Philippine Airlines Airbus A350-1000s Join Fleet Soon, With New Cabins

In June 2023, Philippine Airlines placed a major wide body aircraft order with Airbus. I want to provide an update, as deliveries are expected to start later this year, and the airline has just revealed what we can expect onboard these planes. There’s both good and bad news…

Philippine Airlines has nine Airbus A350-1000s on order

Philippine Airlines has nine Airbus A350-1000s on order. The first jet is expected to be delivered in December 2025, and all nine planes should join the fleet by 2028.

This is part of the carrier’s ultra long haul fleet project, as the airline intends to use these planes to fly nonstop from Manila to North America, including to the East Coast of the United States and Canada. These are among the longest flights in the world.

The A350-1000 is the largest variant of Airbus’ A350 family. The plane has amazing economics and performance. It can fly up to 8,700 nautical miles nonstop, so it’s the longest range commercial jet in production today.

These nine aircraft will join Philippine Airlines’ existing Airbus A350 fleet, which consists of two A350-900s. Interestingly, Philippine Airlines actually shrunk its A350 fleet a few years back, so this is all very interesting.

In September 2021, Philippine Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection, given the rough state the industry was in. At the time, the airline had six Airbus A350-900s in its fleet, though it ended up getting rid of four of those jets in order to cut costs. Those planes ended up at Lufthansa, so Lufthansa has a subfleet of four A350s with a different configuration than usual.

So it’s noteworthy that less than two years later, the airline placed an order for a bunch of new A350-1000s. That obviously doesn’t seem very efficient, but then again, often bankruptcy protection happens to protect the short term survivability of a company. The A350s that were returned were leased rather than owned, which probably explains the decision.

At this point, Philippine Airlines’ wide body fleet consists of 11 Airbus A330-300s, two Airbus A350-900s, and 10 Boeing 777-300ERs. With the addition of the A350-1000, the carrier will have quite the varied long haul fleet.

If you’re curious about Philippine Airlines’ inflight product, read my A350-900 business class review and my 777-300ER business class review.

Philippine Airlines Airbus A350-1000s will have 382 seats

What can passenger expected onboard Philippine Airlines’ new Airbus A350-1000s? There’s both good and bad news (thanks to Mike O. for flagging this). The planes will be equipped with 382 seats, in a three cabin configuration, with business class, premium economy, and economy. This will be the highest density three cabin A350-1000 that you’ll find on any full service carrier.

In business class, Philippine Airlines will have 42 seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration. Specifically, the airline has selected the popular reverse herringbone Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seat with a door. This is virtually identical to what you’ll find on Etihad’s A350-1000s.

Premium economy will be comprised of 24 seats, spread across three rows, in a 2-4-2 configuration. This looks like a pretty standard product. Now, here’s where it gets rough. Economy will boast 316 seats, in a 3-4-3 configuration. Philippine Airlines will be the first full service airline in the world to go 10 abreast in economy on the A350.

In fairness, the usable interior space of the A350 fuselage has been widened a bit thanks to the “new production standard” concept. However, this is still going to be a tight squeeze.

I’m happy to see the upgrades in business class, and I’m sure the economics of this plane will be great. However, executives at the airline might be stretching it a bit when they claim the planes will offer a “world-class experience,” at least in economy.

Bottom line

Philippine Airlines has placed an order for nine Airbus A350-1000s, which will be delivered between December 2025 and 2028. These planes will be used for ultra long haul routes, including to North America. As the delivery date for the first of these jets approaches, the airline has now revealed what we can expect from the cabin interiors.

A350-1000s will feature 382 seats, including business class suites with doors, premium economy, and a very tight economy product.

What do you make of Philippine Airlines’ A350-1000 plans?