PAL expects delay in Airbus delivery

MANILA, Philippines -  Philippine Airlines (PAL) expects a delay in the delivery of 21 Airbus A321neo aircraft due to engine issues cited by the manufacturer.

PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista told reporters the A321neo will be delivered in January next year instead of November.

“There are some issues with the manufacturer with the engine. But we were given assurance by the engine manufacturer this will be fixed by next year so, our first aircraft delivery of the neo will be in 2018 January,” he said.

PAL has an existing order of 21 A321neos.

Bautista said the delay in delivery will mean pushing back the replacement of Airbus A320s being used by the airline.

He said about two to three A320s will either be sold or returned to the lessor.

For this year, he said PAL expects to take delivery of one Bombardier Q400 aircraft per month starting July until November.

PAL will use the Q400 airplane for domestic destinations. “We will use this for our Cebu hub to replace older Q400,” he said.

PAL expects to take delivery of the Airbus 350 next year for long-haul flights, according to Bautista.