Wiirachay
Dec 30, 01, 4:36 pm
For those of you who don’t know who PR is, it’s Philippine Airlines!
Ticket:
Business class ticket booked in J class. Ticket used a published fare basis. However, the ticket said that I paid the actual amount with a credit card plus bogus cash payment, which represented the discount.
Purchased from US-based, Asian consolidator (same one as in my last NW trip report)
In the past, I bit the bullet and purchased full-fare J class tickets for my intra-Asia trips because I couldn’t find any consolidators in the U.S. that discount! However, I was lucky this time. Other airlines that I’ve tried in the past for MNL-BKK were TG in J, LH in Y, PR in Y, and CX in J (stopover in HKG). Even though I had a bad experience with PR 6 years ago, I decided to give PR a trip after reading good words about PR from the FT PR forum.
MNL Airport Terminal 1
This was a new terminal that opened about two years ago. It exclusively services PR for international and domestic services. Unlike other airports in the world, you have to have everything X-rayed before you enter the terminal. Yes, whoever is giving you a ride to the airport must leave after they drop you off! Since this was early in the morning, not too many check-in lanes were opened. There was only one business class check-in station opened, and only one person in front of me.
Traveling on a separate intra-Asia ticket, I had a little trouble at check-in since my mother’s and my luggages combined were 23 kg over the official check-in limit. (30 kg per person, regardless of number of pieces.) I had mentioned that I’ve flown other carriers in the past (including PR) and never had this problem. The bluntly told me that she’d allow a 5 kg slack for each of us, and we’d have to pay 10 kg excess; auditing was the issue for her. Very acceptable response. So, she told me to go to the supervisor’s booth. I told the supervisor that my mother and I flew NW from the USA and that we were traveling on PR business class. He automatically waived the charges.
I still wonder why there is this difference with the check-in allowance for the rest of the world and the USA. Certainly, airplanes were meant to handle much more weight!
Check-in process: A
Immigration/Security @ MNL
Immigration was slow as a rock compared to the past. All I say is that they better be looking out for suspected people to slow the process down. Mindanao Island, south of the main island, has terrorist groups suspected to be funded by Bin Laden!
Security was a breeze, perhaps because this was the second round of security checks.
PR Mabuhay Lounge @ MNL
Not as big as I had hoped. Then again, it wasn’t that full. There were windows with curtains down to block the sun. Christmas decorations were found all around the place. The agents manning the door were friendly and checked to see my flight number so she can tell me when my flight would be boarding.
There were three rooms: one for watching TV and computers, one for eating, and one for massage (additional charges). As usual, I head straight for the room with food. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Food, self-served, consisted of ham sandwiches, arroz caldo (rice soup with chicken?), mangos, and some other items which I forgot. There was a bar tender to serve all the drinks and people consistently keeping the place clean. I just ordered water for my drink.
Lounge: A- (increase size; add more reading material)
Effort: A
Boarding @ MNL
I got a bit nervous as the departure time approached. I’m so used to boarding the aircraft 45m to 1h prior to departure on NW because of their pre-departure security check. However, with 20 minutes to go, the agent announced that it was time to board my flight. (NW usually closes their international flights 20 minutes prior to departure for a security check.) Apparently, it seems like PR in MNL prefers to board Y class pax first, and let the J class pax board towards the end.
PR0730 MNL-BKK Seat 3A A330-200 ETD 0800
I was immediately welcomed by the flight attendant checking boarding passes as I was directed to the J class cabin on my left. Seating was 2-2-2. When I entered the J class cabin, flight attendants immediately came to me asking to hang my sport coat and assisting me to find my seat. Once I sat down, the flight attendant handed me a menu. Blankets and headphones with already placed in the seats. Christmas music was playing during the boarding process. (It was 12/25.) This added nicely to the atmosphere.
Breakfast orders were taken a few minutes later. I ordered the meat tray. I forgot exactly what the name was. The menu was also taken back. (Smart move on saving costs.)
There were only 4 people in the J class cabin! Wow! Y was almost filled up. Pushback was 15 minutes early. Impressive compared to my first experience on PR six years ago. Outside, you could see Makati City and more airport construction for the other airlines.
A few minutes after take-off, the flight attendants started preparing breakfast. Breakfast was served on one tray. However, flight attendants kept checking if you wanted refills for your drinks. The tray consisted of yogurt, your choice of bread given by the flight attendants, and the entrée ordered before take-off. The entrée consisted of various meats and rice. Unlike NW, the cutlery was restaurant-style. The knife was real! Huh? Flight attendants told us that flights to the USA have the plastic ones. Food was on fine, expensive Japanese China. I forgot the brand.
Breads consisted of croissant, pandesal (Filipino bread), and other kinds. Impressive. Flight attendants consistently offered more bread if you wish. My entrée was a bit salty, and the rice had a kind of strange texture. A bit disappointing, but I finished it anyways. After I finished, it only took a few minutes before the flight attendant removed my tray.
After the rest of the passengers finished eating, all the windows in the cabin were closed. Time for me to enjoy the seat. The seat was generally comfortable. The pitch was 55in with headrest wings. Being that this aircraft is used only within Asia, the recline was adequate. All of the controls were manual. I slept for most of the time. Pillow was big and fluffy like NW, and the blanket was nice. The audio, video, and seat light control module can be removed for your convenience.
When I was awake, I didn’t watch anything on the seat TV except for looking at the flight path. I also spent some time reading magazines provided by PR. The rest of the flight was uneventful.
At the luggage claim in BKK, my bag came out pretty quickly. However, there were many Y class bags the beat my bag to it. I wondered whether or not my priority tag meant anything.
Crew Service: A
General cabin service procedures: A
Food: B
Entertainment: A
Seat comfort: A
This was my first time on an A330. Having traveled on a B777 before, the B777 wins. (Sorry Airbus fans.) The selling point of the B777 is the nice design of the overhead bins. Thus, the B777 feels roomier.
The Big Picture
Excellent service and well worth the money that I paid for this trip. I recommend PR within Asia. PR definitely trumps TG! I’d like to try their service in F class over the Pacific since they’re relatively cheaper than NW’s J class, but PR is not affiliated with any other frequent flier program. I can’t risk losing my elite status on NW! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
PR shows that premium service on a 3 hour flight can be really nice. Domestic service in the US can be like this. But then again, there are no such things are complimentary upgrades.
Overall: A
Suggestions
none
- Pat
Stay tuned:
BKK-NRT NW J class (still have to fly)
NRT-EWR-DTW CO J class (still have to fly)
[This message has been edited by Wiirachay (edited 12-30-2001).]
Ticket:
Business class ticket booked in J class. Ticket used a published fare basis. However, the ticket said that I paid the actual amount with a credit card plus bogus cash payment, which represented the discount.
Purchased from US-based, Asian consolidator (same one as in my last NW trip report)
In the past, I bit the bullet and purchased full-fare J class tickets for my intra-Asia trips because I couldn’t find any consolidators in the U.S. that discount! However, I was lucky this time. Other airlines that I’ve tried in the past for MNL-BKK were TG in J, LH in Y, PR in Y, and CX in J (stopover in HKG). Even though I had a bad experience with PR 6 years ago, I decided to give PR a trip after reading good words about PR from the FT PR forum.
MNL Airport Terminal 1
This was a new terminal that opened about two years ago. It exclusively services PR for international and domestic services. Unlike other airports in the world, you have to have everything X-rayed before you enter the terminal. Yes, whoever is giving you a ride to the airport must leave after they drop you off! Since this was early in the morning, not too many check-in lanes were opened. There was only one business class check-in station opened, and only one person in front of me.
Traveling on a separate intra-Asia ticket, I had a little trouble at check-in since my mother’s and my luggages combined were 23 kg over the official check-in limit. (30 kg per person, regardless of number of pieces.) I had mentioned that I’ve flown other carriers in the past (including PR) and never had this problem. The bluntly told me that she’d allow a 5 kg slack for each of us, and we’d have to pay 10 kg excess; auditing was the issue for her. Very acceptable response. So, she told me to go to the supervisor’s booth. I told the supervisor that my mother and I flew NW from the USA and that we were traveling on PR business class. He automatically waived the charges.
I still wonder why there is this difference with the check-in allowance for the rest of the world and the USA. Certainly, airplanes were meant to handle much more weight!
Check-in process: A
Immigration/Security @ MNL
Immigration was slow as a rock compared to the past. All I say is that they better be looking out for suspected people to slow the process down. Mindanao Island, south of the main island, has terrorist groups suspected to be funded by Bin Laden!
Security was a breeze, perhaps because this was the second round of security checks.
PR Mabuhay Lounge @ MNL
Not as big as I had hoped. Then again, it wasn’t that full. There were windows with curtains down to block the sun. Christmas decorations were found all around the place. The agents manning the door were friendly and checked to see my flight number so she can tell me when my flight would be boarding.
There were three rooms: one for watching TV and computers, one for eating, and one for massage (additional charges). As usual, I head straight for the room with food. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Food, self-served, consisted of ham sandwiches, arroz caldo (rice soup with chicken?), mangos, and some other items which I forgot. There was a bar tender to serve all the drinks and people consistently keeping the place clean. I just ordered water for my drink.
Lounge: A- (increase size; add more reading material)
Effort: A
Boarding @ MNL
I got a bit nervous as the departure time approached. I’m so used to boarding the aircraft 45m to 1h prior to departure on NW because of their pre-departure security check. However, with 20 minutes to go, the agent announced that it was time to board my flight. (NW usually closes their international flights 20 minutes prior to departure for a security check.) Apparently, it seems like PR in MNL prefers to board Y class pax first, and let the J class pax board towards the end.
PR0730 MNL-BKK Seat 3A A330-200 ETD 0800
I was immediately welcomed by the flight attendant checking boarding passes as I was directed to the J class cabin on my left. Seating was 2-2-2. When I entered the J class cabin, flight attendants immediately came to me asking to hang my sport coat and assisting me to find my seat. Once I sat down, the flight attendant handed me a menu. Blankets and headphones with already placed in the seats. Christmas music was playing during the boarding process. (It was 12/25.) This added nicely to the atmosphere.
Breakfast orders were taken a few minutes later. I ordered the meat tray. I forgot exactly what the name was. The menu was also taken back. (Smart move on saving costs.)
There were only 4 people in the J class cabin! Wow! Y was almost filled up. Pushback was 15 minutes early. Impressive compared to my first experience on PR six years ago. Outside, you could see Makati City and more airport construction for the other airlines.
A few minutes after take-off, the flight attendants started preparing breakfast. Breakfast was served on one tray. However, flight attendants kept checking if you wanted refills for your drinks. The tray consisted of yogurt, your choice of bread given by the flight attendants, and the entrée ordered before take-off. The entrée consisted of various meats and rice. Unlike NW, the cutlery was restaurant-style. The knife was real! Huh? Flight attendants told us that flights to the USA have the plastic ones. Food was on fine, expensive Japanese China. I forgot the brand.
Breads consisted of croissant, pandesal (Filipino bread), and other kinds. Impressive. Flight attendants consistently offered more bread if you wish. My entrée was a bit salty, and the rice had a kind of strange texture. A bit disappointing, but I finished it anyways. After I finished, it only took a few minutes before the flight attendant removed my tray.
After the rest of the passengers finished eating, all the windows in the cabin were closed. Time for me to enjoy the seat. The seat was generally comfortable. The pitch was 55in with headrest wings. Being that this aircraft is used only within Asia, the recline was adequate. All of the controls were manual. I slept for most of the time. Pillow was big and fluffy like NW, and the blanket was nice. The audio, video, and seat light control module can be removed for your convenience.
When I was awake, I didn’t watch anything on the seat TV except for looking at the flight path. I also spent some time reading magazines provided by PR. The rest of the flight was uneventful.
At the luggage claim in BKK, my bag came out pretty quickly. However, there were many Y class bags the beat my bag to it. I wondered whether or not my priority tag meant anything.
Crew Service: A
General cabin service procedures: A
Food: B
Entertainment: A
Seat comfort: A
This was my first time on an A330. Having traveled on a B777 before, the B777 wins. (Sorry Airbus fans.) The selling point of the B777 is the nice design of the overhead bins. Thus, the B777 feels roomier.
The Big Picture
Excellent service and well worth the money that I paid for this trip. I recommend PR within Asia. PR definitely trumps TG! I’d like to try their service in F class over the Pacific since they’re relatively cheaper than NW’s J class, but PR is not affiliated with any other frequent flier program. I can’t risk losing my elite status on NW! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
PR shows that premium service on a 3 hour flight can be really nice. Domestic service in the US can be like this. But then again, there are no such things are complimentary upgrades.
Overall: A
Suggestions
none
- Pat
Stay tuned:
BKK-NRT NW J class (still have to fly)
NRT-EWR-DTW CO J class (still have to fly)
[This message has been edited by Wiirachay (edited 12-30-2001).]