Philippine Airlines (PAL) will wet-lease two A330-200s from Spanish airline Wamos Air to cover routes between Manila and both Sydney and Melbourne. This arrangement, effective from June 1, 2024, will last for five months and aims to enhance fleet management and operational resilience during the peak travel period.
CEO Stanley Ng announced in a May 17 Philippine Stock Exchange filing that the wet-lease will address additional maintenance requirements caused by ongoing global supply chain issues. He stated, “We see the need to temporarily add these aircraft to ensure that we have sufficient capacity to meet the demand that we are anticipating across our network.” This move will help PAL maintain its service levels while dealing with these challenges.
Wamos Air operates a fleet that includes four A330-200s and six A330-300s. The two A330-200s destined for PAL are EC-NCK and EC-NUI. The aircraft will serve daily flights to Sydney from June 1 to October 31 and flights to Melbourne five times a week from June 1 to September 30. This collaboration ensures that passengers will continue to enjoy a two-cabin class configuration and comparable inflight amenities, mirroring the experience on PAL’s own A330s.
Enhancing Capacity
A wet lease involves the lessor providing the aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) to another airline for a specified period. For this arrangement, cabin crews will include members from both Wamos Air and PAL, ensuring a seamless experience for passengers. Ng highlighted the growing pains PAL is experiencing due to the strong passenger demand and the difficulty in quickly procuring new aircraft.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, PAL operates a diverse fleet of 52 aircraft. This includes three A320s, eighteen A321ceos, eight A321neos, eleven A330-300s, two A350-900s, and ten Boeing 777-300ERs. The airline also expects the delivery of thirteen A321neos, nine A350-1000s, and one leased 777-300ER. PAL services 73 airports across 21 countries, continually expanding its network and improving its capacity to meet passenger demand.
Philippine Airlines will wet-lease two A330-200s from Wamos Air starting June 1, 2024, to manage increased demand and maintenance needs during the peak travel season. This arrangement helps PAL ensure operational resilience and maintain service quality. The collaboration with Wamos Air allows PAL to meet passenger demand while waiting for the delivery of new aircraft.
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