PAL welcomes first A321
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Philippine Airlines (PAL) has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321.
The new single-aisle aircraft was handed over to the airline last week in a ceremony at the Airbus factory in Hamburg. It becomes the first of 64 new Airbus jets ordered by the airline in 2012, under a major fleet modernisation programme. These include 44 A321s and 20 A330s.
The A321 is the extended version of the narrow-body A320 series of aircraft, and comes equipped with 199 seats in two cabins – 12 in business class and 187 in economy. The airline said it will operate its new A321s “primarily on international routes across the Asian region, as well as on selected domestic flights”.
“We are excited about the A321 not only because its size fit our expansion plans, but the flexibility it gives us in matching the aircraft to specific route requirements is tremendous,” said Ramon Ang, PAL’s president & CEO. “With the A321 we will be able to add capacity without compromising comfort, offering our passengers a choice between full premium class and a great range of value fares.”
The A321 joins PAL’s fleet of four smaller 134-seat A319s and 18 standard 150-seat A320s. The carrier also operates eight A330s and six A340s, plus five Boeing 777s and four B747-400s.
PAL will also take delivery of the first of its 20 new A330s in the third quarter of the year, and is also planning to add four A340s to its fleet later this year, for the launch of its European services.
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