Philippine Airlines

✅ Verified Review | Los Angeles to Manila. Things were off to a bad start from check in. The counter staff member on examining my passport asked for my Visa and i had to explain to her that I didn't need one, that I get an automatic visa on entry to which she replied "oh yeah". Next issue was that I had no follow on ticket from Manila. I told her that I didn't know the exact date I was leaving and so had not bought a follow on ticket. I also told her that on a previous visit to the Philippines and on my recent trips to the US and Canada, I had no follow on ticket and never had a problem with customs. As I understood it, follow on ticket is an issue for customs not the airline. I checked my luggage, received my boarding pass and headed to the boarding gate. Not long before we were due to board, there was an announcement over the PA system asking me to come to the counter. Same girl is there saying she's talked with her supervisor and that I can't board the flight without a follow on ticket. I'm trying to reason with her and asking why not and she's telling me it's to protect the airline! She offers to sell me a follow on ticket there and then from Manila to Hong Kong for $450, almost the same price as LA to Manila! No Wifi there at the boarding gate so i'm not able to buy a cheap ticket using my smartphone. They ordered by bags off the plane. I walked away quickly trying to find an area with Wifi and managed to buy a cheap ticket before going back and boarding the plane. The flight itself was ok but I'll never fly with them again because of that.

✅ Verified Review | Riyadh to Manila return. Flight was full due to the holiday. Outbound Riyadh flight was smooth, served 2 full meals and snack and food was good. Departure Riyadh and arrival in Manila was on time. For entertainment, iPads were given to each passenger. FA's were attentive enough to cater to the passengers request. Inbound Riyadh, departure was late for 40 minutes, but arrived Riyadh on time. Service was excellent. Premium Economy section was moved back a bit to give way to the new Business Class section in the front, introduced in the Riyadh route last August. Except for one downside, the economy passengers on the next cabin are using the Premium Economy lavatory which is very inconvenient for our section. Economy passengers has 4 lavatories in their section and too lazy to go there. If only the airline can close the side of the galley so that economy passengers are discouraged to use the Premium Economy lavatory - it will be much more quieter and not withstanding the queue at the back of row 24 E/F/G. Otherwise, the service, flight and crew are perfect.

✅ Verified Review | London to Manila. Chose Business on PAL as only non stop and 13-14 hour flight to Manila from London. Both flights were delayed, though outward flight arrived on time, with no explanation to passengers waiting in the departure lounge. Cabin fell short of expectations on both flights: looked old, cramped and seats were not comfortable. Aisle seats became impassable once they were fully reclined! Had to watch film from a tablet, with very limited choice of films (old: 2016 release being the most recent), TV shows were also uninteresting. Service was exceptional on both flights, crew very helpful, friendly and professional. They could be even better if had more knowledge of food and beverages served, as well as skill in serving them. Refreshments outside of service were on demand, and staff accommodated any request, incl rice porridge!

✅ Verified Review | Very happy first time flying with Phillipines Airlines from Sydney to Manila, they did very well in all regards - friendly staff, decent food and entertainment. Not once did I feel unsafe (and I hate flying). As the Phillipines number some 7000+ islands, I feel their staff are experienced pilots and that works in their favour.

✅ Verified Review | Manila to Riyadh. Left MNL 30 minutes from the scheduled departure time. However, arrived almost one hour ahead in Riyadh. Huge improvement in the on-board service department. Served one full meal and 2 snacks which was a plus compared to other airlines that serve only 2 meals. Overall an excellent experience with PAL starting from check-in to on-board service to early arrival in RUH. Good job PAL!

✅ Verified Review | My wife's "non-stop" flight on August 8, 2017 from San Francisco to Manila was late arriving in SFO by an hour and then diverted to Japan for an unscheduled stop and refueling, then arrived in Manila 3 hours late, causing my wife to miss her connecting flight. The plane personnel promised passengers they would arrange for new connecting flights when they arrived in Manila. But when she went to the Philippine Airlines ticket counter, the employees refused any kind of help. I spent 5 hours on the phone trying to resolve this with PAL and got nothing but frustration from their customer service department. Cebu Pacific was just as uncooperative and charged my wife full fare for another connecting flight, so she paid twice for one flight. Philippine Airlines has refused to compensate my wife for the connecting flight or give her a partial refund of her "non-stop" flight ticket. She could have made her connecting flight if the plane wasn't late to SFO to begin with. Bottom line, the employees lie through their teeth to appease you, and once you are at the final destination, they refuse any help. To add insult to injury, they also charged my wife an additional $150 because her carry on suitcase was over 15 pounds. The suitcase weighed half of that, and the candy she brought for kids made up more than the rest of the "allowance". $150 because she was slightly over 15 pounds. The flight she took from SLC to SFO did not charge her any extra.

✅ Verified Review | Manila to Kuala Lumpur. We were a group of five - 2 adults, 2 kids, 1 infant. Flight was originally scheduled at 1110 am and was delayed by an hour. Notification was sent via email at 0930. Strangely nothing was said during check-in (0900), and we only knew it by chance because I opened my email using the airport's free wifi at 1000. There was no announcement or update on the tv screen. On-board, we were told that our pre-requested halal meals were unavailable. I have called the airlines' office in KL twice two weeks before departure from KUL to confirm. Airline crews did their best trying to appease us. Two fish-based meals, maybe extras from the business class, were given to us. Will we fly with them again? Yes, but only if Philippine Airlines can get their act together.

✅ Verified Review | New York to Vancouver. Seat comfort was good, and departure and arrival times were close to schedule. However the pre and post boarding experience were terrible. There was almost no inflight service other than handing out and collecting meals. The few requests we made were overlooked.

✅ Verified Review | Earlier this month I travelled from London to Sydney with Philippine Airlines. It was my first time I had travelled alone on a long haul flight, so naturally I was nervous about my journey. I researched my flight and read some distressing reviews about this flight! However, after being very sceptical about the flight I was pleasantly surprised and don't think the airline deserves the reviews it was getting! Yes, there was no inflight entertainment but they did give out iPads with charging packs. This meant we could watch films and TV series on there. The food was not always to my liking, but it was perfectly acceptable and there was plenty of it. The seats were okay, any long haul flight is going to have its discomforts and for the money spent on these flights it wasn't bad. The staff were all very accommodating and friendly. Don't get me wrong, it's not the best airline I have ever flown with but for the money I paid compared to other airlines I was pretty impressed. It got me to my destination on time and without too much discomfort. For a solo traveller on a budget i would recommend.

✅ Verified Review | I was pleased with the service from Bacolod to Manila, the A321 aircraft is big and comfortable. The snacks is great and the FA was very pleasant. The only complaint I got they need to put in each seat a TV for entertainment. Otherwise the service is excellent.