Philippine Airlines

Philippine Airlines is one of those airlines you rarely see in Europe – and that is exactly why it is worth getting to know. The flag carrier of the Philippines can look back on more than 85 years of history, is currently renewing its long-haul fleet with the A350-1000 and is about to join an alliance. On this page you learn how to recognize PAL with confidence, which types make up the fleet and where you are most likely to get the airline in front of your lens.

Philippine Airlines at a glance

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the national airline of the Philippines, headquartered in Pasay, Metro Manila. It was founded on February 26, 1941. Just a few weeks later, on March 15, 1941, the first flight took off: a twin-engine Beechcraft Model 18 from Manila to the mountain town of Baguio. The airline’s claim, which it maintains to this day, rests on this history – PAL sees itself as Asia’s oldest commercial airline still operating.

After World War II, PAL resumed operations in 1946 and promptly made aviation history: as the first Asian airline, it crossed the Pacific, on the route from Manila to Oakland, California. The connection to North America remains a core of the network to this day.

The history was not always smooth. In 1998, after strikes and financial problems, PAL had to suspend operations temporarily and entered a restructuring that only ended in 2007. During the pandemic, another restructuring under US law (Chapter 11) followed in 2021. Today the airline belongs to PAL Holdings, which in turn is part of the LT Group of businessman Lucio Tan.

The main hub is Manila Ninoy Aquino Airport (MNL), and a second focus is Mactan-Cebu (CEB). From there, PAL flies within the Philippines, to many Asian cities, to Australia and across the Pacific to North America.

Codes, callsign and registration

• IATA code PR: appears in the flight number, such as on departure boards and tickets.
• ICAO code PAL: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers.
• Callsign PHILIPPINE: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio.
• Registration RP-C: Philippine commercial aircraft carry the prefix RP-C followed by digits. PAL’s first A350-1000, for example, is RP-C3510.

Always note the registration in full – it is the only feature that makes an aircraft unambiguous. How registrations are structured in general is explained in the guide understanding aircraft registrations.

The fleet: A350, 777 and A321

According to the publicly documented fleet list as of September 2026, PAL operates about 53 aircraft of its own. More orders are on top of that. Because PAL is currently reshaping its fleet, the numbers can change quickly – take the table as a snapshot.

Type	In service (approx.)	Seats	Use	Spotter tip
Airbus A321	18	194–199	Domestic and Asia	Short-haul workhorse with business class
Airbus A321neo	8 (+13 on order)	168–195	Asia, medium haul	Bigger engines than the A321
Airbus A330-300	11	309 and more	Regional and medium haul	For high-volume routes
Airbus A350-900	2	295	Long haul	Three classes
Airbus A350-1000	4 (+5 on order)	382	Long haul	Newest flagship since December 2025
Boeing 777-300ER	10	370	Long haul, mainly North America	Raked wingtips

The Airbus A350-1000 is the star of the current renewal. PAL ordered it in 2023, and the first aircraft, registration RP-C3510, arrived in Manila in December 2025. In business class, PAL installs seats in a 1-2-1 layout, and in three classes the -1000 offers 382 seats in total. In July 2026, a letter of intent for nine more aircraft followed at the Farnborough Airshow.

The smaller A350-900 had previously replaced the last A340s. You can tell the short-haul Airbuses apart with the guide telling the A320 family apart. On the long routes across the Pacific, the Boeing 777-300ER, which PAL has used since 2009, is also in service. In the following years it replaced the Boeing 747-400. For regional routes with many passengers, the airline uses the A330-300, and on short haul the A321 and the more economical A321neo. The manufacturers of the long-haul fleet are Airbus and Boeing.

A350-900 or A350-1000? How to tell them apart

At PAL, both versions wear the same livery and have the typical A350 cockpit mask with the dark-framed windows. At first glance they are hard to separate – but with a few features you can do it reliably.

The landing gear is the surest feature, especially on landings or on the ground. In cruise, the ICAO type code on the tracker helps you. If you still confuse the A350 with the Boeing 787, you will find the differences in the guide A350 or Boeing 787?.

And the 777-300ER? You recognize it by its huge engines, the raked wingtips without winglets and the distinctive blade-shaped tail cone. A glance at the wingtips separates it immediately from the A350 with its upward-curved ends.

PAL Express: the regional subsidiary

PAL Express is the wholly owned subsidiary for domestic and short regional routes. Its roots lie with Air Philippines, which began flight operations in 1996 and later appeared as Airphil Express. Since 2013 it has flown under the name PAL Express.

Feature	PAL Express
IATA code	2P
ICAO code	GAP
Callsign	AIRPHIL
Fleet (as of August 2026)	about 19 Airbus A320, 4 A321 and 10 Dash 8-400
Focus	Manila, Cebu, Clark, Davao and Iloilo

For spotters, PAL Express is interesting mainly because of the turboprops: the Dash 8-400 from De Havilland Canada mainly serves smaller island airports with shorter runways. On the tracker, you can assign the aircraft clearly via the ICAO code GAP. How to tell turboprops apart with confidence is shown in the guide ATR or Dash 8? On domestic routes, PAL competes mainly with Cebu Pacific, the country’s big low-cost carrier.

How to recognize Philippine Airlines

The basic livery dates from 1986 and follows the then-popular “Eurowhite” style: a white fuselage with the large “Philippines” titles in the forward section and the PAL logo in the national colors on the tail. A small Philippine flag sits further back on the fuselage. The logo picks up the colors of the national flag – blue, red and the yellow of the sun.

For anniversaries, PAL repeatedly applies special stickers, for example for the 70th, 75th and 85th birthdays. The 85th anniversary fell in 2026 – so aircraft with a corresponding marking are a nice historical document for your collection.

On the way to oneworld

For a long time, Philippine Airlines was one of the larger Asian network carriers without an alliance. That is changing: in June 2026, at the IATA annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro, PAL announced that it will join oneworld as its 16th member. Joining is planned for 2027, and PAL Express is planned as an affiliated company. In the alliance, PAL will then meet well-known names of the region such as Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.

For spotters this is exciting, because many alliance airlines operate one or two aircraft in an alliance special livery. Whether and when PAL will do so is open – an overview is given in the article on alliance liveries. How the three alliances work is explained in the overview Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam.

Historic fleet: 747 and A340

In older spotter logbooks, PAL appears with types you no longer see today. These aircraft are history:

• Boeing 747-400 – in service from 1993 to 2014, replaced by the 777-300ER. A 747-400 in combi version was also part of the fleet.
• Airbus A340-300 – several generations of owned and leased aircraft, the last until 2018. PAL was one of the last operators of this four-engine jet in Asia. How to tell it from the A330 is explained in the guide A330 or A340?
• Boeing 747-200 and BAC One-Eleven – older types that PAL used between the 1960s and the turn of the millennium.

You find photos of these aircraft mainly in archives. For your collection, it is worth dating such sightings clearly, so that it is later recognizable which fleet phase they come from.

Spotting Philippine Airlines: where the chances are

In Germany, PAL is not a regular visitor. If you want to see the airline, the way usually leads through a trip:

On the US West Coast, the guides plane spotting in Los Angeles and plane spotting in San Francisco help you choose a spot; in Australia, plane spotting in Sydney is a good starting point. When traveling in Asia, it is worth comparing with neighbors such as Singapore Airlines or Korean Air, which also operate large A350 and 777 fleets.

Common mix-ups

• Confusing PAL with Cebu Pacific – both fly Airbus from Manila, but Cebu Pacific has a clearly different, colorful low-cost look.
• Logging an A350-1000 as an A350-900 – the landing gear with six wheels gives away the longer version.
• Overlooking PAL Express as a separate company – the tracker shows ICAO code GAP instead of PAL.
• Already listing PAL as a oneworld member – as of October 2026, joining is announced but not yet completed.
• Looking for a 747 or A340 in the current schedule – both types are history at PAL.

Conclusion

Philippine Airlines combines a long history with a freshly renewed long-haul fleet. For you as a spotter, PAL is a rare but rewarding catch: the new A350-1000, the 777-300ER over the Pacific and the turboprops of PAL Express offer variety. With the oneworld membership, the airline should become even more visible in the coming years.