PAL shifts to bigger Airbus for Manila-Auckland flights

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has deployed the tri-class Airbus A330-343 aircraft on non-stop flights from Manila to Auckland, New Zealand to provide passengers with a better experience.

The refurbished A330 has 18 seats in the business class, 24 in premium economy and 267 in regular economy.

“The shift to the A330 on the Manila-Auckland route increases overall capacity by 22 percent, helping stimulate leisure and business travel,” the carrier said.

With the tri-class A330, passengers heading to Auckland will enjoy enhanced cabin amenities as PAL replaced the original 414 economy seats with three new cabin sections to have a more spacious cabin of only 309 seats which are all fully-equipped with in-seat video monitors and offer wider legroom.

PAL’s Manila to Auckland service is available thrice per week, with the flight leaving Manila every Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

The return flight, meanwhile, departs Auckland on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Auckland is the latest destination to be served by PAL using the A330.

PAL currently uses the reconfigured A330 to fly to other points such as Honolulu in Hawaii, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, Bangkok in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

By next month, PAL will be taking delivery of the Airbus A350 to be used for ultra-long-range routes to North America and Europe.

As part of its aim to achieve a five-star rating by 2020, PAL is modernizing its fleet and introducing a series of product and service innovations.

Earlier this year, PAL secured a four-star rating from air transport rating organization Skytrax.