VanMan

Thanks for the detailed report...I've never flown PAL, all my many flights into the Philippines were on SQ from SIN, but I may well give them a try now that I'm retired and I'm watching the fares more careully.

camsean

Thanks for the very detailed trip report.

I've got a heap of domestic PAL flights coming up in the next couple of weeks so I was even more interested than I'd normally be.

It's be my first time on PAL since the late 1980's.

SMART51

Wow. very nice report and the pictures are great. Well done.

Akiestar

Thanks guys for the responses! I told myself prior to this trip that I will be sending this TR (and all subsequent TRs) to Philippine Airlines' management so that they can hopefully improve their customer service. They're aiming for a four-star Skytrax rating by I think 2010.

The "Real Deal", chaotic as it may be, is arguably PAL's best deal for international flights in a very long time (maybe ever, but I'm not sure). The rock-bottom U.S. fares, for one, were really popular, and a lot of those who were traveling out on Real Deal fares were either headed to North America or Australia, which are usually PAL's most expensive destinations.

Speaking of bargains, if I do return to Japan for my mid-year break in October, it may be on CI. They have a promo fare of $325 plus taxes, bookable only through travel agencies. Definitely cheaper than PAL.

You should see it in the evening. It actually gets quite lively!

I was going to call it "FT's longest TR based on sheer length", but I think there are longer ones out there.

I've never flown SQ, and I'd love to try them going to SIN. The A.Net TR on that particular route (MNL-SIN on PR as part of KUL-MNL-SIN-KUL on MH and PR) is actually quite interesting.

Expect to use largely narrow-body aircraft. A330s are used for CEB, DVO, GES and PPS, and normally only in the morning or late afternoon. CEB also sees A340s on some 6:00 am flights. Try going to CEB on Wednesday (on the 4:00 pm flight) so you can catch the 747!

Although PAL did a lot of cost-cutting to better compete with Cebu Pacific (and now Zest Airways) domestically, the sheer name "PAL" connotes a much higher level of service.

Ahh...PAL in its prime, at least internationally. This is no longer the "Plane Always Late" PAL that people were accustomed to in the 1980s and 1990s. Hope you enjoy your domestic hops!

Thanks! I'll try to do a much better job picture-wise though in future TRs, since I'll be lugging the EOS with me more often.

jef7

Bravo Akiestar for this incredibly detailed report ^

I can't help but notice your signature . I will admit that PR rarely gets included in my options to MNL because of the lack of major Alliance it participates in. Like others, a visit to MNL is a visit to SIN (UA/SQ) combination.

Akiestar

I'll respond in order of comment.

First, "It's About Experience" is a PAL slogan, adopted for its 60th anniversary when it commenced service to Las Vegas. Domestically, the slogan was replaced with "With Us, You're Always Number 1" to better compete with Cebu Pacific and other LCCs, but the former is still used in a lot of PAL advertising and, if I'm not mistaken, internationally.

Second, the alliance issue they say boils down supposedly to PAL's business model, as well as a lack of airlines actively courting it to join an alliance. I am proud to support PAL as a potential SkyTeam member, and I would oppose any attempt to get the airline into Oneworld, where it would only be reduced to feeding passengers to HKG and NRT. They say that with a renewed PR-KL interline agreement (one can book on KL from select local destinations onto connecting KL flights, with domestic legs operated by PR), it may bolster its chances of joining SkyTeam and joining VN, who codeshares with PR on MNL-SGN.

Lastly, I still can't wait to fly SQ someday. I did get to fly TG, though! ^

Thanks a lot for reading.

Mynameismud

Nice report, never had the chance before to read a TR about PR.
i am also a Pepper lunch fan in TYO...

Akiestar

Thanks for reading. Glad the TR piqued your interest: it disheartens me that there are still people who believe that PAL is (copied near-verbatim from a comment on A.Net) a lousy, third-rate airline. Sure, there are instances where PAL can get lousy (and I experienced this first-hand!), but perhaps it's time to change people's perceptions, right?

Pepper Lunch is great! Can't wait to try them here in Manila so I can compare.