PAL Holdings, the parent company of Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) and PAL Express, plans to have 100% of its aircraft out of storage and back in the air by the end of 2023, PAL chairman Lucio Tan told a media event in Manila on March 15.
“We are expecting a continuing strong market recovery so there are plans in place to enhance and upgrade our fleet," said Tan, adding that the remaining parked planes should go back into service between now and 4Q 2023. ch-aviation fleets data reveals that three Philippines Airlines aircraft remain in storage, including one A320-200, one A320-200N, and one A321-200N, while two PAL Express DHC-8-Q400s, one A321-200, and two A320-200s also remain parked. All the aircraft are at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The same data show that Philippines Airlines presently has 45 active aircraft while PAL Express has 20 active aircraft. Several aircraft from both fleets are also presently out of service for maintenance purposes.
At the event to mark the airline's 82nd birthday, Philippine Airlines CEO Stanley Ng said that the pace of re-entry into service would depend on the availability of parts, some of which potentially could be held up by global supply chain challenges. He also added that the parked aircraft needed to be refurbished before returning to service. The majority of planes returning to service will deployed onto routes in and out of China.
"Supply chain is one of the biggest challenges. So, if we wanted to activate our aircraft, we are also dependent on the suppliers of engines as well as other spare parts," he said. "This year is important year for Philippine Airlines. We will make sure that we will be reliable and consistent first, that's the main focus now."
Beyond this year, Ng said that he hoped to increase the PAL Holdings fleet to around 100 aircraft by 2027 - similar to the pre-pandemic numbers. "There's so much opportunity especially moving forward... we cannot stay this way, we have to grow." Airbus order data shows that Philippines Airlines has seven A321-200s, thirteen A321-200Ns, and thirteen A330-300s on order there, while the Boeing orderbook reveals no outstanding orders from the carrier.
