Boeing 777 fleet now PAL's new flagship

Aviation Updates Philippines - As Philippine Airlines retires its Boeing 747-400 fleet, the 747 passed the crown to the Boeing 777-300ER as its new flagship. The retirement of the 747s was a move for Philippine Airlines to save more from the fuel-efficient planes.

These Boeing 777s operate flights to Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Now that the United States Federal Aviation Administration upgraded the Philippines' safety rating to Category 1, the Boeing 777-300ERs will now be redeployed to flights to the US.

During the retirement ceremony of the Boeing 747, the airline announced the start of the Boeing 777-300ER service to San Francisco. 

Last May 3, Philippine Airlines started its Boeing 777-300ER operations in Los Angeles, flying seven times a week. The airline currently flies to Los Angeles 11 times a week.

Boeing delivered the first of Philippine Airlines' new flagship in 2009. The flag carrier originally ordered the planes for use in the United States, which was then hampered due to the Category 2 downgrade in 2008. This forced Philippine Airlines to operate the 777s in Canada and Australia.

The Boeing 747s offered their 35 years of service crossing the Pacific back and forth. Philippine Airlines operated a fleet of Boeing 747-200Bs in their early days until the Boeing 747-400s entered the fleet.

Philippine Airlines towards new destinations and planes

Ramon Ang announced that he would probably order new generation planes for Philippine Airlines. He is considering the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X.

Philippine Airlines is also preparing to launch flights to New York via Vancouver in October. Ramon Ang also considers Seoul and Tokyo as a possible stop-over for the flight to New York. 

The airline is also eyeing launching flights to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rome, and Paris for its European network expansion. However, things are still under wraps, pending market research.

Last November, Philippine Airlines launched its direct flight to London, flying five times a week.