Philippine Airlines to add 9 Airbus A350-1000s to fly some of the world’s longest routes

Philippine Airlines signs Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for the purchase of nine A350-1000s with the aim of deploying them on non-stop services connecting Manila with the east coast of the United States and Canada, complementing its fleet of two A350-900s already flying to North America, Asia, and Australia.

Philippine Airlines President and CEO, Stanley K. Ng, stated that, with a range of 16,100 kilometers, the A350-1000s will enable them to fly transpolar and transpacific routes in both directions throughout the year, some of which will be the longest in the world, such as Manila – New York and Manila – Toronto, in addition to resuming non-stop operations in Europe.

«The A350-1000 combines greater range capability with the higher capacity we need to serve future demand. It’s the perfect aircraft to enable PAL to meet its expansion plans in a sustainable way, while offering passengers the highest levels of onboard comfort. We are committed to offering our passengers the best possible travel experience, and these state-of-the-art aircraft will enable us to do just that as we carry out our mission to connect the world, and grow trade and tourism», added the executive.

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer, said, «Flying passengers farther and in greater comfort, the A350 brings a step-change in fuel efficiency and an immediate significant contribution to reduced emissions. These are the attributes that have made the A350 the choice of leading airlines worldwide. We look forward to working closely with our long-standing customer Philippine Airlines as it moves forward with its long haul fleet modernization programme.»

According to Airbus, by the end of April, the A350 family had accumulated 928 firm orders from 54 airlines. 540 aircraft are already in service.

Philippine Airlines’ fleet consists of 13 A320s, 21 A321s, 8 A321neos, 10 A330-300s, 2 A350-900s, 9 Boeing 777-300ERs, and 11 DHC-8-400s.

The longest routes in the world

According to information obtained by Aviacionline through Cirium, these are the ten longest routes in the world (in kilometers) scheduled for May:

1. 1. Singapore (SIN) – New York (JFK) – 15,268 km: operated by Singapore Airlines with Airbus A350-900
   2. Singapore (SIN) – Newark (EWR) – 15,263: operated by Singapore Airlines with Airbus A350-900
   3. Perth (PER) – London (LHR) – 14,465 km: operated by Qantas with Boeing 787-9.
   4. Melbourne (MEL) – Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – 14,441 km: operated by Qantas with Boeing 787-9.
   5. Auckland (AKL) – New York (JFK) – 14,183 km: operated by Air New Zealand with Boeing 787-9.
   6. Dubai (Dubai) – Auckland (AKL) 14,178 km: operated by Emirates with Airbus A380.
   7. Singapore (SIN) – Los Angeles (LAX) – 14,095 km: operated by Singapore Airlines with Airbus A350-900.
   8. Bangalore (BLR) – San Francisco (SFO) – 13,987 km: operated by Air India with Boeing 777-200LR.
   9. Sydney (SYD) – Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) – 13,790 km: operated by Qantas with Boeing 787-9.
   10. Manila (MNL) – New York (JFK) – 13,700 km: operated by Philippine Airlines with Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777-300ER.