Philippine Airlines to fly A350 to New York

Philippine Airlines’ soon-to-be non-stop service between Manila and New York JFK looks to be the latest route set to get the carrier’s upcoming Airbus A350-900, with the service due to be operated by the aircraft from November 4, 2018, Airline Route revealed yesterday.

The development follows news on Tuesday that the airline plans to begin flying the aircraft on its Manila-London Heathrow route beginning October 28.

Philippine Airlines’ Manila-New York JFK route is currently operated as a one-stop service, transiting in Vancouver.

But when the carrier announced back in April that it would be cutting out the Vancouver stopover from the route at the end of October, turning it into a non-stop flight, it came as a surprise that it was the airline’s Boeing 777-300ER, and not its upcoming Airbus A350-900, that was earmarked to fly the route.

This was despite the airline having previously stated the A350 was being brought on to fly routes to North America, specifically the US East Coast, as well as Europe.

The upgauge to an A350 is notable for travellers. Not only is the aircraft a quieter aircraft aloft (compared with the B777-300ER), it will also feature different amenities and seating.

Notably, this includes the latest flatbed seating configured in a 1-2-1 layout – a significant improvement over the B777-300ER’s 2-3-2 setup.

The A350 will also sport a new premium economy cabin laid out in a 2-4-2 configuration, while its economy class will be nine-across compared with the B777-300ER’s 10-abreast seating.

Overall, the A350 is set up with 30 seats in business class, along with 24 in premium economy and 241 in economy. This is fewer than the B777-300ER – about 80 seats fewer – though overall the upgrade will undoubtedly be seen as a positive one.

Along with the new aircraft, Philippine Airlines also looks set to add a fifth weekly flight to its New York service, Airline Route reports, though the schedule currently on the carrier’s website for flights beyond November 5 still lists just four weekly flights.

Philippine Airlines has yet to take delivery of its newest aircraft, though its first A350 did recently complete its maiden flight at the Airbus industrial facility in Toulouse, France.

The airline is set to take delivery of its first A350 on July 14.