MNL-HKG
PR310 / A330
Scheduled Departure: 1800
Actual Departure: 1750
Scheduled Arrival: 2000
Actual Arrival : 1930
Seat: 16K

After a pleasant weekend in Manila it was time to head back to work. I left the hotel at 1300 and made a pit stop at the Airport Casino for a spot of roulette and blackjack ! After winning 3000 pesos, i got to the airport just before 3pm.

Terminal 2 is definitely a lot cleaner/more sterile than NAIA 1 (which all the other airlines depart from) - however, there are a lot more shops and places to wander about in T1.

After going through the initial security, i went over to the PR check-in counter - there was absolutely no other passengers in the terminal. I came to Manila with 13kg in my check-in - I was leaving with 68kgs!!!! Shopping is cheap in Manila - try the new Mall of Asia - lots of nice stuff there! I was told that by the check-in lady that they needed to charge me excess luggage as the plane was full - she calculated only 10kgs extra and was made to pay US$19 at a different counter before returning to check-in.

Note that when flying out of MNL - absolutely no liquids are permitted in your carry on - whatever the size - there is no need for a freedom baggie here - everything goes in your check-in luggage!

Received my boarding pass and paid the departure tax of 550 pesos and went towards security. Security at MNL means taking off your shoes, belt, watch, jewelery and emptying all your pockets before even going through the metal detector.

The terminal is pretty small and i decided there was nothing better to do, went over to the smokers lounge first.



Across the tarmac, I could see the new terminal that has been lying vacant for the past year due to a dispute between FraPort (who built it and were supposed to operate it) and the current government. It reminds me a bit of the old Kai Tak terminal - dont know why! But im sure it'll be a big step up compared to T1 and T2 currently. Incidently, there is no central airconditioning in T2 - note the air blower in the picture above!



The PR Lounge was located right next to the smoking room. This has to be one of the most drab and shabbiest flagship lounges i've ever been to! The PR Lounge in Cebu happens to be far far far better - what was PR thinking!?! This lounge is horrendous and if it weren't for the bar and food setup - it would be your typical greyhound waiting room! UGH!






I had three JD and cokes from the bar - again was poured a very big glass and helped myself to some samosas, and sandwiches from the spread. Thankfully i didn't have to spend too much time in this lounge and boarding was soon called for my flight.



There was no priority boarding for business class, and i just walked straight on when the economy boarding began.

The crew on this flight didn't seem as friendly as the previous - and no attempt was made to find out my name. However, the Purser came over to welcome me onboard and shake my hand.

After a few minutes the captain comes on and says that we will be able to take off early and we are just waiting for the last few passengers to board! This seemed a bit odd as there was still absolutely no one else in the C cabin except for me!! Economy was 100% full though.




In a first for me, the cabin was completely empty except for me. Speaking to a friend who works at the airport about it, i was told that the PR flights are completely full from MNL-HKG in the morning with off-duty PR crew and family going to shop in HK and the evening flights from HKG-MNL are full of them coming back. This would seem to make sense of what i had experienced.

The legroom was a lot better compared to the bulkhead seat that i had earlier. The purser came back once boarding was completed and took my jacked and offered me a pre-takeoff drink - i choose water.



We took off about 20 minutes earlier than scheduled and were soon served dinner. There was a choice of pasta with shrimps, pork and rice, or a fish dish. I choose the pasta which was actually quite delicious and filling. Dessert was the same as my previous flight - a Belgian chocolate pudding with creme anglais.




Bread was offered twice (what do you expect - i was the only one in the cabin!) and so were drinks. As my tray was being cleared, i was also offered a pack of playing cards!

Pretty soon we were making our descent into HKG and we touched down at gate 17 around 30 mins early.



Gate 17 involves a looonnnngg walk through the jetway but it took me only 5 minutes from stepping off the plane to reaching the luggage belt. Having a HKID helps as the line for visitors was probably a hundred deep.

My flight wasn't even listed when i reached the belt. But pretty soon, i received my bags and was on my way home a mere 15 mins. after reaching the gate!

Summary

A C-Class ticket on PR cost the same as a Y ticket on CX. If you lower your expectations or are used to US domestic flights then the experience will be a good one on PR.

Personally i wouldn't fly PR again - but can't wait for the day that there is a star alliance connection between HKG and MNL. Swissair used to fly the route, as did BA. But now, your only choice is CX, PR, Cebu Pacific or Saudi Arabian - none of which i'm crazy about.

Hope this was a good read - its my first TR so comments are welcome!

Thanks.