PAL recently refurbished 8 of their 15 Airbus A330-300s to a ‘tri-class’ 2-4-2 layout, allowing passengers to fly business (flat bed) or premium economy on international routes to destinations such as Sydney and Honolulu,
PAL has modernised their entire fleet since 2014, ordering an entirely new fleet of Airbus A330-300, 4 Boeing 777-300ERs with new Panasonic IFE, over 20 A321s, over 20 A321neos and 5 new Bombardier Q400s for PAL Express,
And PAL has phased out almost all A320s, their entire A319 fleet and is still continuing to phase out their A340s in favour of newer aircraft and a streamlined fleet, allowing the airline to serve new international destinations.
“This 4-Star Airline rating is a mark of quality distinction that recognises excellent standards of Product and Staff service across different assessment categories for both the Onboard and Airport environment. Commenting on the 4-Star Airline Rating awarded to Philippine Airlines, Edward Plaisted of Skytrax said: “this recognises the great improvements that the airline has introduced over the last 2 years, both in terms of product change and development and enhancement of the front-line staff service. New and retrofitted aircraft have played an important part in the quality improvement process, and this looks set to develop further when Philippine Airlines introduce the A350 into their fleet. We look for consistency of quality in the 4-Star rating, and we now entrust Philippine Airlines to ensure this is duly delivered to customers.” - Skytrax
“This is a big win for the Philippines. We are elated by this recognition which is a victory for the more than seven thousand members of the Philippine Airlines family. Our achievement is the country’s achievement and we share this with all Filipinos around the globe.” - PAL Chairman & CEO Dr. Lucio Tan
PAL has been trying to achieve this rating since the Asian Financial Crisis, when PAL’s fleet and network was dramatically reduced. PAL has only recently reintroduced itself to Australian, American, Middle Eastern and European markets. What is your experience with PAL - do they deserve this 4 star rating? Opinions?
I have learned not to trust Skytrax after LH getting 5 stars with a product coming out 3 years later.
Sure PAL is stepping up their game but there’s still a level between PAL to some other 4 star airlines(Emirates, Air NZ, China airlines(A350 and 77W in particular)).
Yeah, I guess you could say PAL was awarded 4 stars for their A350s which are arriving late this year. Here is a look at PAL’s new 777 cabin:
They received 2 new 777s a few months ago.
Nice, apparently those old A340s don’t have seatback IFE which is pretty old school. So glad to see they will be gone soon. Most people don’t realise they’re leased from Iberia, the cabin does not look anything like PAL’s other aircraft.
Yes, the back of the seats in it didn’t even have touchscreen TVs. They handed out iPads😂😂.
And now for some useless information, I went on this flight 2 days after the Malaysian airlines 777 was shot down. All Philippine airlines did was do a 20 Km radius around where it was shot.🤷♂️
Oh yes, the iPads. That’s pretty scary flying only 20ks away from MH17s crash site. Are you sure about that? Not being biased or anything, but from what I’ve watched PALs pilots are very skilled.
I wonder if many airlines were flying around that same location?
PAL has always been on of those airlines in Asia I can trust. The Asian market has been ridiculed with budget airlines which has given it a bad name. Quite glad PAL got this 4 star, they’re one of the few good Asian airlines
100% agreed. This rating proves they were worthy of being in Skytrax’s Top 10 Most Improved Airlines last year. They have an incredible safety record as Asia’s first airline, after 77 years in the air.
Yes i am sure, i could see where we were on the map on the Ipad, and as we got very close to the shooting area i felt a slight turn to the left, then 5 mins later a slight turn to the right. I could see the curve in the flight line on map afterwards. Yes, you are right, PALs pilots are very skilled but isn’t it the airline that tells them who to do the flight plan? Just wondering. But i have to say, the landing was beautifully done considering the strong crosswind.
Nice to hear that PAL is getting 4 stars from Skytrax. Hopefully this improved rating can motivate PAL to keep improve their service, and also improve their customers trust with PAL 😊
