Airbus lands over 110 aircraft orders from PAL, Cebu Pacific

The country's largest airlines have locked in an order of more than 110 aircraft from Airbus, but this could still fall short in serving the potential travel demand over the next two decades.

- By ELIJAH FELICE ROSALES

Airbus president for Asia-Pacific Anand Stanley told The STAR that Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines (PAL) are waiting for the arrival of over 110 aircraft based on their respective orders.

The Philippine order book covers all kinds of aircraft — from single-aisle jets A320 and A321, to widebody planes A330 and A350 — that can serve domestic, regional and long-range flights.

However, Airbus estimates the Philippine travel market to grow by seven percent yearly over the next 20 years, outpacing the five percent growth for Asia-Pacific and three percent for the rest of the world. As such, Airbus is gearing up for more orders from Cebu Pacific and PAL.

This is on top of the $24-billion purchase signed by Cebu Pacific last year for up to 152 aircraft, the biggest order in Philippine aviation history. It is also besides the nine A350-1000s and 13 A321neos that PAL is now waiting to be delivered.

"The backlog they have today and the number of existing and future fleets will not be enough to match the meteoric demand and growth needed from these carriers," Stanley said.