Philippine Airlines revamps inter-island fleet
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Philippine Airlines has finalised a deal that will improve its ability to serve domestic inter-island routes.
The national carrier has confirmed an order with Bombardier for up to 12 Q400 aircraft. This will see PAL become the launch customer of the new two-class, 86-seat version of the turboprop aircraft.
The order includes five firm order and options for a further seven aircraft, with a potential total value of US$401 million.
“The Q Series… has enabled us to develop our business model into one which efficiently meets our domestic route requirements while providing our passengers with a full service onboard experience,” said Jaime Bautista, PAL’s president & chief operating officer. “We are proud of our collaboration with Bombardier and welcome the first… two-class, 86-seat Q400 aircraft to our growing fleet.”
The new Q400s will start being delivered in 2017 and will help PAL compete more cost-effectively on inter- and intra-island routes around the Philippine archipelago. PAL’s main rival, Cebu Pacific, uses a fleet of ATR turboprop aircraft for these routes, but until now PAL only operated larger jet aircraft.
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