Philippine Airlines is composed of wide-body and narrow-body aircraft from five families (including PAL Express fleet): Airbus A320ceo family, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A330, Airbus A350, and Boeing 777.
, Philippine Airlines operates the following aircraft:[1] [2] [3]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | J | Y+ | in-flight entertainment.| [4] [5] [6] [7] | | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 13 | 12 | - | - | 156 | 168 | [8] | |||||
| 183 | 195 | Aircraft in Airbus Cabin Flex (ACF) configuration. Deliveries postponed indefinitely from September 2024. | [9] [10] | |||||||||
| 11 | - | 18 | 24 | - | 267 | 309 | [11] [12] | |||||
| - | 33 | 312 | 363 | [13] [14] | ||||||||
| 308 | 359 | [15] | ||||||||||
| 2 | - | 30 | 24 | - | 241 | 295 | [16] | |||||
| - | 9 | 42 | 24 | - | 314 | 380 | Order with 3 options. Deliveries start in November 2025. | [17] [18] [19] | ||||
| 10 | - | 42 | - | - | 328 | 370 | [20] | |||||
| 26 | 367 | 393 | Former Garuda Indonesia aircraft retaining their original configuration. | [21] [22] | ||||||||
| Total | 49 | 22 | ||||||||||
On August 28, 2012, Philippine Airlines ordered 44 Airbus A321s, splitting it between 34 A321ceo and ten A321neo (new engine option) aircraft. Orders for the A321ceo were later reduced to 24. These are utilized for short-haul and medium-haul flights that serve Southeast and East Asia such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur, as well as major domestic destinations including Cebu and Davao. The first A321, equipped with IAE V2500 engines, was delivered on August 7, 2013.[23]
The A321neo were originally scheduled for delivery starting November 2017; however, PAL postponed it to January 2018, and again to May, due to problems with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines.[24] PAL received its first A321neo on June 1, 2018,[25] while the other five A321neos were delivered until December 2018. The remaining fifteen A321neos in the SR variant, on the other hand, will be delivered in the following years.[26] However, PAL only received two A321neo SRs in 2019 as the airline revises its re-fleeting plan.[27]
In August 2021, PAL postponed future deliveries of its A321neo planes to 2026 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[9] In September 2024, it further delayed A321neo deliveries indefinitely, opting to instead retrofit its A321ceo aircraft with in-flight entertainment from mid-2025 to 2027.
The first six long-range Airbus A321neos, capable of eight-hour flights, primarily serve the airline's select medium and long-haul routes such as Brisbane, Perth, Port Moresby, and formerly, Sapporo.[28] The SR variants, meanwhile, serve short-haul regional routes in Southeast Asia and other neighboring countries.
Philippine Airlines introduced their first Airbus A330-300 on July 30, 1997, with the delivery of the first aircraft, F-OHZM. It later acquired eight Airbus A330-300s as a replacement for their aging Airbus A300B4 fleet. These are primarily deployed in Asia and Oceania routes, as well as flights to Honolulu and Guam,[29] and domestic destinations such as General Santos, Cebu and Davao.
On August 28, 2012, Philippine Airlines ordered 10 new Airbus Airbus A330-300s,[30] but the airline later expanded its orders to 20 on October 1. The airline received its first A330-300 High Gross Variant (HGW) in September 2013. The newer A330s use a pair of Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, unlike the older General Electric CF6 engines that powered the earlier A330 fleet. The original fleet of eight A330s were transferred to PAL Express[31] until these were retired on August 31, 2014.[32]
On May 17, 2024, Philippine Airlines signed an agreement with Wamos Air to wet lease two Airbus A330-200s for use on flights to Sydney and Melbourne. These aircraft started operating on June 1, and the agreement was to take effect until October 31.[33] PAL has since extended the lease period to January 2025.[34]
On April 29, 2016, Philippine Airlines finalized its firm order of six Airbus A350-900s.[35] The contract firms up a memorandum of understanding announced during the 2016 Singapore Airshow on February 17.[36] It replaced the aging Airbus A340-300s that served North American and Asian destinations.
On July 14, 2018, PAL received its first A350-900.[37] On February 14, 2019, PAL took delivery of their fifth A350 with the iconic Love Bus decal to mark the 40th anniversary of their partnership with Airbus.[38]
The A350-900s, which have a three-class configuration (business, premium economy, and economy), are primarily deployed in the airline's ultra long-haul flights to cities such as New York and Toronto. The A350s are also used in regional Asian flights during peak seasons or when there is high demand in destinations such as Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo. PAL's A350s have a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 278 tonnes, enabling non-stop Manila-New York flights without payload limitations in either direction, a 7404nmi flight which began on October 29, 2018.[39]
On February 15, 2018, Jaime Bautista, then-president of the airline, expressed interested in the larger A350-1000.[40] Five years later, on June 20, 2023, PAL ordered nine A350-1000s with an additional three purchase rights. Deliveries will start from the fourth quarter of 2025 until 2027.[17]
On March 12, 2007, Philippine Airlines finalized the purchase agreement with Boeing covering the firm order of two Boeing 777-300ERs. It ordered two more three months later.[41] These are primarily used for long-haul flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto, and Seattle. It was also used for service to London and New York City, but was later replaced by the A350-900. They are sometimes deployed in Asian and Australian routes as well if the demand needs it.[42]
In 2009, the airline leased two Boeing 777-300ER to replace the former flagship Boeing 747-400 from GECAS.[43] The first Boeing 777 was delivered to PAL on November 19, 2009.[44] The airline currently has 10 777s in its fleet.[45]
In June 2019, Philippine Airlines planned to acquire the next-generation Boeing 777X to gradually replace their aging Boeing 777 fleet.[46]
| Aircraft | Total | Year Introduced | Year Retired | Replacement | Notes | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1979 | 2001 | Airbus A330-300 | [47] | |||
| 4 | 2006 | 2014 | Airbus A320-200 Airbus A321-200 | ||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 15 | 1995 | 2019 | Airbus A321-200 | Transferred to PAL Express. | ||
| Airbus A340-200 | 4 | 1996 | 1999 | Airbus A340-300 | Leased from AFS. | [48] [49] [50] | |
| Airbus A340-300 | 4 | 1996 | 1997 | None | Leased from Gulf Air. | ||
| 4 | 1997 | 2014 | Boeing 777-300ER | ||||
| 6 | 2013 | 2018 | Airbus A350-900 | Leased from AFS. Ex-Iberia aircraft. Last A340-300 operator in Asia. | |||
| Armstrong Whitworth Argosy C.MK 1 | 1 | 1976 | 1981 | None | [51] | ||
| BAC One-Eleven 400 | 4 | 1966 | 1971 | BAC One-Eleven 500 | |||
| BAC One-Eleven 500 | 13 | 1971 | 1992 | Boeing 737 Classic | |||
| 2 | 1941 | ||||||
| 1 | 1960 | ||||||
| Boeing 727-100 | 2 | 1981 | 1984 | Boeing 737 Classic | |||
| Boeing 727-200 | 2 | 1979 | 1981 | Boeing 727-100 | |||
| Boeing 737-300 | 15 | 1989 | 2008 | Airbus A320-200 | EI-BZG was destroyed by a fuel tank explosion. | [52] | |
| Boeing 737-400 | 3 | 2000 | 2007 | Airbus A320-200 | |||
| 9 | 1979 | 2001 | First four aircraft (N741PR through N744PR) were configured with 14 "Skybed" berths on upper deck until the 1990s. | [53] [54] [55] | |||
| Boeing 747-200M | 4 | 1988 | 1997 | EI-BWF was damaged by an explosive as part of a test run for Bojinka plot. | |||
| 4 | 1993 | 2014 | Boeing 777-300ER | RP-C7471 carried then Philippine president Fidel V. Ramos on its delivery flight. | |||
| Boeing 747-400M | 1 | 1996 | 2014 | Originally the second 747-400M of Kuwait Airways (registration 9K-ADF), which was cancelled by the intended airline in favor of Boeing 777's. | |||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter | 6 | 1955 | 1955 | Was primarily used for rural services in Mindanao (in-line with former president Magsaysay's policy) due to its STOL capabilities. Several were lost due to accidents. | [56] [57] | ||
| Convair CV-340 | 1950s | 1960s | |||||
| Douglas DC-3 | 14 | 1946 | 1978 | ||||
| Douglas DC-4 | 41 | 1946 | Douglas DC-3 | ||||
| Douglas DC-6 | 2 | 1946 | Douglas DC-8 | ||||
| Douglas DC-6B | 1 | 1952 | Douglas DC-8 | ||||
| Douglas DC-8 | 14 | 1962 | 1979 | Airbus A300 | |||
| Fokker F27 Friendship | 18 | 1960 | 1967 | Hawker Siddeley HS 748 | |||
| 11 | 1988 | 1999 | Airbus A320-200 | ||||
| Hawker Siddeley HS 748 | 21 | 1967 | 1989 | [58] | |||
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | 6 | 1974 | 1996 | Boeing 747-200B, McDonnell Douglas MD-11 | PH-DTC, PH-DTI, and PH-DTK were leased from KLM from 1974 to 1984. | [59] | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11CF | 2 | 1996 | 1998 | Airbus A340-300 Boeing 747-400 | Leased from World Airways. | [60] | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-11ER | 2 | ||||||
| NAMC YS-11 | 12 | 1972 | 1985 | Ex-Filipinas Orient Airways aircraft. | [61] | ||
| Short 360-300 | 8 | 1987 | 1999 | One crashed near to Iligan Airport. | [62] | ||
| Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer | |||||||
| Vickers Viscount | 4 | 1959 | NAMC YS-11A-600 |
The entire Philippine Airlines fleet of Airbus and Boeing jets were formerly maintained in-house at the PAL Technical Center, which consisted of two hangars. The hangars contained an engine overhaul shop, two engine test cells, and test shops. The responsibility of maintaining the fleet, as well as all the facilities, was subsequently transferred in 2000 to Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP), a joint venture of Hamburg-based Lufthansa Technik AG, a leading maintenance provider in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, and MacroAsia Corporation, one of the Philippines' leading providers of aviation support services and catering for foreign airlines, owned by Lucio Tan, the majority owner of PAL.[63] LTP currently maintains an eight-bay hangar and workshops occupying 110000sqm at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.[64]
Currently all A320 including all A321 aircraft that are already delivered and those to be delivered are being maintained by Lufthansa. PAL Express is the budget arm of PAL and has overtaken PAL in 2012 in domestic seats second only to Cebu Pacific (5J). On May 18, 2018, Philippine Airlines signed a deal with Lufthansa Technik Philippines to maintain its new Airbus jets for 12 years. The deal, which took effect on May 31, is estimated to be worth P13.6 billion ($260 million) during its lifespan.[65]