Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) is looking to retire its fleet of six A340-300s over the next three years airline Chief Executive Officer, Jaime Bautista, has said.
According to the Rappler business magazine, Bautista said the first of the A340s, which average 17.2 years of age, will be replaced with the carrier's incoming fleet of A350-900s, the first of which is now due in June as opposed to the previously announced March.
"We will start retiring some of the Airbus 340s, and hopefully by 2021 all the Airbus 340s will be retired from PAL's fleet," he said.
The A350s will be deployed on routes currently operated by the A340s which include Filipino trunk routes as well as those to Thailand, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
Concerning the A350-900s, PAL expects to add three more of the type in September, October, and November of this year followed by two more in March and June 2019.
"We will use it initially to regional destinations and in October, we plan to use it on the nonstop Manila to New York JFK route over the North Pole," Bautista said. Other potential destinations include Chicago O'Hare, Seattle Tacoma International, and one European destination.
Bautista said PAL would also add its six A321neo to its fleet this year with deliveries slated for March, April, and August. Featuring 168 seats, including 12 full-flat seats in business class, the twinjets will be used for nonstop services from Manila to Brisbane International as well as new ones to Sapporo Chitose in Japan, and Delhi International and Mumbai International in India.
