With Asia Pacific air traffic remaining strong despite the global downturn, Philippine Airlines (PAL) is acquiring four of Boeing’s newest and most advanced 777-300ERs for approximately $1 billion to boost its long-haul services across the region starting November, this year.

In all, the flag carrier intends to add six Boeing 777s to its fleet, four via direct purchase and 2 via a 12-year lease. The Export-Import Bank will fund the purchases, valued at $250 million per aircraft. Delivery is scheduled in June 2012, November 2012, April 2013 and November 2013. However, the leased Boeing 777s are arriving in two months.

“With the 777-300ER, PAL can fly across the Pacific or to Australia with lesser fuel than the four-engine B747-400 or Airbus A340-300 which it currently deploys on these routes,” explained Randy J. Tinseth, Boeing vice president for marketing. “Fuel burn is considerably lower when compared to the A340-500 and the A340-600.”

Known as the largest, long-range, twin-engine jetliner, the B777-3000ER can carry 365 passengers to a distance of 14,685 kilometers, the equivalent to flying to Los Angeles and back to Manila non-stop without refueling. They also feature the most spacious passenger cabin in its class, offering wider seats and aisles, more headroom and seating flexibility.

A unique overhead crew rest area located above the passenger cabin, frees up space for four to seven more seats in the cabin. The cabins are so spacious that a six-foot-two-inch tall passenger can easily pass under the center stowage cabin bins.

While the global economic downturn has hit the aviation industry really hard, Tinseth maintained that the air traffic in Asia Pacific is “stronger”. In fact, Boeing forecasted that the region will rank as the world’s highest growth and largest aviation market over the next two decades, requiring 8,960 new commercial jets worth $1.1 trillion.

At present, Asia Pacific, which covers Japan, Korea, China, Australia and India, accounts for more than 8,300 flights and 1.2 million travellers daily. But between now and 2028, Asia Pacific air travel will grow from 32 per cent of the world market to 41 percent .

The region’s fleet will triple from 3,910 to a total of 11,170 airplanes as travel grows at an average of 6.5 per cent per annum. “That’s a big leap for a region that was not even mentioned in our earliest Boeing market forecasts back in the 1950s,” he noted.

Philippine carriers are growing strongly as well, the Boeing executive confirmed. “The world aviation market is challenging today but the Philippine market has seen significant growth over the last 10 years and is well-positioned as the economy returns to growth in the future.”