Airbus won a $7 billion order on Tuesday from Philippine Airlines, beating Boeing to a deal marked by diplomatic lobbying as the European planemaker appeared close to another major Asian deal in China. The flag carrier plans to buy up to 100 new jets in total within the next five to seven years as it restructures operations to become a low-cost carrier and regain dominance of the local market from arch-rival Cebu Air Inc.
Those purchases would take its fleet to around 140 planes, far ahead of Cebu's 38-strong fleet, which it plans to double. Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it was still in talks with both Airbus and Boeing for its next tranche of planes.
For this stage of its fleet expansion, the airline has ordered 10 long-haul A330-300s and 44 jets from the A321 family, with delivery starting in 2013, Asia's oldest airline said in a statement. The A321s include 10 existing models and 34 of a fuel-saving version available from mid-decade, the A321neo. Industry sources said they expected some of these aircraft to replace older, less-efficient models, but most of the newly ordered aircraft would fuel expansion to counter Cebu Air, the country's largest budget carrier.
Comments
Comments are closed.