Philippine Airlines orders 54 aircraft from Airbus

BLAGNAC, France, 28 Aug. 2012. Philippine Airlines (PAL) has placed a firm order with Airbus for 34 A321ceo, 10 A321neo and 10 A330-300s. The aircraft are being purchased under a major fleet modernization program at the airline, with deliveries starting in 2013. The single aisle A321 aircraft are being purchased to enhance the airline’s product offerings on domestic and regional routes, as well as to support alliances with its partner airlines. The widebody A330s will be operated on higher demand regional routes and longer range services to the Middle East and Australia. PAL will announce engine selections for all the aircraft at a later date.

The A321 was first launched in 1988, featuring a stretched fuselage to make it the largest in the A320 family of aircraft. A new engine option (NEO), offers fuel savings of 15 percent over other versions of the A321. To date, over 8,500 A320 Family aircraft have been ordered and more than 5,200 delivered to 365 customers and operators worldwide.

The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner. Airbus has recorded over 1,200 orders for the various versions of the aircraft, with 900 now flying with 90 operators worldwide. In addition to passenger and freighter aircraft, the A330 is also available in VIP and military transport and tanker variants.