We took notice of a columnist on this popular spreadsheet saying that the aircraft used by Philippine Airlines are old gas guzzlers. We were taken aback by this statement because as far as everything is concerned, PAL utilizes newer aircraft after retiring their Boeing 747s and Airbus A340s which are 90s aircraft.
Then again, it’s best to always do our research properly before going on media to post. For the benefit of our readers, we now ask, are PAL planes really old gas guzzlers? We shall now break down the details.
Just some notes:
- We shall be including both PAL and PAL Express
- We will focus on the current fleet, both active and stored
Up to how old can airlines operate an aircraft?
Aircraft manufacturers build aircraft that can last for 30 to 40 years. On average, the lifespan of a commercial airplane is around 20 years, 51,000 flight hours, and 75,000 pressurization cycles. Each time an aircraft is pressurized during flight, its fuselage (main body of the airplane) and wings are stressed. The more times it goes through this cycle, the older it gets. Also, an aircraft below 10 years and considered somehow young. Many airlines keep airplanes for more than 10 years on average.
The current PAL and PAL Express fleet
Here are both active and parked aircraft of both PAL and PAL Express. We are also providing other data like the average age of the fleet of each airline and each aircraft fleet.
- Philippine Airlines: 66 aircraft with an average fleet age of 6.9 years
- PAL Express: 21 aircraft with an average fleet age of 7.8 years (A321s are counted in the Philippine Airlines fleet)
- If you will average both, the fleet age of both would be 7.3 years.
Philippine Airlines
Boeing 777-300ER
- 10 aircraft in the fleet.
- 6 are active, 4 currently parked due to pandemic.
- Average age of 7.5 years.
- First aircraft delivered in November 2009
- Last delivered in 2017
Airbus A350-900
- 4 aircraft in the fleet.
- Used to be 6 but two were returned to lessors
- Average age of 2.9 years
- 3 are active, 1 remains parked due to pandemic
- First aircraft delivered in July 2018
- Last aircraft delivered in April 2019
Airbus A330-300
- 15 aircraft in the fleet
- 8 are active, 6 are parked, 1 on long term storage at Alice Springs
- Average age of 7.5 years.
- PAL previously operated eight A330-301 from the 90s which were all retired in 2014.
- The present A330s in PAL fleet are A330-343 with a highter gross weight and Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines.
- First aircraft delivered in September 2013
- Last delivered in November 2014
Airbus A321neo
- 8 aircraft in the fleet
- 4 are active and 4 remain parked due to pandemic
- Average age of 2.7 years
- First aircraft delivered in May 2018
- Last delivered in February 2020
- 13 more aircraft pending for delivery but was deferred to later years
Airbus A321-200
- 22 aircraft in the fleet including those used by PAL Express
- Originally 24 after 2 were returned to lessors
- 11 are active and 11 remain parked due to pandemic
- Average fleet age of 6.7 years
- First aircraft delivered in August 2013
- Lase delivered in November 2016
Airbus A320-200
- 7 aircraft in the fleet
- 3 remain active and 4 are parked due to pandemic
- Average age of 12.1 years
- PAL operated a total of 26 A320s throughout its history
PAL Express
Note: This list excludes some of the aircraft under Philippine Airlines such as some Airbus A321-200.
A320-200
- Currently 7 in the fleet
- 5 are active and 2 remain parked due to pandemic
- Average age of 12 years
- PAL Express operated a total of 19 A320s. Many of them were replaced by larger A321-200s.
De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8
- 14 aircraft in the current fleet
- 10 remain active and 4 are parked due to pandemic
- Average age of 5.7 years
- Mix of Q400 and Q400NG
Indeed, it is not true that most of PAL’s aircraft are old gas guzzlers. With an average age of 7.3 years between both PAL and PAL Express, they operate a relatively young fleet! They also operate a mix of new generation fuel-efficient aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and the Airbus A321neo. To end this, allow us to compare the average fleet age of other airlines.
- Singapore Airlines – 7.2 years
- Cathay Pacific – 9.7 years
- Korean Air – 11.1 years
- Thai Airways – 8.3 years
- ANA – 8.4 years
- China Southern Airlines – 8 years
- EVA Air – 7 years
- Vietnam Airlines – 6.9 years
Sources: Airfleets.net and Planespotters.net
