Philippine Airlines posts $159 million nine-month loss as fuel costs surge
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The gist
Philippine Airlines reported a $159 million net loss for the first nine months of 2026 as fuel expense rose $339.4 million.
The flag carrier is still expanding long-haul routes and ordering widebodies despite the swing.
Background
Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the Philippine flag carrier, headquartered in Metro Manila and founded in 1941. Its nine-month result reversed a $158.7 million net income a year earlier, which the airline attributes to exceptionally high fuel costs tied to the conflict in the Middle East; revenue still grew four percent year-on-year to $2.5 billion. The loss lands as PAL pushes ahead with a widebody fleet expansion and new North American routes.
How it unfolded
- Nov 4, 2026PAL reported a net loss of $159 million for the first nine months of 2026, reversing a $158.7 million net income a year earlier, as fuel expense rose by $339.4 million.
- Nov 5, 2026PAL, Airbus and Rolls-Royce signed definitive agreements in Manila for nine additional A350-1000s, taking PAL's total A350-1000 commitment to 18 aircraft.
- Nov 9, 2026PAL launched nonstop Manila–Chicago O'Hare service, its first nonstop route between the Philippines and the U.S. Midwest, operating three times weekly.
- Nov 9, 2026PAL's Year End Seat Sale began, running Nov. 9 to 15 with up to 60% off domestic and up to 40% off international flights.
Key terms
- flag carrier
- A transport company, such as an airline, registered in a state and given preferential rights by that government for international operations.
- widebodies
- An airliner with a fuselage wide enough for two passenger aisles and seven or more seats abreast.
- A350-1000s
- A long-range, twin-engine wide-body airliner model produced by Airbus.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- PAL president Richard Nuttall said the results show the airline's underlying resilience amid exceptionally high fuel costs and geopolitical uncertainty, and that demand for travel remains healthy.
- Official
- Nuttall said the airline responded with disciplined capacity deployment, stronger revenue management and tight control of controllable costs, with revenue performance showing its commercial strategy gaining traction.