PAL’s Winning Edge

Northern Mindanao Chronicle,
September 9-15, 1998
TRAVEL

The deployment of younger domestic fleet by Philippine Airlines gives it the extra edge over the competition.

PAL’s airplanes, averaging three and a half years old for the domestic fleet, offer passengers more seats and shippers more cargo space.

When the airline completes its fleet plan under the rehabilitation program, the domestic fleet shall consist of the medium-to-long-haul jet Airbus A330-300; the single-aisle A320-200; and the current domestic mainstay Boeing 737-300.

These airplanes clearly edge the competition in aircraft age. The “newest” aircraft by any of the other domestic airlines – the Dash 7s – is 16 years old (built in 1982); while PAL’s A330 and A320 are both one year (manufactured in 1997). The B737 averages eight years old (manufactured between 1988-1993). Even the A300s, which will soon be replaced by the A330, are younger at 13 years old.

PAL’s new airplanes already represent a significant improvement against the former domestic fleet. For instance, the B737 carry 161% more passengers against the 54-seater Fokker 50 turbo-props which are used on the missionary routes.

Moreover, there are 15 more seats in the A320 than the B737. The A320, known as the most popular single-aisle aircraft in its category, can even haul 10 tons more of cargo than the B737 and 25 tons more than Fokker 50.

The A320 is the only single-aisle aircraft that used LD3 cargo containers compatible with wide-body airplanes used for international flights. This feature alone makes PAL highly favoured over the competition in terms of cargo capacity which is essential to the shipment of perishable farm and sea products.

Definitely, the added passenger and cargo capacity of the A330 and A300 stretches PAL’s advantage further over the competition. These jets are mainly used on regional flights and deployed only on domestic sectors with high passenger and cargo traffic.

With customer confidence rapidly returning, PAL hopes to hasten its rebuilding process with a domestic fleet that caters not only to the travel needs to passengers but also to the requirements of an economic recovery in the countryside.