PAL adds ex-Garuda Indonesia Boeing 777 to fleet

Dirk Andrei Salcedo6 months Ago1 Mins read314

The inaugural Philippine Airlines flight to London-Heathrow, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER (RP-C7773), touches down on Runway 27L. (Photo by Simon Boddy, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

National flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is set to add a former Garuda Indonesia Boeing 777-300ER to its fleet through a long-term lease arrangement.

This addition comes as PAL prepares to return another Boeing 777, registered RP-C7776, to its lessor upon the expiration of its lease agreement.

The new entrant, bearing manufacturer serial number (MSN) 29146 and line number 1141, will be registered as RP-C7783. It is a 10.4-year-old Boeing 777-3U3ER built at the Everett facility and had its first flight on October 3, 2013.

Originally delivered to Garuda Indonesia in October 2013 with the registration PK-GID, the aircraft was configured with 8 first-class, 38 business-class, and 268 economy-class seats. It was initially leased from Guggenheim Aviation Partners until October 2016, when Altavair AirFinance took over the lease.

In June 2017, the aircraft was reconfigured to a two-class layout with 26 business-class and 367 economy-class seats. It remained in service with Garuda Indonesia until it was withdrawn from use in October 2021 and subsequently stored at Jakarta and Valencia until August 2023.

SGI Aviation, acting as the exclusive remarketing agent on behalf of an American client, successfully concluded the delivery of the widebody jet to PAL.

Paolo Lironi, Chief Executive Officer of SGI Aviation, described the deal as “a fantastic opportunity for Philippine Airlines to deploy extra lift in these challenging times full of supply chain hurdles, for their customers on their growing international network.”

Ted van Zundert, SVP Remarketing at SGI Aviation, stated:

This was the first aircraft delivered to PAL by SGI on behalf of our American client, it will be followed by her sistership MSN 29147 in the near future, both sisterships will be added to our managed portfolio as they have been placed on a long term lease.

The second Boeing 777, MSN 29147, is also an ex-Garuda Indonesia aircraft originally delivered in 2013. The aircraft exited the Indonesian airline’s fleet in 2022 to return to its lessor.

The aircraft is due for delivery to the Filipino carrier shortly.

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Dirk Andrei Salcedo

An aviation enthusiast turned creator of the top aviation news portal in the Philippines, Dirk has a deep passion for everything that flies. When he's not keeping his finger on the pulse of the industry, he also volunteers with a major humanitarian organization, impacting people on the ground and in the sky.