PAL business class....any good? why so cheap?

Old Aug 7, 2009, 12:54 am
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PAL business class....any good? why so cheap?

Im about to take a business trip from LAX to Manila and i noticed PAL business class is very cheap compared to the other carriers.

What's the deal? How bad is it compared to the others? I usually fly business on Asiana, Singapore, and Thai. How can they sell their tickets at these rates?

Is the food bad? limited menu selections? No alcolhol? Are the seats not updated or really old? or doesn't incline flat? entertainment sucks?

Anyone has a link to pictures and a description of what i can expect? I tried the website but its not very helpful.

Will i have a plug to power my laptop? or other electronic devices like Ipod and phone? How is the lounge at LAX? or in Manila?

Thanks in advance.....
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Old Aug 7, 2009, 2:48 am
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Try google to see why, they dont have the best reputation for safety, service or up to date equipment
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Old Aug 7, 2009, 6:50 am
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Originally Posted by erickp
What's the deal? How bad is it compared to the others? I usually fly business on Asiana, Singapore, and Thai. How can they sell their tickets at these rates?

Is the food bad? limited menu selections? No alcolhol? Are the seats not updated or really old? or doesn't incline flat? entertainment sucks?
PR has a bad reputation & it's likely deserved. I have had for the most part very good experiences.

TPAC ex-LAX has a 75% chance of getting a 747 reconfigured with Recaro inclined lie flat seats with 15" AVOD screens. Entertainment options are about the same as on TG.

These are the same seats on LH. The remaining 747s are to be reconfigured soon. I don't know if they have power! The LH seats do.

See pix here

My experience with their biz class FAs is that they are as good as any on TG & as many on SQ. (A lot won't agree with me!) I think they are less mechanical than those on SQ. They are typically much older but competent.

Food is just fine though not served in as nice of a setting as TG or SQ. The portions aren't as generous, I think. Their wine & beer selection are rather severe. It may have more to do with availability in MNL than being particularly cheap.

They use the non-aligned airline lounge at LAX. I've not been to the new one. The MNL lounge is ok. Nothing worth remembering.

I have no problems flying PR. Mileage can only be booked on their program & they have no partners to speak of.

My only bad experience was with a canceled flight MNL-SGN. They handled the delay & getting hotel rooms poorly. But the room & meal vouchers were fine.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 2:06 am
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Thanks Terminalc!

That was very helpful.

Sorry for my ignorance...but what is "TPAC ex-LAX"?

Thanks.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 4:02 am
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Originally Posted by erickp
Sorry for my ignorance...but what is "TPAC ex-LAX"?
TransPacific from Los Angeles.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 4:32 am
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I'd have to agree with pretty much everything terminalc had to say. PR is not that bad. Even the Champagne in C is okay. The worst part of your experience will probably be Manila itself...
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 5:40 am
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If you're flying PAL, Manila isn't that bad airport-wise. You'll be landing in an exclusive terminal (Terminal 2) where it is not as busy as the arrivals area in the very small Terminal 1. PR 103 arrives in Manila at around 4:00 am, so you will definitely avoid the morning rush hour, and if you're catching a domestic flight, the timing will allow you to choose from a multitude of domestic flights.

In-flight service is great, though there are cases where you may get a bad crew (which I hope will not happen). If Fiesta Class has good F/As, I'm sure Mabuhay Class will have better ones. If you need a peek at PAL, I have a trip report somewhere here on FT.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 6:11 am
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Originally Posted by Akiestar
If you need a peek at PAL, I have a trip report somewhere here on FT.
Thanks Akiestar for you're very interesting trip report. For the benefits of others, I've attached a link to it. It' in Y.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...eb-mnl-pr.html
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 6:12 am
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Originally Posted by stefan.aerts
Try google to see why, they dont have the best reputation for safety, service or up to date equipment
I have never heard of anyone questioning PAL's safety record. I thought it was one of the best in the region, the world.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 10:18 am
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Originally Posted by stefan.aerts
Try google to see why, they dont have the best reputation for safety, service or up to date equipment
Okay, I'll tackle this one by one:

* SAFETY: PAL is a very safe airline. It's IOSA-certified, the only Philippine airline to receive that certification. Lufthansa Technik maintains its planes. Some even say that PAL is doing a better job than the CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines). Who on Earth would say that PAL isn't safe?
* SERVICE: There may be hitches in PAL's service, but their service can be considered at par with the likes of SQ and TG. Their trans-Pacific crews may be "older", but as they say, it's all about experience. They were a great airline from my point of view. Maybe you should fly PAL and see for yourself.
* UP-TO-DATE EQUIPMENT: PAL's oldest aircraft is fifteen years old (their 744s). The hard product may need updating, but they are doing this with the 744s, and eventually their A340s as well. They're also receiving 77Ws to boot.

Before making preconceived judgements against PAL (like what you did with Garuda in another thread), please fly the airline concerned first, and not rely on second-hand (or heck, third-hand) Google hearsay.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 11:09 am
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Cool! thanks guys....

I guess i will be flying 747-400s on PR103 and PR102 from LAX-MNL.

Anyone knows if they've upgraded already? I really hope so. My flight is not till Oct anyways.

Yeah, the worst thing i heard about PAL was their occassional tardiness in the schedule. But, i can deal with that.

I forgot about the exclusive airport for PAL flights...that definitely is a plus!

Thanks again guys. I'll post some pics when i get back.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 4:51 pm
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Originally Posted by erickp
Anyone knows if they've upgraded already? I really hope so. My flight is not till Oct anyways.
Three 747s have been upgraded, with the last one scheduled to be refurbished within the year. Just make sure not to get RP-C8168, which will get a different product than the other four 747s.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 6:07 pm
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Originally Posted by Akiestar
RP-C8168, which will get a different product than the other four 747s.
Akiestar - Do you know what this is? And what product will it get? I've thought that perhaps it'll get the old F seats removed from other 744s with new PTVs. But I have no idea really.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 6:18 pm
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Originally Posted by Akiestar
* SERVICE: There may be hitches in PAL's service, but their service can be considered at par with the likes of SQ and TG. Their trans-Pacific crews may be "older", but as they say, it's all about experience. They were a great airline from my point of view. Maybe you should fly PAL and see for yourself.
As I said before, I've always been very pleased. Their service product (meals, place setting, wines) may not be quite as nice, but I think the C class service from the FAs is very good. And their English is the best that I've encountered on an Asian airline.

Originally Posted by Akiestar
UP-TO-DATE EQUIPMENT: PAL's oldest aircraft is fifteen years old (their 744s). The hard product may need updating, but they are doing this with the 744s, and eventually their A340s as well. They're also receiving 77Ws to boot.
The 744s are undergoing D-checks before the cabin upgrade so they are essentially new planes. Relax & enjoy.
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Old Aug 9, 2009, 10:34 pm
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Originally Posted by Akiestar
Three 747s have been upgraded, with the last one scheduled to be refurbished within the year. Just make sure not to get RP-C8168, which will get a different product than the other four 747s.
Which of the three seat maps is the one for the re-configs? The one with 42 Mabuhay Class?

The May press note quoted in the other PAL thread made it sound like the 56 seat Mabuhay set-up was the new one....or?
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