I’ve been reading a lot of raves regarding the new A350-1000 of Philippine Airlines. Impressive? Well, I remain to be skeptical about our national flag carrier.
My partner and I left for a short holiday to Osaka pre Holy Week exodus this year. Among all the flight schedules to Japan, the best flight is with PAL. And the crew is great. They’re attentive and very pleasant. Truly the heart of the Filipinos. And the flight was on time. So that’s the plus.
Then there are the cons. There are last minute changes on airline configuration. That disarray places the ones you’re traveling with away from you. And I hate the A330 without the in flight entertainment. While the seats are lie flat, you look like you’re in a funeral bunker with one to your left or right side higher than you when you’re lying flat. And because there’s no IFE, they give you an iPad.
Flights are also far expensive on PAL than the Japanese airlines. It’s almost a $700 difference for a lousier plane.
While the lounge in Terminal 1 has dramatically improved, it’s packed with hungry hippos.
In flight food was Japanese or International. And the Japanese meal wasn’t great. Neither was the international choice.
Worst of all, was the unpredictability of where we will land. This travel was supposed to be with my mom who’s in a wheelchair. But because of unavoidable circumstances, we canceled her joining us but continued on our vacation. And that was a good decision.
On our return flight from Osaka to Manila, the captain announced we would be landing in T2 where a bus would take us to T1. And our luggage’s would follow. It was good they separated the business from economy class – one bus each. But when we got to the gate, lo and behold, there passengers were going down the escalator because they were also boarding a PAL plane going to Hong Kong in a bus gate!!!
The ground crew was not panicking because arriving passengers had priority over departing. For a while there was confusion at the gate! And when it got sorted out, passengers departing and arriving were frustrated and tired.
And those like me, who travel on business class, could not help but be disappointed at this kind of service from a national carrier.
No matter what kind of plane you buy or upgrade or modify, it’s the bang for your buck that matters.
Can you blame me for not being a loyal customer to our own local airline?
Because to me, the overall experience matters. And that’s where PAL falls short.
Relative Joy 