“The aircraft is a game changer in the industry.

The delivery of the first of six orders of its Airbus A350-900, the “most advanced and most complete” in the aircraft industry, is a milestone for four-star carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL).

PAL has about 60 Airbus planes in its current fleet, its president and chief operations officer Jaime J. Bautista told the Daily Tribune.

The brand new aircraft will be its biggest to date, seating 295 passengers for long-haul flights to the United States and Europe.

“Its body is a little longer and it is able to fly on longer trips with no payload penalty, which is good, revenue-wise,” Bautista said at the turn-over ceremonies held recently at the Airbus Delivery Center in Toulouse, France.

PAL accepted delivery of its first Airbus A350 — the new flagship of the airline’s long-haul operations — on Friday, 14 July 2018.

“I am proud and happy to welcome the Airbus A350 fleet to the PAL family. The aircraft is a game changer in the industry with its greater range, lower fuel burn emissions and lower operating costs,” Bautista said in his speech during the delivery dinner hosted by Airbus at the Toulouse Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art on 13 July.

“This aircraft utilizes advanced technology and top-notch design for improved operational performance and will be assigned to premium routes and will thus address the need for comfort, convenience and efficiency,” he added.

For his part, Airbus chief commercial officer Eric Schulz cited “the strong working partnership between Philippine Airlines and Airbus through the years” as he emphasized “the all-new efficient design which includes the latest technologies improving operational performance burning 25 percent less fuel and generating 25 percent less CO2 emissions.”

Spaciousness is the main feature of the new aircraft, which PAL officials say sets “a new standard by allowing the flag carrier to fly nonstop almost halfway around the world on the longest routes ever to be served by a Philippine carrier.”

According to Bautista, the plane has more “range and efficiency” because of “its all-new design and state of the art technology.”

The Airbus 350-900 is part of the Airbus350 XWB, the French aircraft manufacturer’s all-new, mid-size, long-range aircraft family characterized by an extra wide body.

The fuselage encompasses a 221-inch wide cabin which gives all cabin classes generous space and 18-inch width seat space in Economy.

The new PAL aircraft has three classes: Business (four abreast with a 1-2-1 configuration which means all seats here are aisle seats); Premium Economy (eight abreast with a 2-4-2 configuration), and Economy (nine abreast with a 3-3-3 configuration).

There are 30 Business class seats, with PAL trumpeting that seat pitch is at 44 inches and seat width is up to 24 inches. The seat – which reclines to a full-flat bed measuring 78 inches in length – has an adjustable air cushion to adjust seat firmness, lumbar massage feature, additional storage for personal items, power ports and augmented reading lights.”

The Premium Economy class has 24 seats in an exclusive cabin. “Seat pitch is at 38 inches and seat width is at 19 inches. Premium Economy seats – which have a recline of up to 8 inches – are equipped with leg-rest and footrest, additional front pockets for personal items, bottle holders, reading lights and power ports.”

The Economy class cabin seats, meanwhile, total 241 with seat pitch “at 33 inches, seat width at 18 inches and a recline of up to six inches. Features include a four-way headrest and USB power ports.”

Among the aircraft’s main features are: an advanced Rolls Royce Trent XWB engine which allows it to fly up to 8,000 nautical miles (14,800 km); a quieter cabin with up to four times less noise, making it the quietest twin-aisle aircraft to date, and an intelligent system which allows it to have touch commands and hands-free features, a state-of-the-art entertainment system and WiFi connectivity as well as a full LED ambient lighting that gives PAL the unique ability to play with 16.7 million colors to create various moods and ambience.

The Airbus 350-900 was customized to PAL’s specifications, taking over a year to make. Its structure is made of 70 percent advanced materials, including 53 percent composites, making it not only lightweight and very strong but also significantly less costly to maintain.

A highlight of the PAL Airbus A350-900 is its mood lighting which lits up the first flight to Manila in fiesta colors.

According to Airbus 350 officials, this mood lighting feature provides passengers “a more intimate in-flight experience and helps them adjust to time zone and day versus night changes.”

Bautista disclosed PAL will accept delivery of three more Airbus planes within this year and two more will be delivered by mid-2019.

The A350 will be deployed in the nonstop Manila-New York JFK and Manila-London Heathrow routes by the end of October 2018.

Services to other points in North America and/or Europe are expected to follow as more aircraft join the fleet over the next 12 months, including possible routes to Seattle, Chicago and a point in Western Europe.

PAL has placed six firm orders for Airbus A350-900s and options for an additional six A350s.

PAL rolled out the new A350-900 and A321neo (for mid-size markets) during the 83rd birthday celebration of Dr. Lucio Tan, chairman of PAL Holdings, Inc.

President Rodrigo Duterte was a special guest at the event, held yesterday, 17 July, at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.