Flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc said on Thursday it was considering whether to purchase or lease eight Boeing 787 or Airbus A350 XWB planes to allow it to fly non-stop to more destinations in the United States and Europe from Manila. The airline, owned by PAL Holdings Inc of business tycoon Lucio Tan, was also considering buying or leasing nine Q300 or Q400 Bombardier turboprops to replace ageing similar models in its fleet, said its president Jaime Bautista.
"The Dreamliner and XWB will be contributing to savings in fuel, savings in maintenance and will allow us to improve our product because we can fly non-stop to more destinations," Bautista told reporters, adding delivery could be in 2017 to 2018.