The newest widebody in Philippine Airlines’ long-haul fleet touched down in Manila on Wednesday, giving the flag carrier a third Airbus A350-1000 as it pushes further into trans-Pacific service.
The jet, which carries the registration RP-C3512, flew in from the Airbus delivery center in Toulouse, France. Before carrying passengers, it must clear regulatory sign-off and operational readiness checks.
That clearance is expected soon. PAL has scheduled the aircraft’s first revenue flight for August 5, 2026, on the Manila–San Francisco route. The service will run three days a week to start—Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays—then move to a daily schedule in September.
RP-C3512 is the third to arrive out of nine A350-1000s the airline committed to in 2023.
PAL has positioned the type as the centerpiece of its long-range operations. The cabins carry the carrier’s newest Business, Premium Economy, and Economy Class products, and the airframe burns less fuel, emits less carbon, and hauls more cargo than the older jets it is replacing.
The airline has continued to build on that order well beyond the original nine. At the Farnborough Air Show in July, PAL signed a memorandum of understanding for nine more A350-1000s, deliveries slated between 2034 and 2036, a deal that would take its total for the type to 18. It also holds purchase rights on five additional aircraft of that model. Separately, a GE Aerospace agreement covers GEnx-1B engines for 15 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners due between 2031 and 2034.
For now, the delivery leaves PAL as the only carrier in Southeast Asia flying the A350-1000, a distinction it has held since the first of the type reached Manila in December 2025.
