Philippine Airlines

MNL-SIN-MNL. Check-in in both airports were fast and efficient. Lounge in MNL is a great improvement from its contemporaries in T1 and T3 in MNL. Seats were standard 20 inch width and 38 inch pitch. Service in the air was great. F/A addressed me by name and were more than happy to provide refills. Flights on time and ahead of schedule. Only complaint would be IFE was a bit limited with few films and TV shows. Overall a great experience with PAL.

I flew with PAL on a new 777 PR721 Business class the seat was very hard and the food very poor the lounge at LHR Malaysia Airlines was also very poor I have also noted that on my return trip on 21st September 2014 that I will be flying on a 15 year old A340 which I am led to believe is an ex-Iberia plane that PAL have leased. I suppose that when I complain they'll say that the plane was changed for operational reasons. I think that they are going to lose a lot of customers from the UK.

PR731 BKK to MNL on Aug 25th. I am a very tall overweight guy. I simply do not fly economy ever. PAL changed the plane to the very cramped A330 with no business class available. Wish they had told me in advance so I could have bought a business ticket with Thai. At the counter they gave me 150 usd credit per ticket which in no way covers the fare difference I had paid. They said even with Premium Economy seats they would give Business service. Not true at all. Seats are a nightmare food was horrible and I got a cranky face when I asked for a drink refill. They can keep their money because I'm not flying PAL again which should be tricky living in Manila but doable.

PR 118 August 20 2014 Manila-Vancouver-Toronto. Everything went well until we reached Vancouver airport. The airplane didn't land smoothly we found out later on there was something wrong with the aircraft. We were in our seats just waiting for our flight to Toronto while the pilot announced we were going to have a short delay of 2 hours. They served us a meal. An hour after a meal they announced again that we should leave the airplane with all our hand carry luggage. We were kept in a small part of airport. 5 hour delay by that time. Told the delay would be 7 hours by this time. It was around 7pm. We supposed to be in Toronto by 9.30 pm. We went to the baggage claim and waited an hour for our things. Then they made us line up for food vouchers for almost 2 hours. Given 15$ each. 12.30 we were lined up to check our luggage in again. The line was pretty long and it moved so slowly. We got on the plane at 3 am. We got to Toronto but our luggage was late. We got out of airport at almost 12 noon. More than 13 hour delay.

Flew from Denpasar to Manila PR538 31 March and was pleasantly surprised. Staff service was perky crisp and efficient which is not the usual PAL service of ten or even five years ago. The flight was full and since it was a red eye flight I did not have full use of the IFE. Price is affordable and even got my excess baggage charges waived because the handling agent in Ngurah Rai were so slow in checking in passengers that it was almost near boarding time. Above-average if not most improved.

I am a regular business class traveler on the London - Manila sector and was happy that Philippine Airlines introduced a direct flight from London to Manila. Travelled on the London - Manila - London sectors several times from early December 2013 and was generally happy with the 777 comfort. However my recent journey from Manila to London was terrible. Evidently Philippine Airlines started using 15 year old A340 planes on the route in early August that appears to be part of the problem - slower plane takes 1.5 hours longer than the 777 now only 2 hours faster than quality Middle Eastern carriers very poor seats no full pull down separators between adjacent seats no current affairs or news programs on the in-seat media system - understand the programs are only changed every 2 months only 3 small toilets for business class with old scoured and discoloured wash basins. Very basic food compared to alternative carriers. Philippine Airlines are selling upgrades from economy to business at the airport for $500 which is then $500 less than a business ticket purchased online. Advised that only 14 business class seat had been sold but business was full - presumably passengers took the $500 check in upgrade. Philippine Airlines need to decide whether it wants to be a budget or premium player in the airline business. Needless to mention that I will not travel again with Philippine Airlines on the London - Manila route.

PR721 LHR-MNL 9 June 2014. Flight was on time and we arrived in Manila ahead of schedule. Return from Manila to London was on time as well. Great food service etc. I was very satisfied.

June 14 2014 flight 731. Everything was fine on the plane except there was no proper inflight entertainment. Only a few TV screens in the middle row of the plane (I was expecting PAL to be better than AA). Anyway the food was horrible and was very bland. The seat was okay. MNL airport was ugly.

I flew from SFO-MNL-SFO only because of the direct flight schedule. I've flown most of the airlines in the Star Alliance Sky Team and OneWorld and it is with extreme disappointment to say that PAL does not come close to the level of any of the airlines in these groups. PAL fare is significantly higher being on schedule is an issue (I can't believe that the one time I had to fly PAL both inbound and outbound flights were delayed! On the inbound flight the pilot says after passengers are boarded "we have a mechanical failure your safety is our concern so we will be delayed on take off for at least an hour". The flight attendants have an attitude - they see you struggling with your luggage and stare at you. I asked an FA for water she looked annoyed that I asked her for something and to top it off she never came back with the water. They must be cutting back on food (considering how much more expensive they are compared to other airlines) - by the middle row there were no choices left - you just have to take what they give you!

Flew from MNL-MPH-MNL-TUG. Uneventful flights except for a 90 minute delay on NAIA (very congested airport and needs to be shut down). What made a difference is how the airline immediately accepted my sister's medical equipment even though it is a bit overweight. This was unlike Emirates (IAD-DXB) where they made us wait until the flight was about to board when they finally accept her medical machine/supplies. And yes I do agree that PAL has good landings.