Way before the Philippines became an Airbus country, Boeing airplanes ruled Philippine skies. The most common among them was the Boeing 737, operated by Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines, Grand Air, PhilAir, and South East Asian Airlines. Even Cebu Pacific used to operate Boeing jets. The ever beautiful Boeing 747 in Philippine Airlines colors was a common sight, and until its last day in service, everyone was simply mesmerized by its size and beauty.
Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines had been a long-time customer and the only airline in the Philippines that operates Boeings, the 777-300ER. The Philippines’ national flag carrier operates a fleet of 10 777-300ERs, the most significant aircraft in the PAL fleet. It is also the airline’s primary flagship which flies transpacific primarily flights.
PAL’s partnership with Boeing goes back to 1979, when the airline purchased the Boeing 747-200B and flew to many international destinations. It was also the aircraft equipped with the iconic “Skybeds,” a first-ever in Asia. They were located on the upper deck of PAL’s 747. After two years, PAL took in two 727-100s.
Seven years later, in 1989, Philippine Airlines replaced its then BAC-111s with the Boeing 737-300; around 17 of them joined the fleet. The airline also added three longer 737-400s to the fleet
PAL also operated the Boeing 747 until 2014. The last 747 it used was the 747-400, wherein the airline had 5 of them in the fleet. Up to now, the crew still admires the 747 for its beauty and its sheer size.
Airline deregulation
After the airline industry in the Philippines was deregulated in 1995, new airlines came about. This meant that Philippine Airlines could no longer monopolize the airline industry. One of the first to appear was GrandAir, owned by the Panlilio family. During that time, many used Boeing aircraft were in the market, perfect for startup airlines. On top of the 5 Airbus A300B4s, GrandAir operated 4 Boeing 737-200s, which they used for domestic flights. GrandAir folded its wings in 1999, with the last flight utilizing a Boeing 737-200.
Air Philippines also began operations in 1995 utilizing a Boeing 737-200ADV. Later on, the airline purchased four more 737-200s. In 1999, Air Philippines became a sister company of Philippine Airlines, and two Boeing 737-300s were transferred. Before rebranding to PAL Express for the first time in 2008, the airline operated eight 737s. In 2014, Air Philippines returned to using jets with the Airbus A320 under the “AirPhil Express” brand. All Boeings were retired.
We know that Cebu Pacific is an Airbus all-the-way operator which started with McDonnell DC-9s, but bit too many; the airline operated Boeing too, the 757-200 which they mainly used for international operations. Cebu Pacific worked 757s from 2000 to 2007.
Present day
A few airlines operate a 737-200 today, and one of them is South East Asian Airlines, but used solely as a cargo aircraft, not as a passenger carrier.
With the Covid-19 pandemic raging, cargo movement has become more essential. Some airlines have converted their aircraft to dedicated freighters. Some cargo companies have also begun purchasing old 737s, one of which is PSI Air 2007, which operated 2 Boeing 737-300C. They are known for their 727-200C with a “shark mouth” livery.
Today, Airbus has taken over the Philippine skies, the A320 series being the most common, operated by six airlines. PAL and Cebu Pacific are the only operators of Airbus widebody aircraft.
Flying Boeing 737s in the Philippines is rare. Those you see usually belong to foreign carriers that still operate them. If you go to the Manila general aviation area, Clark International Airport, and Subic International Airport, you will see a lot of parked Boeing 737s there collecting dust and dirt.
If you have enough cash, you might want to purchase one of these mothballed 737s and turn it into something. An entrepreneur in Quezon Province got a whole B737-200 and turned it into a restaurant in Lucena City. In the general aviation area in Manila, a few parked 737s are used by aviation schools as training facilities. These are sometimes used for movie shoots too.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
