Philippine Airlines

Booking online and getting the baggage allowance is impossible so when you arrive to check in I was charged 1600 pesos for 1 kg over the weight! Long long lines to check in to the flight, very old and decaying terminal with no wifi - this is PAL's own terminal - one would think they would at least have the best most modern terminal for their national airline! The plane was old - with no in seat entertainment or TV screens on the walls. The food was awful. Toilets were not clean on the plane. The only redeeming feature was the staff were very nice and friendly and tried to be helpful. The last complaint is some of the regional flights arrive at Terminal 3 so you have to take a 1 hour taxi ride to get to Terminal 2 to catch the international flight.

On a recent trip to Australia from the U.S., I decided to try Philippine Airlines. I flew Business class and was very pleased with every aspect of the trip. I found the aircraft to be in good comfortable condition. The staff to be very friendly and attentive. The food was very acceptable by airline standards. The only caveat would be that you have to allow an extra day to your trip as a night at a hotel in Manila would be required to allow for scheduled flights. Given that time is not an issue with me, I found Philippine Airlines a good choice.

I flew with PAL Business class, Boeing 777 PR 0117 and 0118 for April 17 2015. The service was just like any economy airline and the food lacks quality. They served salted fish and the rest are of fast food type Western Food. The crew were all smiles but unable to problem-solve. This is my second time to fly PAL and I always fly business class with other airlines. I cannot recommend this airline for business class. Perhaps economy would be more suitable. All it offered was a direct flight from Vancouver to Phil and back. However, there might be more fun flying with airlines that stop over Japan or Hong Kong provided you have enough lay over time.

Flew MNL-BKK-MNL using an Airbus 330-300. Flights were both on-time. Inflight crew were attentive and friendly which I guess is the airline's advantage. Inflight service though is below average. There was no inflight entertainment; no video nor music. Flight from BKK-MNL was suppose to have a wireless inflight entertainment but was not working. PAL flights seem to be very expensive considering their in-flight service that is similar to low- cost airlines.

JFK-YVR. 5/17/2015. First the online check-in didn't work for anyone. I know because I asked a few people in line while waiting an hour for my boarding pass when I only had carry on. The cabin was from 1990s in a bad way. Three TV screens for the cabin no power outlets old interior. The engine broke when we were on the runway they jiggled the cables and rebooted the computers for 5 hours and then decided that the engine really was broken and let us off the plane. They started taking people to hotels and not re-routing / ticketing to other airlines. As soon as I could find an outlet in the terminal I called my booking agent's after hours number and they found a flight through WestJet and I was home in 8 hours through Calgary. I would avoid.

I traveled from GUM-MNL stayed one night in MNL then traveled domestically from MNL-DVO then later a return flight from DVO-MNL. The flight experience was so-so no different from any other airline (and I've had my fair share of airlines). The plane was clean enough for its age. Space was adequate (I'm short though 5'2). My only pet peeve is the hidden charges and policies when it comes to excess baggage. Even if you pre-purchase excess baggage they find a way to charge you a bit for the extra weight. For example I bought two extra 30 kg (total 60 kg) excess baggage for MNL-DVO flight since I was in my home base of Guam. When I got to the check-in counter in MNL going to DVO they honored the first 30 kg pre-paid excess but not the second 30 kg excess. Why? Because apparently as per the PAL staff checking me in only one pre-paid excess baggage per person allowed. So why did the PAL in my home base allow me to purchase two prepaid excess baggage while PAL in MNL would not honor this purchase? I ended up paying for the excess baggage and no refunds for the 2ND prepaid baggage. The same happened for DVO-MNL. Got charged $100+ even though I had my prepaid baggage. This airline is very inconsistent. Their main goal really is to make money. You can see it from the start. They don't care about their guests. I recommend using local airlines instead of PAL if travelling domestically. I recommend using any other available airline but PAL if travelling internationally or domestically. The charges aren't as harsh for pretty much the same flight experience.

Food is one of the major factor for me in reviewing an airline and Philippine Airlines food is very poor. First meal ran out of choice and I was given what was left. Second meal was a choice of corned beef or adobo bangus. I don't complain about the seat comfort for economy passengers because you get what you pay for but the plane ticket is always expensive compared with other airlines who offer overall better services. The toilet ran out of water and they would offer a premium of exit seat areas which other don't. The only good thing are the airline ground crew at the check in which were friendly nice and considerate.

PR1846 Cebu to Manila. PR1861 Manila to Cebu. Travelled Business class round trip Cebu to Manila. Ground staff were appalling. No designated area where you have queue up. Everyone just jumped in. Very unfriendly and unwelcoming staff. Worst ground crew staff I have encountered in Cebu and Manila.

BKK-MNL-BKK. Booked online with no hassle on using foreign credit or debit cards. Efficient and trouble-free check-in in both BKK and MNL T2 with a decent 30kg baggage allowance. Both flights on time. Cabin Crew were efficient with a basic but delicious hot meal service. I've had worse food on Business Class on some airlines. Both flights were pretty full which shows PAL are doing something right. Genuine improvements in the airline who are trying hard to be the airline they need to be in today's marketplace. I'll use them again.

PR427 16th February. I had to fly Philippine Airlines from Tokyo to Taipei (via Manila) after Vanilla Air left me stranded. I booked it at the last minute with a stopover but realised too late that I didn't have six months validity on my passport. Needless to say it was a big mess but all staff were incredibly helpful. They rang the airport in Manila to find out what my options were and to ensure that I wouldn't be sent back and charged a very reasonable amount to change my flight so that I could spend the night at the airport and fly out on the first flight the next morning. They even arranged a vegetarian meal for me at the last minute. I always think the test for a company is when things go wrong and Philippine Air passed this test with flying colours. As for the flight itself sure they're a budget airline but the flight was perfectly comfortable food was good and staff were friendly and efficient both in-flight and especially at the airport in Tokyo. I would definitely fly with them again.