Would PAL Be The First To Fly The A330neo Long Hauler?
Airbus has confirmed that its route-proving flights for the A330neo cover stations of major customers of the type, which include Brazil, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Reykjavik and Atlanta, respectively hubs for Azul Brazilian Airlines, AirAsia X, Garuda Indonesia, Wow Air and Delta Air Lines that has made commitment orders to the airframer.
The inclusion of Hong Kong, Manila and Bangkok on the Asian route-proving exercise intends to elicit additional orders from Cathay Dragon that operates some of the oldest A330-300s still in service, Philippine Airlines for its intended plane to Europe, Cebu Pacific for its propose plane to Honolulu in a high-density configuration, and Thai Airways replacement plan for its Boeing 777-200ERs.
Airbus declines to comment on specific customer discussions as reported by Flightglobal.
Airbus has 214 A330-900s on order including four assigned to an unidentified customer as of June 20, 2018.
The inclusion of Hong Kong, Manila and Bangkok on the Asian route-proving exercise intends to elicit additional orders from Cathay Dragon that operates some of the oldest A330-300s still in service, Philippine Airlines for its intended plane to Europe, Cebu Pacific for its propose plane to Honolulu in a high-density configuration, and Thai Airways replacement plan for its Boeing 777-200ERs.
Airbus declines to comment on specific customer discussions as reported by Flightglobal.
Airbus has 214 A330-900s on order including four assigned to an unidentified customer as of June 20, 2018.
Are the orders from PAL and CebPac legit or it is just a possibility that they will order the type?
ReplyDeleteAt this point I'd actually want the 787-8 with GE-NX engines for PAL. We don't wan't to put all our eggs in one (Rolls Royce) basket.
ReplyDeleteI originally wished for the a330-900 as as a replacement/augmentation to the a330 fleet. However there are plenty of long ranged flights PAL could open up that is too skinny even for the A350-900 and too long ranged to be cost effective for the 330NEO. Cebu to Europe and the East coast for example. One inch wider narrower seats maybe worth the trade-off if you get bigger windows and higher cabin pressure when traveling more than 12 hours.
Well, from what i can see, PAL would not gamble on an airframe that is considered an "orphan" in the fleet. 787 is a very good plane, but that would mean retraining pilots in order to fly it. Airbus to Boeing pilot certification will cost PAL money and time. The A330neo has 95% commonality with the current Airbus A330 fleet and training would not be a hassle.
DeleteIMHO the B787-8 is to small for PAL would probably prefer the B787-9 or B787-10.
DeletePretty much this. I want PAL to get 787s someday but sticking to Airbus for now makes more sense considering their reliance on Airbus planes and training commonalities. I'm not sure if the A330neo is the right fit for them considering their fleet is still pretty young; perhaps they might instead eventually consider Boeing's upcoming MOM or the A321LR for those thin routes.
ReplyDeleteI think CebPac could also be interested in the A330neo, but the thing is, they seem to be more interested in the 787, but their long-haul operations were loss making apart from Dubai and Australia, so the other routes were axed and now the A330s are mostly being used on regional flights instead. And speaking of their A330s, they're still pretty new and probably don't need to be replaced for at least 10 years or so.
Reports says that Airbus will going to release an A321XLR (eXtra Long Range) to compete with the up coming Boeing 797 in the MOM. As an Airbus user, PAL would rather choose the Airbus one due to commonality and lesser training cost.
ReplyDeleteAs for the A330neo, it is a great starter if PAL will get at least 5 units to complement the current PAL A330 in it's long range routes.
As for CEB, it is a great idea for CebPac to aquire the aircraft. Their current A330s @ 436 pax can't even reach Honolulu as well as payload restrictions in their Australian and Middle Eastern routes. With the 251ton A330neo, and if they will get the B787 @ 436 pax, it can reach Honolulu but cannot cross the Pacific. Also, there are lesser payload restrictions when going to Australia or Middle East. Just make sure that they reduced the number of seats to 400-410. Considering an "economy plus" will also be a great addition to CebPac.
The A330neo fanboy on Airliners.net is again thinking that PAL will order the A330neo soon. My god he's starting to get annoying. A330neo this A330neo that.
ReplyDeleteYou mean the A330-800 guy?
DeleteThe -800 is equivalent to the A330-200 which PAL didn't have since the 90's.
In economic terms, PAL prefers longer aircraft (like the A330HGW) which seats more passengers and has almost the same performance with it's shorter sibling.
Yeah, Devilfish. I have no idea why he likes the A330-800 so much. If he wants to be an A330neo fanboy, he could at least push for the A330-900 instead of the A330-800 that no one likes.
DeleteThough considering how the A330neo has been disappointing saleswise so far and how arguably it's already outmatched by the 787 and A350, PAL might be better off focusing on its A350 fleet, or getting some 787s for fleet commonality with their 777s. Or better yet, PAL should order the Boeing MoM and/or A321LR for their needs.
IMO I think the A321neo are already sufficient enough for PAL needs it can already fly to Australia and India and in fact PAL will start using the A321neo to SYD next month which will complement the A330-300. I think Boeing porposed MOM could work for PAL operation in AU and NZ since its a small wide-body jet with a seat count of 220-270 in a two-class configuration. However there one requirment that the Boeing MOM must feel not only to entice PAL but also other Asian carrier and its the ability to carry Pallet sized cargo in its belly which is one of the reason why the A330 where quite successful in the Asia-pacific region will habe to whait and see what will Boeing MOM look liked which will be lunched next year.
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