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L to R: Boeing Commercial Airplanes SVP Brad McMullen, BCA CEO Stephanie Pope, PAL Holdings CEO Lucio Tan III and PAL CEO Richard Nuttall.
FARNBOROUGH—Philippine Airlines (PAL) has ordered up to 20 Boeing 787-10s, with the first scheduled to arrive in 2031, the carrier announced at the Farnborough Airshow July 20.
The aircraft—15 firm and five purchase rights—are intended to strengthen the carrier’s medium- and long-haul fleets.
Most of the new aircraft will replace roughly equal numbers of Boeing 777-300ERs and Airbus A330-300s in the current fleet, PAL CEO Richard Nuttall told ATW on the sidelines of the announcement. Delivery schedules will run from the early to mid-2030s, “If you look at our current medium-haul and long-haul aircraft, they gradually get to the end of their second 12-year period in that time,” Nuttall said.
The bulk of the order will be replacement aircraft, but there will be some growth in the fleet as more of the 787-10s arrive.
The new aircraft will predominantly serve routes currently operated by the A330s, Nuttall said, such as the Middle East, Australia and nearer North American destinations.
However, they will also be deployed on some regional routes, where airport capacity is becoming constrained and larger aircraft can make better use of limited runway slots.
A further factor in opting for the largest 787 variant was its underfloor freight capacity, Nuttall said: “Cargo is becoming more and more important [for us] and one reason for selecting the 787-10 was for its cargo capacity.”
An announcement on engine choice for the new aircraft will be made at a later date.
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