Philippines via China Airlines A350 J
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 48
Philippines via China Airlines A350 J
BACKGROUND:
My fiancé and I recently went to the Philippines early in September. We booked Premium Economy tickets with the routing of SFO-TPE-MNL. We used miles we’ve accumulated to upgrade to Business Class.
I know most people try to avoid China Airlines since there are so many other great options to cross the Pacific. We’ve actually gained status from just 3 trans-Pacific flights so inevitably our loyalty is with China Airlines when traveling to the Philippines.
I have found service on China Airlines nice but not excellent. They are not very proactive, but this could be because the flight takes off at 1:40am Pacific time. The food on China Airlines is average at best. What really annoys me is that SFO-TPE is approximately a 12-hour flight, but they begin breakfast service 3 hours prior to arrival, YES, THREE HOURS prior to arrival.
Now I just sound like a negative Nancy… but there is good to China Airlines as well. They have a very new long haul fleet with their 777’s and their brand new A350’s. I have always been a Boeing fan but I think I actually like the A350 more. Our flight would be on a A350.
For this trip, we spent around 2 weeks in the Philippines with our time spent in Coron, Palawan for the first 4 nights. We also spent a few days in Boracay. We then spent a few days in Tagaytay for my cousins wedding. The remainder of the time was spent in Manila. My fiancé left 5 days before me. On a whim, I went to Hong Kong for 3 days, which was great.
I apologize for the lack of airplane pictures, but I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
TRAVEL DAY - SFO-TPE-MNL
Entrance into the lounges at SFO
Signs pointing towards the lounges
Inside the depressing China Airlines lounge at SFO. We immediately left the lounge and went to the Air France/KLM lounge which was better.
Bar at the China Airlines lounge with no one there…
Onboard seat 15K. I thought the Business Class cabin was actually very nice.
Water and storage space
Nice little table lamp
I think it’s a great looking cabin
Pol Roger to start
Lobster starter
Fiance wasn’t hungry so I got her protein
Dessert was the best part of the meal service
Some Johnny Walker Blue Label to wash it all down
Snack area set up in between Business Class and Premium Economy cabin
Cabin after the meal service
Oolong tea with Pineapple cake
Clean lavatory
controller or touch screen
Hot towel before breakfast service
I opted for the omelette
Mood lighting turned on 3 hours prior to arrival into TPE
Seat control
Overall, I think it was a very relaxing flight. The crew was friendly but wasn't over the top. They did address me by my last name. I don't know if it was because of a full cabin, but the meal service was very slow and they were't exactly great in refilling drinks. The seat was very comfortable and managed to get about 6 hours of sleep.
Entrance into the lounge at TPE
I apologize for the quality. I initially used my Canon G7X for photos but these were taken with my iPhone.
DESTINATION PHOTOS:
I didn’t take any more photos of the flight from that point on. Here’s a few photos from Coron, Palawan, Philippines.
A few photos from Boracay.
First to board the Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to Caticlan
Boracay
Transfer from plane to boat
Our boat awaits
I highly recommend the Coast in Boracay which is rated #1 on Tripadvisor
Fresh squid
Crispy Pata (pork knuckle)
Onwards to Hong Kong
CONCLUSION
Again, I apologize for the lack of airplane pictures. I initially didn’t plan on writing a trip report. It was a great 17 days in Asia. September is the end of the rainy season for the Philippines so I feel we were extremely lucky that it didn’t rain much while we were there. I think Philippines is a very underrated destination and I think it’s definitely worth a visit. Thanks for reading my trip report!
My fiancé and I recently went to the Philippines early in September. We booked Premium Economy tickets with the routing of SFO-TPE-MNL. We used miles we’ve accumulated to upgrade to Business Class.
I know most people try to avoid China Airlines since there are so many other great options to cross the Pacific. We’ve actually gained status from just 3 trans-Pacific flights so inevitably our loyalty is with China Airlines when traveling to the Philippines.
I have found service on China Airlines nice but not excellent. They are not very proactive, but this could be because the flight takes off at 1:40am Pacific time. The food on China Airlines is average at best. What really annoys me is that SFO-TPE is approximately a 12-hour flight, but they begin breakfast service 3 hours prior to arrival, YES, THREE HOURS prior to arrival.
Now I just sound like a negative Nancy… but there is good to China Airlines as well. They have a very new long haul fleet with their 777’s and their brand new A350’s. I have always been a Boeing fan but I think I actually like the A350 more. Our flight would be on a A350.
For this trip, we spent around 2 weeks in the Philippines with our time spent in Coron, Palawan for the first 4 nights. We also spent a few days in Boracay. We then spent a few days in Tagaytay for my cousins wedding. The remainder of the time was spent in Manila. My fiancé left 5 days before me. On a whim, I went to Hong Kong for 3 days, which was great.
I apologize for the lack of airplane pictures, but I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
TRAVEL DAY - SFO-TPE-MNL
Entrance into the lounges at SFO
Signs pointing towards the lounges
Inside the depressing China Airlines lounge at SFO. We immediately left the lounge and went to the Air France/KLM lounge which was better.
Bar at the China Airlines lounge with no one there…
Onboard seat 15K. I thought the Business Class cabin was actually very nice.
Water and storage space
Nice little table lamp
I think it’s a great looking cabin
Pol Roger to start
Lobster starter
Fiance wasn’t hungry so I got her protein
Dessert was the best part of the meal service
Some Johnny Walker Blue Label to wash it all down
Snack area set up in between Business Class and Premium Economy cabin
Cabin after the meal service
Oolong tea with Pineapple cake
Clean lavatory
controller or touch screen
Hot towel before breakfast service
I opted for the omelette
Mood lighting turned on 3 hours prior to arrival into TPE
Seat control
Overall, I think it was a very relaxing flight. The crew was friendly but wasn't over the top. They did address me by my last name. I don't know if it was because of a full cabin, but the meal service was very slow and they were't exactly great in refilling drinks. The seat was very comfortable and managed to get about 6 hours of sleep.
Entrance into the lounge at TPE
I apologize for the quality. I initially used my Canon G7X for photos but these were taken with my iPhone.
DESTINATION PHOTOS:
I didn’t take any more photos of the flight from that point on. Here’s a few photos from Coron, Palawan, Philippines.
A few photos from Boracay.
First to board the Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to Caticlan
Boracay
Transfer from plane to boat
Our boat awaits
I highly recommend the Coast in Boracay which is rated #1 on Tripadvisor
Fresh squid
Crispy Pata (pork knuckle)
Onwards to Hong Kong
CONCLUSION
Again, I apologize for the lack of airplane pictures. I initially didn’t plan on writing a trip report. It was a great 17 days in Asia. September is the end of the rainy season for the Philippines so I feel we were extremely lucky that it didn’t rain much while we were there. I think Philippines is a very underrated destination and I think it’s definitely worth a visit. Thanks for reading my trip report!
#2
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: LAX now, previously SEA
Programs: BR Diamond, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 206
Nice report. Rare to see a CI report on here for longhaul business class. I use to fly CI a lot before my company switched over to BR for our corporate travel. If the early breakfast annoys you, make sure to tell the FA before you go to sleep. I usually ask to have breakfast 1.5 hours before landing and they usually don't have any issue with this. If you use a good sleep mask and earplugs you should be able to maximize your rest time this way.
#4
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Indonesia
Programs: GarudaMiles (most active), Asia Miles (most active), Kris Flyer, Flying Blue, Royal Orchid Plus
Posts: 79
Some hardware changes spotted here. The champagne is now Pol Roger, new menu book, and the tableware are new too. They look very different compared with my previous J flight with them in May 2017 SIN-TPE vv.
I'm not sure if this is typical for their long haul flights, or maybe they did change it by now.
I'm not sure if this is typical for their long haul flights, or maybe they did change it by now.
#5
Some hardware changes spotted here. The champagne is now Pol Roger, new menu book, and the tableware are new too. They look very different compared with my previous J flight with them in May 2017 SIN-TPE vv.
I'm not sure if this is typical for their long haul flights, or maybe they did change it by now.
I'm not sure if this is typical for their long haul flights, or maybe they did change it by now.
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 48
Thanks for reading my report! There are three main airports you can fly into Palawan. First is Puerto Princessa, then El Nido, and lastly Busuanga (Coron). I believe only Philippine Airlines, Air Asia, Cebu Pacific, and Swift Air fly into Palawan. To get to any of those cities you'll need to connect via MNL. Leave yourself plenty of time for a connection because MNL is a nightmare. There are 4 terminals at MNL and they are basically different airports. I would leave at least 3 hours for connecting. Hope that helps.
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 48
Some hardware changes spotted here. The champagne is now Pol Roger, new menu book, and the tableware are new too. They look very different compared with my previous J flight with them in May 2017 SIN-TPE vv.
I'm not sure if this is typical for their long haul flights, or maybe they did change it by now.
I'm not sure if this is typical for their long haul flights, or maybe they did change it by now.
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 48
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 48
#15
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,505
For your SFO-TPE sector, seems the J seat enclosure is not high enough and there isn't too much privacy for your pod. Even in Y, you won't be able to see so much of the folk ahead of you's head!
The dinner menu looks quite good. I've never had lobster in any of my CX J transpacific flights! But the presentation of the actual product leaves much more to be desired.
The dinner menu looks quite good. I've never had lobster in any of my CX J transpacific flights! But the presentation of the actual product leaves much more to be desired.