Philippine Airlines gives Sydney a 777 boost

Philippine Airlines is bumping up its premier Sydney-Manila route to a Boeing 777 during the peak summer travel season.

However, the Sydney switch is a mixed bag for premium travellers.

On the plus side, the big Boeing 777 offers more 42 business class seats, compared to just 18 on the Airbus A330 it temporarily replaces.

That’s a whopping 133% increase, and it could also see more Qantas Classic Reward seats become available on these flights under the Qantas–Philippine Airlines partnership (which of course precedes Philippine Airlines’ entry into the Oneworld alliance).

The downside? Those business class seats are not only arranged in a crowded 2-3-2 configuration, they’re an older angled flatbed design with a similarly dated inflight entertainment system.

In addition, the two-class 777 lacks the A330’s premium economy cabin, which has become increasingly popular for its value-minded comfort on these eight-hour flights.

Philippine Airlines plans to eventually modernise its 777s – potentially using the same doored business class suites as its Airbus A350-1000s – but this upgrade won’t begin until late 2027, says Philippine Airlines President Richard Nuttall.

“It is going to probably take about three years before we can start,” Nuttall remarked earlier this year, adding that Philippine Airlines faces “the same supply chain issues” as the rest of the industry.

“As soon as those seats are available, we will be refurbishing and we are looking at doing it on 330s and 777s.”

Philippine Airlines will move Sydney to a Boeing 777 throughout January 2027, and says Brisbane will also “be upgraded to larger aircraft to provide more seats during the holiday travel surge.”

This is likely to see the current single-aisle A321 swapped out for the twin-aisle Airbus A330, again across January 2027.

Also on the cards: an increase in flights to Melbourne and Perth “on selected peak travel dates.”

“By adding more flights, we are giving our customers greater flexibility during these high-demand months while strengthening tourism, business and cultural exchanges between our two countries,” Nuttall says.

Also read: Philippine Airlines is joining Oneworld