Philippine Travel Blog

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has increased its planned B777-300ER fleet to a total of six aircraft - four on firm order and two on lease - by exercising its purchase rights on two option aircraft that were part of the original order placed in Oct-06.

Separately, PAL also signed a letter of intent with GE Commercial Aviation Services for the lease of two B777-300ERs.

Deliveries will commence in the third quarter of 2009 and until 2011.

“Our future fleet of B777-300ERs will allow PAL to enhance its passenger service to the US, while providing superior efficiency in our operations,” said President Jaime Bautista.

The decision to acquire the two-class B777-300ERs, PAL’s first new widebody aircraft model in 12 years, signals the long-anticipated modernisation of the airline’s long-range fleet.

It follows on the heels of a similar upgrading of PAL’s single-aisle fleet, which started last Sep-06 with the arrival of the first of 20 new A320-family aircraft. Six of those aircraft are already in service and four more are arriving this year.

PAL’s widebody fleet currently comprises 17 aircraft: five B747-400s, four Airbus A340-300s and eight Airbus A330-300s.

About Philippine Airlines

The Philippine airlines are one that is also known as PAL and does service worldwide destinations. The Philippine airline is one of the oldest airlines that remain after the global changes in fuel costs, and in the rising safety concerns. The Philippines airlines services over fifty different destinations, some internationally. Manila is the home of the Philippine airlines. Direct competitors for the Philippine airlines are those from Japan and from China. Thousands fly the Philippine airlines weekly, making this one of the larger competitors in the worldwide market when you are thinking about airline travel.

Philippine airlines has been servicing flying needs since the early 1940’s making it Asia’s oldest airlines and one of the oldest in the world as well. There was a group of businessmen who started this airline, to service their own business traveling needs, and then as the needs increased to make a profit, the Philippine airline opened transportation to the paying public.

The Philippine airlines continually services the public needs. In history, the Philippine airlines had faced interruptions and shut downs during World War II. The first planes that were used in the Philippine airline company where the Beech Model 18 and the Douglas DC 3’s. These were some of the oldest airplanes, and are not used today. The Philippines airlines were the first to cross the Pacific. They did this by transporting a few Americans to California in the late 1940’s. Philippine airlines was the first to transport people between Manila and San Francisco, which was a very big accomplishment in that time of history when flying was still young compared to what we have today.

During the late 1970’s, the plane was redesigned and Philippines airlines expanded with the use of the Boeing 727, and the Boeing 747. The plane that was also known as the love bus was introduced into the fleet of the Philippine airlines, which was the Airbus A300. Airlines in Singapore always seemed to be just one step behind in attaining the planes and in expanding fleet services.

In the 1990’s the Philippine airlines was moved and sold to a company. Previously the Philippine airlines were a company, an airline that was controlled by the government. In the later years of 1990’s the first Airbus A340 was put into action in the Philippine airlines, and would expand that airlines ability in flying even further. During the early years of 2000, Philippine airlines had faced hard times, and were facing shut down. But, the company has rebounded, and continued to fly the skies every since as passengers were able to book flights online, and find tickets that were competitive on the Philippine airlines compared to other airlines that service the same areas.

During the early years of 2000, the Philippine airlines began servicing additional locations in the US, such as in Las Vegas. This allowed travelers additional choices in flying and making Philippine airlines one of the favorites, known more locally as PAL instead of the long name of Philippine airlines.

Written by Reidar Aas, webmaster and author of http://www.airlinebest.biz