Philippine Airlines (PAL) said on Tuesday it will buy nine new A320 passenger planes from Airbus and may opt for five more in a deal worth an estimated USD$840 million.

PAL, undergoing a long-term refleeting program, also said it will lease two new A320s and two A319s from GE Capital Aviation Services.

The deal with PAL came as Airbus signed a nearly USD$10 billion agreement this week to supply 150 A320s to China.

Andrew Huang, PAL's senior vice-president and chief financial officer, said the company was still exploring its options to finance the acquisition.

The airline, which has been under rehabilitation since 1999, has been approached for the program by export credit agencies in Europe, commercial banks and aircraft leasing companies.

"We hope to finalize the financing plan by April", Huang said.

Delivery of the nine new jets and the four leased planes will begin in the second half of 2006 and continue until 2008. The five optional aircraft, should PAL decide to take them, would be delivered between 2009 and 2012, the company said.

PAL now operates seven A320s, four Boeing 737-300s and three Boeing 737-400s.