Philippine Airlines is on the verge of one of the largest widebody commitments in its history. Reuters reported on July 10, 2026 that the 85-year-old carrier is close to agreeing to purchase 15 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners and nine Airbus A350-1000s, with both deals expected to be announced at the Farnborough Airshow. If confirmed, that would hand Airbus and Boeing a combined 24-aircraft order from a single Southeast Asian flag carrier.
The split order is notable because it would put a new Boeing type into the Philippine Airlines fleet. The carrier has a long history with Boeing widebodies, including the Boeing 777-300ERs it operates today, but it has never previously flown the 787-10 β the largest and longest member of the Dreamliner family, optimised for dense regional and medium-haul trunk routes rather than ultra-long-haul flying.
Airbus Builds On An Existing Relationship
On the Airbus side, the A350-1000 is already a known quantity in Manila. Philippine Airlines took delivery of its first A350-1000 in December 2025 and its second in June 2026. According to ch-aviation data cited by AeroTime, the airline is awaiting seven more aircraft from its existing A350-1000 backlog. A further nine jets would roughly double that commitment and give the carrier a substantial ultra-long-haul fleet built around a single widebody type.
That matters operationally. Philippine Airlines uses its largest twins on the long transpacific sectors linking Manila with North America, some of the most demanding routes in commercial aviation, and a bigger A350-1000 fleet would give it the range and payload to grow that network without leaning on older equipment.
Farnborough Is Order Season
Farnborough Airshow 2026 is now just over a week away, and the show has historically been where large commercial orders are formalised. At the July 2024 edition, flynas ordered 75 A320neo-family aircraft and 15 A330-900s, Qatar Airways signed for 20 Boeing 777-9s, and Virgin Atlantic placed a firm order for seven A330neos.
A dual-manufacturer widebody order is also not unusual for a carrier hedging its fleet plan. In May 2026, the Lufthansa Group bought 10 Airbus A350-900s and 10 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in a single package the group valued at $7.7 billion at list prices β a reminder that headline figures at airshows are almost always list prices rather than what airlines actually pay.
What To Watch
Nothing is signed yet. Reuters framed the Philippine Airlines deal as being on the cusp of agreement rather than concluded, and airshow negotiations routinely change shape in the final days before a public announcement. The number of frames, the delivery stream, and the engine selection are all still open questions.
What is clear is the direction of travel. Philippine Airlines is rebuilding a widebody fleet that was cut back sharply during the pandemic era, and a 24-aircraft order across two manufacturers would be its clearest statement yet that long-haul growth β not consolidation β is now the plan.
Sources: AeroTime, Reuters. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop. By Marco Bianchi.
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