Philippine Airlines plans to take delivery of six B777-300ER aircraft

Philippine Airlines announced (11-Sep-09) plans to commence taking delivery of B777-300ER aircraft from Nov-2009. [more] The carrier has six of the aircraft on order, two of which are to be leased, to be delivered in Nov-2009 and Jan-2010, while the remaining four will be delivered in Jun-2012, Nov-2012, Apr-2013 and Jun-2013 (Manila Times, 12-Sep-09). Delivery of the final four aircraft was delayed due to a Philippine aviation industry downgrade by the US FAA, preventing the carrier from launching new services to the US. The aircraft are being funded by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of the US and are to be deployed on long-haul services to Australia and the US. The carrier meanwhile expects a "slight" recovery in demand in 2010 and a full recovery by 2012.