Philippines Airlines (PAL) plans to acquire more aircraft to normalize its operations and minimize disruptions.
In a statement, PAL said it will implement an adjustment to its flight operations to restore the normalcy of the schedules.
“To enhance efficiency and reduce aircraft servicing time, we are making changes to our maintenance procedures without compromising safety and aircraft reliability,” PAL said.
On June 21, PAL canceled eight international flights going to Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Guam and Japan, among others.
The flight cancellations are consequential to the grounding of several aircraft. Passengers of these flights were re-accommodated on the next available flights, rerouted or refunded.
“We are regularly reviewing our flight capacity to ensure that maintenance schedules are met,” PAL said.
PAL added it is undertaking specific measures which include actively seeking more sources of critical suppliers in the market, and leasing and acquiring additional aircraft to address the demand.
PAL said it is looking at acquiring an additional A321CEO in the first week of July. It is also finalizing lease arrangements for one additional Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 and one Airbus A330.
The airline also said an additional Airbus A320 is expected to return from storage in the first week of August.
These initiatives are on top of the acquisition of nine brand-new aircraft from Airbus, the A350-1000.
On June 20, PAL and Airbus signed a purchase agreement for the nine aircraft that will be used to fly nonstop services from Manila to North America, including to the East Coast of the United States and Canada.
PAL’s A350-1000 fleet will accommodate 380 passengers in a three-class layout, with separate cabins for business class, premium economy and economy class.
Prior to the pandemic, PAL has 98 aircraft, but it currently operates 69 aircraft. The nine new orders will bring its fleet count to close to 80 which will address the demand and its flight route network.
