Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) has chosen the A350-900 as a replacement for its outgoing fleet of A340-300s CAPA has said. According to the report, the Filipino carrier is "close" to committing to at least six A350-900s for delivery from 2017.
Of the order, an undisclosed number will be High Gross Weight variants which will enable PAL to start non-stop flights to the eastern part of the United States - New York JFK and Chicago O'Hare in particular. Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) has reportedly told PAL that it does not require the A350-900ULR which Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) is acquiring for its planned resumption of ultra longhaul operations in 2018.
A formal announcement is expected by the end of the current year.
Philippine Airlines' widebody fleet currently consists of fifteen A330-300s, six A340-300s, and six B777-300(ER)s.
