PAL 747s to retire on Monday

Aviation Updates Philippines - Philippine Airlines is set to retire the four aging fleet of Boeing 747-400s on Monday, replacing them with more fuel-efficient Boeing 777-300ER that is now being used in the US routes as the Federal Aviation Administration lifted us back to Category 1.

Philippine Airlines' President, Ramon S. Ang, in a text message sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said that the retiring ceremony of the four planes would be held on May 12 at the Villamor Airbase. Boeing 747s have been used in short-haul to long-haul flights since the 1990s.

Previously, Philippine Airlines retired one Boeing 747-400, RP-C8168 now being scrapped. RP-C8168 had many problems in maintenance, forcing Philippine Airlines to withdraw it earlier. A trusted source said that the four Boeing 747s were already sold.

Ramon Ang announced in the ceremony that Philippine Airlines would start Boeing 777-300ER flights to San Francisco on July 1 daily. The airline is scheduled to operate Boeing 747 flights from Manila - Xiamen on May 23 on a one-time basis, although this remains subject to change. Philippine Airlines Boeing 747-400 will operate the final flight on June 30 on the Manila to San Francisco route.

ABS-CBN News said that Philippine Airlines would likely order more Boeing planes following the retirement of twenty aircraft, including the four Boeing 747s.

Philippine Airlines would probably order a more fuel-efficient Boeing 777-300ER, as Boeing officials will be at the ceremony.

Ramon Ang previously said that they were considering more Boeing 777s or the Airbus A350, which will take time to be delivered.

Following the retirement, Philippine Airlines would save more from fuel-efficient planes as the Boeing 747s were "gas guzzlers."

In the 1970s, Philippine Airlines was envisioned as one of the best in Southeast Asia. Therefore, PAL ordered four Boeing 747-200B to be used in the trans-Pacific flights. The first jumbo jet arrived in December 1979, taking over the trans-Pacific routes previously operated by the DC-10 on January 4, 1980. After three months, the jumbo jets were utilized in all US flights.

Philippine Airlines is currently operating 53 planes, comprising six Boeing 777-300ER, four Boeing 747-400, eight Airbus A340-300, thirteen Airbus A330-300, twelve Airbus A320-200, four Airbus A319-100, and six Airbus A321-200.