PAL gets second Boeing 777

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) expects the delivery of its second Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on Thursday. In a statement, the airline said the leased aircraft would be rotated among the Brisbane, Hong Kong and Tokyo routes, like the first one. The airline ordered six Boeing 777 in 2006 to beef up its fleet but later delayed the delivery of the four remaining aircraft. The first Boeing 777 was delivered in November last year and has been deployed to PAL's Hong Kong and Tokyo routes. It will be deployed to the Brisbane route soon. PAL is expecting a slowdown in international travel this year amid the lingering effects of the global economic downturn. PAL Holdings, Inc. the airline's parent company, earlier said it expected a loss for the fiscal year 2009-2010 due to the slowdown in international travel. Revenues for the fiscal year ending in March 2009 went up by 14 percent to P75.3 billion due to higher passenger revenues from the domestic market. Meanwhile, PAL said it would cut ticket prices for flights until January 25 for travel from Feb. 1 to March 15. Fares for one-way flights on economy class between Manila and Luzon or the Visayas and between Cebu and Davao will cost P777. One-way flights between Manila and Mindanao are at P1,777. Round-trip flights to Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Jakarta, Osaka, Shanghai, Tokyo, Los Angeles and San Francisco will cost $128 to $798.