This is great news for Philippine Airlines! Skytrax awarded PAL a 4 star rating on February 8, 2018.
Official statement from Philippine Airlines: https://www.philippineairlines.com/AboutUs/flypal4stars
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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,
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PAL will be phasing out their Airbus A340-300 fleet (leased from Iberia) in favour of 6 new Airbus A350-900, arriving from late this year,
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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,
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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?