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Philippine Airlines (PAL) has just taken delivery of its fourth Airbus A350-1000, registered as RP-C3513. The type currently flies to New York and Toronto, displacing Airbus A350-900s, but the type’s most recent new route is to San Francisco, gradually displacing the Boeing 777-300ER.
This was the carrier’s flagship aircraft, but the A350-1000 now serves this role, and it’s quickly becoming the airline’s default aircraft type for ultra-long-haul routes. With more of these incoming, the A350-1000 is slowly enabling PAL to revitalize its network. While the A350-1000 will replace the 777-300ER on select routes, the latter as a whole is sticking around.
These aircraft are relatively young and still perfectly capable machines, while the efficiency and range of the A350-1000 make it an extremely compelling aircraft for ultra-long-haul flagship operations specifically. Crucially, although the A350-1000s are taking the 777’s role as the airline’s flagship, they’re actually being used for growth, while the 777s are expected to remain in the fleet long-term.
Philippine Airlines & The A350-1000
Philippine Airlines first ordered the Airbus A350-1000 in 2023, agreeing to buy nine examples. This came less than two years after PAL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and the carrier disposed of four A350-900s after COVID. When taking into account other post-COVID fleet reductions, the A350-1000s are largely being used to restore cut capacity.
The airline has already taken four out of its nine A350-1000s, and these aircraft are being deployed on existing routes rather than launching new services. In July 2026, PAL placed a follow-up order for another nine A350-1000s, bringing the carrier’s total order to 18 examples.
Notably, the carrier is not planning to retire any widebodies as the A350-1000s come in, and while the planes are unlikely to be used to launch new services (due to their massive size), the airline may be using the displaced aircraft for expansion. This primarily means the A350-900s and 777-300ERs.
Philippine Airlines currently deploys the A350-1000 to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), in addition to some intra-Asia routes. The JFK and YYZ routes are Philippine Airlines’ two longest routes, and using the A350-1000 allows PAL not only to improve fuel efficiency compared to its 777s, but also to carry higher payloads due to the immense payload capacity of the A350-1000 even on ultra-long-haul services.
Inside PAL’s A350-1000s
The A350-1000 is Philippine Airlines’ newest widebody aircraft type, and this plane debuted the carrier’s latest interiors. In business class, the airline installs the Collins Aerospace Elevation, a popular reverse herringbone lie-flat seat model with direct aisle access and a sliding door.
Meanwhile, the airline installs the Collins Aerospace MiQ for premium economy and the ZIM ZP230 for economy. Because of how new these planes are, they feature large, modern screens and USB-C ports. These planes are configured with 42 business class seats, 24 premium economy seats, and 316 economy seats, for a total of 382 seats.
Aircraft And Economy Layout | Standard Economy Seat Width |
|---|---|
Airbus A330 nine-abreast Airbus A350 ten-abreast (pre-NPS) | 16.5 inches (41.91 centimeters) |
Boeing 777 ten-abreast | 16.9 inches (42.9 centimeters) |
Airbus A350 ten-abreast (NPS) | 17 inches (43.18 centimeters) |
Boeing 787 nine-abreast | 17.2 inches (43.69 centimeters) |
Airbus A330 eight-abreast Airbus A350 nine-abreast | 18 inches (45.72 centimeters) |
This is one of the densest A350 configurations in the world, and this is because Philippine Airlines configures these planes with ten seats per row in economy. The A350 is generally configured with only nine per row in economy, and only two airlines had previously installed a ten-abreast layout on the A350 in economy, which were the budget airlines French bee and Air Caraïbes. PAL’s A350-1000s are all NPS units, which means that they feature resculpted sidewalls and a wider cabin.
Airbus advertises that airlines can now install seats that are 17 inches (43.18 centimeters) wide in a ten-abreast layout, comparable to a Boeing 777. However, this requires narrow aisles and small armrests, which means that these planes are still quite tight. But while the cabin isn’t the most spacious, the economics of these planes are incredible, especially considering the size of the business class cabin.
The Role Of The 777-300ER
Most of PAL’s 777-300ERs are configured with 370 seats, while two aircraft that formerly flew with Garuda Indonesia feature 393 seats and non-standard interiors. The A350-1000 is slightly too small for some airlines to use as a 777-300ER replacement because it generally seats fewer passengers on account of its nine-abreast economy layout, but PAL’s ten-abreast configuration allows it to install more seats on the A350.
This is more remarkable when considering that PAL doesn’t install a premium economy cabin on the 777-300ER. The carrier doesn’t plan to phase out the 777-300ER, as these planes are relatively young and still capable. The carrier will be retrofitting its 777-300ERs with new interiors that will presumably include direct aisle access business class pods (present on the ex-Garuda 777s, but not PAL’s original 777s) as well as premium economy.
Currently, not a single 777-300ER flown by PAL features this cabin, but the popularity of premium economy means that the airline essentially needs it to increase profits. The A350-1000 and 777-300ER serve a similar role within the airline’s fleet in the sense that they’re more or less the same size.
However, the A350’s significant fuel burn advantage means that it will be taking over the carrier’s longest routes, while the 777-300ERs will be displaced onto shorter routes where the fuel burn impact is less severe. In the future, it’ll be the aircraft’s capacity that will determine how it will be used, which we can already see in the latest route that PAL has scheduled for the 777-300ER.
Where The 777-300ER Is Flying Today
PAL is primarily deploying the 777-300ER to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and SFO, although it will leave the SFO route as more A350-1000s arrive (the two types switch depending on the day). In addition, the 777-300ER is flown on routes within Asia, specifically to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG).
These are all high-volume destinations, and the A350-1000 is sure to eventually take over the North American services. In June, PAL also began deploying the 777-300ER on its nonstop services to Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH), flying alongside the Airbus A330.
Aircraft | Business Class | Premium Economy | Economy | Total Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Airbus A330-300 | 18 seats | 24 seats | 267 seats | 309 seats |
18 seats | 27 seats | 323 seats | 368 seats | |
Airbus A350-900 | 30 seats | 24 seats | 241 seats | 295 seats |
Airbus A350-1000 | 42 seats | 24 seats | 316 seats | 382 seats |
Boeing 777-300ER | 42 seats | N/A | 328 seats | 370 seats |
26 seats | N/A | 367 seats | 393 seats |
This route is much longer than the Bangkok and Shanghai flights, but not so long that using the A350 would result in dramatic cost savings like the North American routes. This was primarily done as a competitive response to Riyadh Air, whose own nonstop services to Manila are starting this September, using a Boeing 787. However, increasing capacity wasn’t the primary goal here.
PAL has two configurations for its Airbus A330-300 fleet, with one layout featuring a nine-abreast economy layout and lacking seatback entertainment. The latter is what PAL schedules to RUH, and this layout features 368 seats, just two fewer than the airline’s standard 777 configuration. However, the 777s feature seatback entertainment and a much larger business class cabin, demonstrating that this change is primarily about improving the product and upping premium capacity.
Philippine Airlines’ Growth Plans
Philippine Airlines has ordered 18 Airbus A350-1000s in total, which will fly alongside its ten 777s and two A350-900s. Because the 777s are set to be refurbished rather than retired, the airline will be significantly growing its long-haul operations, and we can already see this happening. PAL is increasing frequencies to JFK, YVR, and YYZ, while it will also launch new services to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in November, which will be flown with the A350-900.
With this, PAL will serve six destinations in the US and eight in North America. PAL does plan to retire its A330-300 fleet, which currently numbers 11 aircraft, and these aircraft will be replaced by the Boeing 787-10. The carrier will be buying 15 of these planes along with five options, totaling 20 units, which could result in even more growth if all options are exercised.
The A330s primarily fly within Asia and to Australia, but the 787-10 has better range than the A330-300, which means that you could potentially see the type used on longer routes than the A330-300s are used today. In addition to the widebodies, PAL has outstanding orders for 13 Airbus A321neos, which will again be used for growth.
The carrier has a massive home market but has been constrained in recent years by a lack of new aircraft. While some of the new aircraft won’t arrive for several years, the airline as a whole will be steadily growing, especially as the A330-300 is the only type that will be retired in the near future. This will permit PAL to expand frequencies systemwide and expand its network, as it’s already beginning to do today.
