Aerospace giant Airbus has secured a firm order from Philippine Airlines (PAL) for 54 aircraft, including its widebody A330 and its re-engined A321neo (new engine option).
The order provides a significant boost to the European group, which employs more than 4,000 people at its giant Filton, Bristol, plant where wings, fuel systems and landing gear for all its aircraft are designed. Many of Airbus’s orders over the past few years have come from the Far East, where passenger growth in rapidly-expanding economies has been stronger than in the recession-hit European and North American markets.
West firms in the Airbus supply chain, including industrial giant GKN’s Filton operations, which make
wing parts for Airbus, will also benefit from the order.
PAL is ordering 34 A321s, 10 A321neos and 10 A330-300s. The aircraft are being purchased under a major fleet modernisation programme at the airline, with deliveries starting in next year. The aircraft have a list price of $7bn (£4.42bn).
The single-aisle A321 aircraft will enhance the airline’s domestic and regional routes, as well as support alliances with its partner airlines. The widebody A330s operate on higher demand regional routes and longer range services to the Middle East and Australia. PAL will announce engine selections for all the aircraft at a later date.
PAL chairman Lucio Tan said: “The orders we are placing with Airbus will play a key role in revitalising PAL and growing trade and tourism in the country.
“With these aircraft we will be able to offer more passengers the best the industry has to offer across our Asia-Pacific network. At the same time, we will benefit from the low operating costs associated with new generation aircraft and the reduced impact on the environment.”
Airbus’s chief operating officer, customers, John Leahy said: “This announcement demonstrates once again the popularity of both the A320 family and the A330, which remain the leaders in their size categories in terms of operating economics, reliability and passenger comfort.”
The A321 is the largest member of Airbus’s best-selling A320 family of aircraft, which the planemaker says offers the lowest operating costs of any single aisle product line today. These costs will be reduced even further with the arrival of the neo, which offers additional fuel savings of 15%. More than 8,500 A320 family aircraft have been ordered and more than 5,200 delivered to 365 customers and operators worldwide.
The A330 is one of the most widely-used widebody aircraft in service today. Airbus has recorded more than 1,200 orders for the various versions of the aircraft, with some 900 now flying with 90 operators worldwide.
