LEGACY carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is spending $80 million (P3.96 billion) to reconfigure eight of its Airbus A330s to cater to the growing demand for premium- and business-class flight services, the president of the company said late on Tuesday.
Jaime J. Bautista, who also sits as the COO of the airline, said his group has already completed one retrofitted aircraft, and will complete the last seven by year-end. From being mono-class aircraft, all eight planes will be reconfigured into 309-seater tri-class models, with business, premium-economy and economy-class sections.
“Each reconfigured aircraft costs $10 million each. We have completed one, and we have seven more remaining. These should be completed by December,” he said in an interview.
The eight reconfigured aircraft will be used for its flights from Manila to Honolulu, Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore, Haneda, Narita and Osaka.
“In Philippine Airlines, we aim to please. This inspired us to go through the process of providing our passengers a reconfigured aircraft with meticulous seat and IFE selection. As we journey on to become a five-star, world-class, full-service carrier with a heart, we devote our efforts toward meeting customer needs,” Bautista added.
The airline is looking at raising its Skytrax airline rating from three stars to five stars by 2020. This year, Bautista said, the airline aims to become a four-star carrier.
PAL selected the Thompson Vantage XL brand for its 18 business-class seats with a legroom of 44 inches, width of 23 inches to 24 inches and a full-flat recline with a bed length of 78 inches. Seats on this section have an all-aisle access.
The Zodiac 5810 brand was selected for the 24 premium economy-class seats with a legroom of 38 inches, width of 19 inches and a recline of 8 inches, while the Economy Zodiac brand was chosen for the 267 economy seats with a legroom of 32 inches, width of 17 inches and recline of 6 inches. An added feature on business class is the installation of the Pneumatic Comfort System (PCS), which allows the passenger to adjust seat firmness according to preference, complimented with the massage function. PAL is the first Asian carrier to offer the PCS.
Each seat on business and premium economy has a leg rest, calf rest, footrest and coat hook.
Passengers on both cabins have the option to charge their devices by way of the USB port or in-seat power supply installed on their seats. For the economy-class cabin, standard seats are equipped with USB ports while facility seats have in-seat power supply. Each seat has a headrest, literature pocket, fabric-seat cover and comfortable cushioning.
Other unique seat features on business class include a head-phone hook, capiz-like side decor and footwell with mood lighting. The walls of each cabin have laminate designs with the barong concept, highlighting a popular Philippine fabric and giving the cabin interior a warm and cozy ambience. RAVE’s Audio-Video-On-Demand (AVOD) in-seat system will give passengers access to a wide selection of media content via touch-screen monitors measuring 18.5 inches in Business, 13.3 inches in Premium Economy and 10.1 inches on economy.
The aircraft is also equipped with myPAL Wi-fi allowing passengers to surf, browse and stay connected.
Lorenz S. Marasigan and Charlotte D. Furigay