Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) is putting four DHC-8-300s on the market, with CEO Stanley Ng telling Manila's Inquirer portal that the airline was no longer using them, and wants to divest of them in order to free up funds for new aircraft.
He said retaining the De Havilland Aircraft of Canada turboprops and not flying them amounted to holding onto a dead asset. "We have to liquidate those and invest in newer generation planes," he said. The sales campaign for the 56-passenger turboprops closely follows the airline's decision to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airbus to acquire nine A350-1000s
According to ch-aviation fleets data, the four DHC-8-300s, which were operated by the carrier's subsidiary PAL Express (2P, Manila Ninoy Aquino International), are RP-C3020 (msn 583), RP-C3016 (msn 653), RP-C3017 (msn 657), and RP-C3018 (msn 658). All the aircraft are parked at Angeles City Clark International Airport. The CEO suggests the aircraft represent a bargain for a potential buyer, given their age. The oldest, RP-C3020, is 21.42 years old, while RP-C3016 is 15.67 years old, RP-C3017 is 15.35 years old, and RP-C3018 is 15.26 years old. Ng says talks are underway with several potential buyers but there is no firm timeline for the sale process.
In his recent comments accompanying the release of its latest quarterly results, Ng said the airline is still transitioning out of the Covid-19 era, but the carrier's rapidly recovering revenues were enabling it to invest fleet upgrades, product improvements, and operational support. In terms of turboprops, Philippines Airlines is currently operating ten wet-leased DHC-8-Q400s, while PAL Express flies 12 of the type, seven of which are owned and five of which are at the airline on dry leases.
