more 77Ws earlier and Boeing are offering them cheap now a days since there is a production gap come 2017...

[seven13]

Either the A350 or 777X is ok for me as long as PR will be having these birds in their fleet.

The topic of the 757 has resurfaced. Heard that the 747 pilots will be undergoing 757 qualification soon instead of being trained/qualified for A320. Cabin crew will follow after pilot's training.

757 is rumored to fly to India, NZ and AUS. Isn't the A330 enough for SYD and MEL then A321/A320 for DRW/BNE? Or maybe they are planning to launch additional SYD/MEL frequency and making BNE direct from MNL?

[Arianespace]

No 747 pilot in his right mind would down rate himself. Further to that PAL has plenty of 321 orders which just happen to be a 757 replacement. I don't see another sub fleet from there.

[Darkknight30]

I like the mix of 777Ws, 779x and, A359 or A351 for PR because of fleet commonality and training of crews. My prediction is they would order 4 B777Ws, 10 B779x and, 10 A359s/10 A351s for their long haul operations. I am hoping that they would realize the need of enhancing their marketing strategies and identify what kind of carrier they are, being a legacy and premium carrier they should widely improve their services and offer products that will make a big difference to other carriers. PALex should be separated from PR because it is a LLC, it should be a separate entity, it makes the riding public confused on what airline they are riding. because when you ride PR, you expect quality and premium service and products. When it comes to PALex you expect quality service and products and they must be a notch higher than 5J. i feel they should reduce fares because the riding public is not getting what they deserve basing on what they are paying. When it comes to Mabuhay Miles program the present program is losing their loyal milers, my dad who is a Premier Elite member was downgraded to Elite because of a sudden switch of rules without notifying my father about it. my parents even flew a lot and spent money to meet the prescribed miles but still downgraded my father. I hope that they will be more transparent and fair on their loyalty program, because ever since my family only flies with PR.

[Evodesire]

Damn I'm loving this forum. Hope more would post here. Hope we can also get people like Clarkent to post. And yes, there are no fantasy airline presidents here too.

Back to topic, if PAL is to put an order for 777X and A350 at Farnborough this year, considering if they take the slots from EK for the A350, arond when would they be getting them? The 777X may come yet later than 2021 so its basically a long term shot, so there may be chances they may be adding more 77Ws into the fleet. What would be the earliest delivery time for additional 77Ws too? Those A340s are interim aircraft and should be replaced soon too.

About the branding of PAL, I am hearing rumors that there are conflicts between the LT people vs the SMC group. The LT people wants to keep the dual branding thing, Philippine Airlines stays as full service and distinct from its LCC counterpart whereas the SMC group wants to just have one brand, something usually done in the consumer industry business. Are al these rumors true?

[Darkknight30]

They can get EK slot which are due to EIS in 2019. I heard rumors on the additional 77Ws by 2015 or 1st quarter of 2016. GECAS offered these frames to PR on the sidelines of the retirement ceremony of the B744s, if they will order it now or at Farnborough Air Show.

The Branding of PR,if not the whole PR, is in a bit of disarray, i am hoping that they would really identify what they are, because it is really confusing for the riding public. i can see PR is becoming more as a LLC than a premium and legacy carrier. Some employees of PR is not satisfied with what is happening now with PR.

[Arianespace]

While EK slot was expected for delivery in 2019, Airbus offered PAL an earlier slot for the first frame possibly from previous cancellations as well, while the rest might be from 2019. I've heard it's between 2017-2018. Still a rumor though until officially announced.

I've also heard the GECAS rumor and I think the proposal calls for two to four additional frames.

[seven13]

Cebu Pacific today (16JUN14) announced the launch of Australia and Kuwait service, where it’ll begin 3 weekly Manila – Kuwait and 4 weekly Manila – Sydney service. A330-300 to operate both routes, with Kuwait service starting 02SEP14, followed by Sydney on 09SEP14.

Reservations for both routes opened at 0500GMT.

Manila – Kuwait
5J7694 MNL2130 – 0310+1KWI 330 247
5J7695 KWI0440 – 1920MNL 330 135

Manila – Sydney
5J7295 MNL0015 – 1005SYD 330 x135
5J7296 SYD1135 – 1730MNL 330 x135


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BTW how to post new post without quoting any other messages?

[Evodesire]

Arrianespace: What are your thoughts of 5J's SYD flights? What are your predictions here? Isn't SYD a premium market route being 6th most expensive city in the world? As for the low cost market, I do notice quite a number of long haul low cost airlines flying there like Air Asia X.

[airboy007]

actually, CEB might do okay with the Australian market. All of my friends in Australia complain how expensive PR is there especially for Brisbane on peak times, so they are forced to fly through SYD/MEL then to BKK/SIN before heading to MNL. At least from how I have observed the passenger profile for this route, a significant number are still the OFWs who have the loyalty with PR, but there is also the growing younger population who would want to scrimp on the frills just to have a cheaper trip home. I love PR, but with a 500USD return ticket with CEB, I definitely will reconsider.

[Evodesire]

I guess this might force PR to reconsider the prices of their tickets. How much would be SYD-MNL though on QF?

[airboy007]

QF SYD-MNL is almost the same level as PR, if not more expensive so most passengers opt to fly via another station. 1,200USD for return tix MNL-SYD-MNL is a little steep. I just did a mock booking for July. Gulp.

[romantic_guy08]

RP-C8762 arrived today.

One of the future A330E will have reg of RP-C8771, would anyone know if this will have the same config as the  RP-C876X series ?

[Arianespace]

It will change the way how Qantas and PAL operate on this sector. Both airlines has been operating on this sector quite profitably. I am expecting Jetstar to take this route by next year and we might be be seeing the last of Qantas tail out of Manila. I am also seeing a price drop on this sector to at least one half of the current rates to at least US$400-500. It will also cause upsurge of passengers as more will try this route via the current Aus-Sin-Mnl, Aus-Kul-Mnl detours which are selling on that levels. As for PAL, they already have the plane to take this challenge head on. One of them just arrived.

[Evodesire]

I do notice that the long haul LCC are flourishing on this sector. Air Asia X, Jet Star, etc. If PAL can bring down their prices to around $600, I think they would still be the dominating factor for this route. I wonder if they will be charging the same amount for an A330IGW flight vs if a 777 would be used for SYD, IF they would still be deploying the 777s to SYD.

[Arianespace]

They really have no choice but to reduce their prices if PAL wants to compete with an LCC. And I doubt if they ever send the triple seven down under. I did say that the bi-class A333 are intended for this kind of market.  

[romantic_guy08]

this is a nice gesture from PAL to celebrate PH Independence Day...

[airboy007]

this was a really heart warming video. I wish PAL devoted some airtime for this to win back some lost passengers.