For the return portion of my trip to North America I decided to book Philippine Airlines. The airline is trying to reinvent themselves, and they have new A350s with an excellent business class product.
Continue reading: Review: Philippine Airlines A321 Business Class
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Looks like a decent product.
I’ve flown PAL on domestic flights in premium economy (no business class on their A320’s) and wasn’t impressed at all. Especially the snack I was given was awful and made me sick.
PAL BC was a cheap option to Guam some time back but I decided not to fly them as they fly a narrow body, and the airline is unaligned. Flying airlines not part of an alliance always feels like a loss to me, even if the price is significantly less than the aligned alternatives.
In the end I picked Korean, who uses wide bodies to Guam.
Hello Ben. Based on the info on ANA website, I thought only some of the ANA/PR codeshare routes are eligible for ANA mileage credit? Thanks!
Oh the joys of Manila airport. The only airport in the world that I got shat on by a bird. INSIDE the airport.
It seems amazing to me that they Govt. has not invested infrastructure money into a new airport. What a train wreck it is currently.
@Stuart - I saw that happen to someone else in JFK T5 once! Not to take away from Manila, of course.
Just flew through MNL twice for the first time this month. Out of 150+ unique airports I've been to, I think that may take the cake as the worst one. I've been to "worse" but they were at least smaller in size.
I mean I have to PAY to transfer terminals? And the only ATM is broken? Overcrowding with no open seats everywhere I went. Terminal looked like it was made of plywood. On trying to get from T4 to T1, I saw literally 10 shuttle buses pass going for T3. I had to complain loudly to a security person in order for him to order a bus to go to T1 (despite me being a paying customer!). I asked a prior bus where he was going AFTER T3 and he said the garage (rolleyes).
To be fair I think I was at the worst terminals (1 and 4). Terminal 3 is newer and I'm guessing much nicer.
I feel sorry for PAL. They are doing an admirable job, trying their best to be mentioned in the same breath as the Eva Airs, ANAs and Singapore Airlines of the world, but probably will never be because of horrid ground experiences in MNL.
It probably won't happen in the near future but if Philippines builds up Clark Airport and build a good express shuttle to the City center, that will very much help PAL (and really make the traffic situation in the metro area better as well)
It's really a shame how terrible MNL is. PR is a solid airline but the MNL ground experience is a headache. If you go to Cebu, they have a new, modern international airport that puts MNL to shame. Unfortunately, since most travelers connect through MNL, they get a bad impression of both the airline and country.
for the bit when you're talking about the a350 next to you, do you mean plane to Toronto instead of Manila
Can’t wait to see a review of the airport. Used to fly to/from Manila weekly. It is truely “special”.
A crap airline thru a crap airport. Only airport I’ve seen worse than LAX.
Try Swift Air and Cebu pacific. PAX is awful.
PA is a solid airline and their long haul service on A350 is exceptional. However, the ground experience at MNL airport is horrible horrible horrible! I told myself no matter how good the deal PA offers, I would never fly with them again because going through that chaotic, useless airport is a complete nightmare. Never ever again!
Hahahaha can't wait to see you roast MNL, truly nightmare. Oh, and it's to YYZ so a terminal change is required, nightmare^2. (Otherwise for a same-terminal change I believe you don't need to do those paperwork).
I remembered when I flew their A321 between HKG and MNL they provided business customers with iPads as a substitute to PTV, looks like that they have discontinued this?
However bad the airport is, it's definitely better than Khartoum International.
The check-in line (if its long like most of the time) literally stretches passengers wait outside in the parking lot!!
where the slogan should be “Philippine Airlines’ Manila ground experience — the heart of Satan.”... Hmm, i wonder what made you think that?
Just an FYI, some cuisines in Asia on purposely have tough pieces of chicken for some dishes. In my market, I sell a lot of "tough chicken" or "chewy chicken"(word for word translation from Khmer).
I have flown business and economy on more than 200 PAL flights.
A320/321 business class is like you say - as good as first class USA domestic flight but they hace service instead of a banana and chips. Great on a short intra Asia flight.
The beef would have been more tender lol.
Crazy for crew to pull down window shades for a flight taking two hours from 9.40am.
PAL is a tough decision given the reasonable pricing of business class. I’ve flown twice in the last 6 months from SFO through MnL and seen some pretty strange things. The short A321 flights from MnL to and from my destinations of KL and BKk were just like your experience though I was given an iPad for entertainment which was activated at 10k feet.
The ground experience was at times surreal and a little concerning with ground staff demanding I hand over my passport to expedite transfer. Figuring out how to get to the pickup point really required assistance.
No doubt that the lounge in T2 is pretty awful with probably the smallest restroom possible for a business class lounge.
My biggest complaint about PAL is their seats on the flights between SFO and MNl. They are about the most uncomfortable business class seats I have had (granted I have not been on Air India and having read that review will never do so). Narrow, not close to flat, confusing controls that just don’t allow me to get a configuration I like, they remind me of some old 767 domestic seats that AA used. But for $3195 UsD RT to KL its a pretty darn good price and is a true cost benefit decision.
The good news is the government is unveiling a new airport not too far from NAIA. Unsolicited bids for other airports (like the San Miguel) and expansion of existing ones like CRK are also in the pipeline. It may take a while but once built and fully-operational it should address the concerns you pointed.
Heart of satan? Seems over ,,maybe the author have it,,anaways a new world class airport is under construction now near manila and its comparable or more modern than any airport anywhere,else
We arrived in Manila T1 on JAL (what a treat) and then transferred to T2 for the PAL Business class flight to Puerto Princesa (local business class).
I have already said what a horrid experience the transfer was and the PAL lounge in T2 is absolute crap. My wife left her jacket in the lounge because of the horrid long delay but it was never "found".
The Business class flight to Puerto Princesa was awful. 2 hour delay. They offered a meal and a beer. Thanks.
There is no doubt that Philippine Airlines has improved recently and I would choose to use them for my twice yearly visits (from the UK) to see my relatives in Manila were it not for one thing....cost! Even though the route is not direct and therefore a few hours longer, Singapore Airlines offer better customer service and are significantly cheaper between LHR and MNL so I choose them every time.
I should also add that seats and wines aside, there wasn't much to differentiate the PR business class in this review from the SQ economy class, particularly the meal.
Just starting work on a new airport at Bulacan about an hour north of NAIA depending on traffic, I wonder how many airlines will transfer their operations to this airport? Hopefully the new skyways freeway will help alleviate any traffic hold ups. Have flown Pal J class to Australia from T2 on an A320 overnight flight, good seats and meals. J lounge T2 crowded and only finger food available.
Why did you call the PAL Manila ground experience the" heart of Satan"? Could you elaborate a little on that? For our enlightenment, please.
On ANA flights, rock-hard Haagen Daaz, straight from the freezer, is the standard Economy class dessert.
I am a very frequent flyer (normal year 50k -70k miles) and have used just about every airline in Asia. PAL has to be the worse airline that I have flown. Their business class is sub-par with their competition and their customer service is abysmal. On my last trip from SFO to MNL with my wife (Filipina but naturalized US citizen), their incompetency and uncaring attitude resulted in my wife being detained for 5 days in the airport (NAIA). Her passport fell out of her pocket while sleeping and was caught in the seat. Despite being told this, PAL did not do a thorough check for 5 days and two round trips back to the US. Needless to say, this caused my wife and I much anxiety, loss of vacation & costs and frustration. Not only did we not get so much as an apology but my wife was constantly insulted by PAL personnel for having a US passport. Of course, an “expedite payment” idea was floated around to us which itself b raises motivation questions. There are many details to this story too numerous for this post but bottom line, DO NOT TRUST YOUR SAFETY, PIECE of MIND or VACATION TO PAL! I know I never will again.
I previously flew PAL from Bangkok to Manila in an A321 business class.was I previously booked PAL business class from Bangkok to Manila. It was the NEO version, with lie-flat seats. When I booked the round trip from Manila to Singapore, I assumed it would be the same. It was not. No in-flight entertainment, no foot rests and the food service was mediocre. Without foot rests and minimal recline, the seats were not business class comfortable grade. Barely above Premium Economy. If I had known the Business Class was so minimal, I would have chosen Economy for the 3 hour and 40 minute flight, and saved almost $1000. PAL needs to clearly show the "OLD" and "NEO" options for these flights. I am a Mabuhay club member.
You can pour all the money into a project & it would not matter if the staff professionalism & culture is the problem.
Manila's airport is a hub for thieves & corruption - and they're the airport staff. It's all over the news.
From immigration to customs to security & even to the taxis outside. They're all out there to scam you. Security personnel groping foreign celebrities, taxis overcharging tourists & locals, security/customs stealing valuables from luggages during inspection, and even staff taking pictures & videos of celebrities in the immigration area.
It's like they brought the slum to the country's main airport.
Why would staff close the blinds on a 9.45am flight? I'd just immediately reopen them.
With more airlines oftern using narrowbody aircraft on regional routes, is it time to break fares into narrow and wide body Business Class. Why should airlines charge the same for a seat in an A320 or 737 as they do for a 787 or A350, when the latter is a flat bed seat with all conveniences and the former is really no better than a Premium Economy seat?
Forgot to add that Rawsons Retreat is a pretty average wine to serve in Business Class/
Nothings changed. It’s the Pilipino culture. Poor airline with artificially robotic sirs/ma’am’s.
They don’t care and they don’t care that they don’t care. Vein a former us colony-it’s all abt 1 thing. Money.
Nothings changed. It’s the Pilipino culture. Poor airline with artificially robotic sirs/ma’am’s.
They don’t care and they don’t care that they don’t care. It’s a former us colony-it’s all abt 1 thing. Money.
These comments make me realize how many entitled people there are on this planet.