Philippine Airlines (PAL) has exercised options to buy 10 Airbus A330-300 aircraft for $2.5 billion, with deliveries planned in 2013-2014.
The deal was confirmed by company president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang.
Media reports from the Philippines quote Ang as saying that the company exercised the options two weeks ago.
Today's deal follows PAL's 54 Airbus buy in August worth $7 billion and comprising 34 A321s, 10 A321neos and 10 higher-weight Airbus A330-300s. The 10 aircraft deal today is also for the higher-weight A330.
Over the last few years, PAL has struggled to cope with the emergence of budget carrier Cebu Pacific, which now has the largest market share in the Philippines. The carrier had previously said that it wants to retire many of its older and uneconomical widebodies, and replace them with a new fleet to compete more effectively on the long-haul markets. The aim is to purchase a total of 100 new aircraft, PAL president Ramon Ang said.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
