PAL deploys new fleet to US

MANILA — National flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has deployed its newest aircraft, Boeing 777-300ER, to make non-stop flights to the US mainland.
“We celebrate an important milestone–the retirement of our 747 fleet and the entry of our modern Boeing 777-300ER and the Philippines upgrade to Class 1 status,’ PAL President and CEO Ramon Ang said 0

“Indeed, it starts a new era for Philippine aviation sector and your flag carrier, Philippine Airlines. All these was made possible by the government led by Philippine President Aquino, in particular, the CAAP under the leadership of Gen. Hotchkiss and [Deputy Director General] John Andrews,” Ang said.
The Boeing 777 will be replacing PAL’s 20-year old B747-400s on the two daily trans-Pacific service as it retires next month.
Boeing 777 will be flying to San Francisco by June while it has already started flying to Los Angeles last May 3.
The fuel-efficient, twin-engine B777 jets offer a spacious bi-class cabin which are being deployed to Australia, Canada and London.
Boeing 777 boasts of having a bigger capacity than its predecessor with 42 seats in the business class and 328 in economy, all with in-seat video, a feature which manifests the aircraft’s state-of-the-art technology.
The new aircraft uses the world’s largest and most powerful commercial jet engine compared to the old fleet’s four engines. It has been known to be fuel-efficient especially on long flights which can fly as far as 7,930 nautical miles or equivalent to a non-stop flight from Manila to US and vice versa without refueling.
PAL expects to save US$120 million in fuel and maintenance costs by using the new aircraft to fly in US routes.
With the coming of PAL’s new fleet, Ang expects a lucrative fiscal year ahead for the airline.
“Moving forward, I believe we [PAL] will be profitable this year,” Ang said.