Philippine Airlines

Not Verified | When I say first class I want to explain that was only for the 1st leg of our trip, as our flight was delayed overnight and we had to spend the night in Manila (so far at our expense), the 2nd part of the flight they not only changed our seats but put us in the very last row of the plane. Right in front of the very smelly toilet, of which there was only 2 for over 300 passengers. Extremely angry is an understatement as we missed the 1st day of our tour and also, at our expense had to find them and catch up. It's almost time now to head home and I'm writing this from my motel as we've just been informed our home flight is also delayed and we have to spend an extra 3 or so hours in Manila meaning we will miss our connecting flight. I'm so angry and will never use this airline again. And they broke the wheel on our suitcase and refused to do anything about it.

Not Verified | Would never recommend this airline at all, got delayed twice on the same flight to and from Osaka. Awful seat, awful food, awful flight scheduling, just awful.

✅ Trip Verified | The checkin at KUL was easy with our bags being checked through to Brisbane, however we were told that our second boarding pass from Manila to Brisbane would be available at the transfer counter in Manila. We were assured that everything was fine & that our seats were as stated on the ticket. So off we trotted to the lounge. This lounge was excellent & was used by a number of other airlines. It was well designed & a pleasant place with a good selection of food & good barista made coffee. Suddenly we were called to the desk. It was a call from the airline asking us whether we would agree to be downgraded to Premium Economy. We declined because of a medical condition. They said ok & once again guaranteed that we would have our assigned seats. The flight to Manila was in an older A320 with no lie flat bed. The service was attentive and the food perfectly acceptable for the short 3 &1/2 hour flight. Upon arrival we immediately went to the transfer desk. It was a zoo. Upon explaining that we were picking up our boarding passes for the flight to Brisbane they informed us that we no longer had the assigned seats and on top of that there was now an additional 4 hour departure delay. We were being downgraded & being offered $1100 (US) instead (Qantas, take note!!). We tried to find out why this was happening & were told a series of lies from a number of different people. In the end we relented because we simply had no choice. We insisted that we have extra legroom in PE & they gave us the first row. It turned out that the previous flight to Brisbane had been cancelled & now they were amalgamating that flight with ours on a larger aircraft. Our seats were, in fact, filled by the crew that would be flying the plane back to Manila. They could have been honest with us at the beginning but they just strung us along. Since returning home we have noticed that this has, once again occurred. It makes you wary about whether this is a recurring issue with their fleet. We are booked to return to KL in February & can only hope a similar fiasco doesn't await us. Manila Airport is a disgrace. Disorganized and chaotic. This is not the airlines fault as such. We found the FA's in the business class segment we flew to be professional and attentive. We were looking forward to the longer haul home to Australia but it was not to be. The food in economy was pretty ordinary and some of the attendants certainly had an attitude problem. I believe that Philippine Airlines has a good business class product however they suffer from the same problem as so many other airlines - a lack of honest communication. I'm hoping like hell that what happened to us isn't an indicator of things to come. If it isn't then I will happily recommend them for their business class.

Not Verified | Book 4 business class with PAL. My brother was un able to come and I cancelled the flight for him months prior. The PAL representative said they can use issue a voucher and I agreed. When I tried to use the voucher I couldn't because it was not my brothers name so I opted for the refund with a $250 usd penalty. 5 months later I'm still waiting for my refund with very poor communication from PAL and an autogenerated msg stating they are working on the refund. While in flight the Tv monitor was inoperative and they were unable to fix it. If you slept through the service you don't get a meal.

✅ Trip Verified | I have canceled my flights due to my husbands health last February, I called the Philippine airline’s countless of times, they told me that they’ll have to deduct $250 dollars for cancellation fee and I agreed. They told me 3 billings cycles and yet 5 months later I haven’t seen a dime out of $1800+ refunds and I patiently waited for 5 months for them to give back my money but they never did. So I called them again last July and asked what the heck is going on with my refunds. This time they told me to send them a proof of why I canceled my flights, so I sent them my husbands proof of hospitalization and records of his on going illness. I was on the phone with Philippine airlines costumer service when I sent all documentation and they told me they have received my documents, and same thing, just like the first time from months ago, my refund should be in my account within 3 billings cycles. It has been more than 3 billing cycles and I have not received my refund back.

✅ Trip Verified | I have no issues with their domestic flights but with their international flights, I have a lot especially the one from Manila to Sydney. Rescheduled flight PR5211. First, the aircraft was an A330. Similar to the one that they've used for SYD - MNL, but this one does not have personal inflight entertainment. It was the most boring flight ever. Also, I was hoping to be able to charge my phone while flying but to no avail because there was no USB port on every seat as well. Why is PAL unable to ensure this? Second, a day before, my flight was suddenly changed. This is very inconvenient because everything has been planned already. For them to ask me to wait for more than 12 hours in NAIA Terminal 1 is just horrible. There is no place to stay there unless you pay for it. Even so, the lounges only allow you to stay no more than 3hrs. I know that they are not in any way responsible with regard to how they run the immigration checks and all, but that is another pain that we have to pass through every time. I just hope, that as the country's official carrier, you might want to use your voice to streamline the processes on NAIA, at least to make it easier for passengers without compromising security of course. Lastly, when I checked my Mabuhay Miles account, not all my miles were reflected. I guess, this is due to the fact that my flight was rescheduled and flight number modified. Despite this, however, this is another inconvenience that could have been avoided if the departments concerned were doing their jobs properly. Imagine, those points would have just disappeared and forgotten if I had not checked my Mabuhay Miles account.

✅ Trip Verified | Very disappointed! After receiving the flight delay through email about one day before my flight I contacted the customer services and spend almost an hour to change my flight. Due to the flight delay it affected my international flight therefore I had to stay additional one day. I asked for certificate of delay for my insurance claim since May 2023 but til date I still have not received it despite email them, WhatsApp them, wrote to help and support but till date no one even bothers to reply and follow up!

Not Verified | The flight was cancelled 2 days in a row, then delayed again. Made other arrangements and Philippine Airlines will not give refund. They use the excuse that was no show, like how long am expected to wait until they actually decide to fly? Getting a refund is impossible with Philippine Airlines, as whenever happens is always the customers fault.

Not Verified | The first trip from Sydney to Haneda was surprisingly okay given my low expectations based on previous reviews I had read. The airline staff are very helpful and friendly and great with kids. Unfortunately that’s where the good news ends! On our return leg from Japan the first 5hr trip we had no tv at all with 2 children which is far from ideal. The air conditioning system was throwing off thick white air and it didn’t look normal? You could barely see 3 seats in front of you. Once we arrived at Manila for our Sydney transfer, we were then directed from our gate to another section of the airport to verify our luggage. This was such a strange stressful process and made no sense at all. All passengers had to put their boarding pass against the window so the baggage handlers could look at it and find your bag amongst everyone’s.They then bring the bags inside where 2 intimidating looking men who were not friendly at all make you open your bags in front of everyone and rummage through it. Everyone had to do this!!! It Was an absolute joke!! If you had a short transfer this would make you miss your next flight. The next unusual part of this leg was checking in to our gate, they make you scan all your hand luggage again and throw out any food or drink. We had just bought food given we had 4 hrs to wait and they made us chuck it out with two kids. Once we entered they made you do this process every time you went to the toilet as there was no toilet in the lounge. Airport staff and the airport of Manila was shocking. Nothing good to say about the place and everything in it. Honesty pay the extra money to fly another airline and avoid transiting Manila airport, really not worth the stress and hassle.

Not Verified | Philippine Airlines is not suitable for passengers with special needs, particularly persons With Disabilities (PWD). My son has a disability that necessitates the use of a specialized wheelchair for mobility. With other airlines, upon arrival, the special mobile chair is typically waiting outside the aircraft door. However, PAL consistently fails to coordinate this with the ground crew. This issue occurred when we arrived at Manila NAIA Terminal 1, where the special chair was transported directly to the carousel. We had to create a scene to have the chair brought to the door because their available wheelchairs are not suitable for PWD passengers, as most of them lack seat belts. The same situation arose on their domestic flight when we arrived in Roxas City, and again when returning on the flight to San Francisco. We were forced to use an unsafe wheelchair. Despite our efforts to communicate with the front desk and flight crew, we received no assistance. If you have a family member who requires a special mobile chair, I strongly discourage using PAL for Special Needs PWD passengers. They lack knowledge of the necessary accommodations. We usually choose Eva Air, where we have had no communication problems. Our experience with PAL was a one-time occurrence due to a family emergency.