Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has received assurance from European plane maker Airbus that its latest order for long-haul jets will be delivered on time.

PAL is gearing up to increase its flight frequency to North America toward the end of 2025, as Airbus commits to start bringing in the A350-1000s around that time.

PAL executive vice president and general counsel Carlos Luis Fernandez said the A350-1000s would begin arriving in its hangars by the second semester of 2025.

Aside from this, Airbus informed PAL it would deliver the first of the A321neos as scheduled in 2026. Fernandez said these aircraft orders - nine A350-1000s and 13 A321neos - are enough for PAL to throttle the business back to full strength in the aftermath of the pandemic.

'We have the A350s that will start coming in by the third quarter to fourth quarter of next year. We have been told that that is still on track. In 2026, we would have the first of the 13 A321neos coming in. So far, it is still on track, we have been assured of that,' Fernandez told The STAR.

On top of this, Fernandez said PAL is close to filling all of the seats for its maiden voyage to Seattle on Oct. 2, underscoring the strong demand for US flights among Filipinos.

PAL is set to become the first airline to connect the Philippines and the American Northwest, and the addition of Seattle flights strengthens the airline's hold of the North American market.

In the Philippines, the carrier owned by the Tan family corners almost half of the market for flights to the US and Canada, although recently its dominance has been challenged by the launch of more connections to North America from foreign carriers such as United Airlines.

For the year, Fernandez said PAL no longer intends to expand in new routes, postponing its plan to land in Sapporo again. However, he noted that as soon as Japan resolves its manpower issues in airports, PAL would consider resuming its Manila flights to Sapporo.

'The problem with Sapporo is the ground handling there. We had wanted to mount that since last year, but there is no ground handling company that can accommodate us. We have been pushing that back. Hopefully, at some point, the manpower issues in Japan get resolved,' Fernandez said.

PAL is spending as much as $450 million for capital expenditures this year, investing the bulk of the amount for in-flight upgrades in preparation for its expansion in the West, particularly Europe.

Recently, PAL received regulatory approval to bolster its capital stock to P30 billion, freeing up space for fresh investments that would support expansion.

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