MANILA, Philippines – The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has allowed national flag carrier Philippines Airlines (PAL) to use its brand-new aircraft for flights to the United States.
PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang confirmed the FAA approval in a text message to reporters.
The FAA’s green light to PAL came less than a month after it restored the aviation safety rating of the Philippines to Category 1 status.
This means that PAL can now use the newer and more efficient Boeing 777 for flights to the US instead of the Boeing 747.
Ang earlier said PAL could save at least $160 million a year – $100 million in fuel savings and $60 million for maintenance – by using the more efficient Boeing 777 for US flights.
PAL has 6 newly-acquired Boeing 777-300ER aircraft ready to ply the Manila-US route.
PAL currently operates 26 weekly flights to the US covering Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam.
Ang said PAL will continue to use its new wide body Airbus A330-300s and single-aisle A320-200s for flights to Honolulu and Guam.
PAL is planning to resume flights to New York, which ceased in 1997 due to the Asian financial crisis, and to expand to Chicago. – Rappler.com
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