PAL Introduces "Pinnacle" Seats for 321 Refurb

25 November 2025

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is installing Pinnacle main cabin seat from Collins Aerospace Philippines, a subsidiary of Collins Aerospace.

The cabin refurbishment covers 18 of its existing A321ceo planes that should provide enhanced passenger comfort through its modern generation 3 in-flight entertainment system through modular design, balancing durability with optimized living space and modern passenger amenities to its existing fleet.

PAL old cabin seats were manufactured by Recaro which does not feature In-Flight Entertainment system.

“This collaboration between Collins Aerospace and Philippine Airlines represents a significant step forward for the Philippines’ aerospace industry. Expanding our main cabin seating production at our Philippines facility and installing these seats on the nation’s flag carrier demonstrates the world-class capabilities of our facility and the potential for growth in the local aerospace sector.” Mary DeStaffan, senior director of Operations at Collins Aerospace Philippines, said. 

“It is the first time that our locally-manufactured seating products will be used by the Philippine flag carrier. We are excited to continue growing our presence in the Philippines and contributing to the country’s position as a leading aerospace manufacturing hub,” she said.

Collins Philippines manufacturing facility began operation in 2012 and has produced a range of aircraft cabin interior products, including galleys, galley inserts, oxygen equipment, and lavatories. 

The refurbished cabins will put uniformity of amenities and product consistency to the airline's fleet of A321 to mirror its new variants of existing A321neos

PAL earlier perform  cabin modification for 15 aircraft covering 11 A320ceo, two A330-300ceo and two A350-900s. 

The cabin modification for 11 A320s covers the removal of existing business class seats and transform bi-class cabin into monoclass with seating capacity of 180 passengers.

The cabin modification for 2 A330s covers densification of fleet type getting additional 50 economy seats on 3-3-3 configuration from existing 2-4-2, to bring the total seat count to 359 intended for middle east flights and higher-density regional routes. 

The two remaining A350s also gain another two rows of economy by adding 18 seats for a total of 313 seats.

Meanwhile, PAL is extending its ‘Flight Hour Services’ (FHS) material programme with Airbus to cover its ageing fleet of A320 and A330 aircraft for additional 5 years lifespan, with  fleet technical management and full air-frame maintenance, as well as guaranteed parts availability to secure the operational reliability and efficiency of PAL’s widebody and narrowbody aircraft.

 

CEB Reinstates ILO-HKG

6 November 2024

Low Cost Carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) has resumed flights to Hong Kong from Iloilo Sunday evening last week as it flew  5J 242 taking off 11 p.m on Oct 27, 2024 with Airbus A320neo aircraft. The airline will fly four flights weekly from Iloilo to Hong Kong every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. The international flights were suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile CEB will also resume its direct flight to Singapore in November 25 as its second international destination.

 

 

PAF C-295 Breaks Nose Gear on Landing at BSO

 4 November 2024

Basco Airport was closed for traffic Friday after The Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-295 cargo transport aircraft with tail number 217 broke its nose landing gear and detached from plane while on landing roll on or about 3 p.m..

The aircraft delivered in 2023,  was conducting HADR (humanitarian assistance disaster relief) mission.

According to CAAP, the plane took off from Villamor Airbase around 2 p.m. bound for Basco Airport when its nose landing gear detached upon touchdown.

CAAP said the airport will be closed until November 3 after civil and military crash investigators complete their work on the cause of the gear separation, and the relocation of the plane to the apron for repair works by accredited maintenance provider contracted by Airbus Military as the new cargo plane is still on warranty.

PAL Bound To Pay For Every US Delayed, Re-routed Flight

 As US DOT Rules Becomes Effective October 28

1 November 2024 

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) habit of delaying flights to the United States and back to the Philippines on account of inadequate fleet is over as the U.S. Department of Transportation has worked through regulatory channels to implement stringent rules to strengthen consumer protection for U.S. air travelers, with the new rule taking effect on October 28th.

The DOT’s new rule (as published in the Federal Register) requires airlines to provide prompt, automatic refunds to passengers enduring “significant flight disruptions” and the rulebook also defines what that means.

This new requires airlines to compensate passengers when they cancel, delay or substantially change flights, requiring automatic refunds to be issued in cash (meaning check or wire), or to the original form of payment, within 20 days or less.

The Act was signed into law on May 16, 2024, after publication in the Federal Register of the Department's Final rule titled “Refunds and Other Consumer Protection.”

Even though carriers were able to make their own rules regarding when refunds are due until now, this era is over.

As per the DOT, when departure or arrival is delayed by three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights, passengers can request a cancellation and refund of the ticket without incurring any penalties.

Full refund, no more trip

I’d like to highlight that this doesn’t mean you can get a full refund and still take your flight. All this new rule mandates is that airlines no longer have the right to keep your money if they delay you and the passenger decides it’s no longer worth it to take the trip, also known as trip in vain.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement in April, when the agency first issued the new rule. “Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them — without headaches or haggling.”

“As soon as an affected passenger notifies the airline either through a representative at the airport, phone, or website data entry that due to delay, the trip is to be canceled and refunded, the refund process has to kick off. Without arguments or excuses.” Secretary Buttigieg added.

Buttigieg stressed that  “refunds have to be AUTOMATIC” after being told the passenger no longer wishes to travel due to the delay.

 

No more flight re-routing

There are also additional provisions for refunds in other disruptive circumstances, including departure or arrival from an airport different from the one booked (rerouting); connections at different airports or flights on planes that are not property mobility accessible to a person with a disability as well as an increase in the number of scheduled connections after a rebooking.

Passengers who pay for ancillary services such as inflight Wi-Fi or payable seat selection which become unavailable for any reason are due to be refunded.

Furthermore, Passengers with significantly delayed bags will also get checked baggage fees refunded.

Baggage Fee Refund
Under this provision, baggage fees for luggage delayed for more than 12 hours on a domestic flight or 15 hours on an international flight/itinerary have to be automatically refunded. However, passengers must first file a PIR (Property Irregularity Report), commonly known as a Mishandled & Lost Baggage Form. You would have to file such a report anyway to get your suitcases back in the first place.

This regulation applies to all carriers operating U.S.-connected itineraries.