PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) has placed a firm order for 54 new Airbus aircraft at a combined list price of US$7 billion, according to Agence France-Presse.
Airbus confirmed that the order was for 34 single-aisle A321 ceo planes, 10 of the newer A321 neos and 10 longhaul A330-300s. Delivery is scheduled to commence in 2013.
“The orders we are placing with Airbus will play a key role in revitalising PAL and growing trade and tourism in this country,” PAL chairman, Lucio Tan, said in a statement.
The fleet overhaul comes after a change in management earlier this year, when San Miguel Corporation purchased a 49 per cent stake in PAL and its low-cost subsidiary Airphil Express for US$500 million (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 5, 2012).
At a press conference announcing the deal, PAL president, Ramon Ang, said the carrier was planning to acquire 100 new aircraft in total, 26 of which will be long-range, wide-body planes.
