Philippine's flag carrier offers great food, service, and a competitive seat from Manila to the world. While there is still room for improvement PAL offers a comfortable way to travel.
I just flew PAL from Manila to SFO 2 days ago & had an amazing travel even though I was too tired from my 4 weeks Asian vacation ( Thailand & Singapore) The crew were all professional Filipinos. More leg rooms in economy coach unlike Eva and British airways. We were all treated like we were in Business & First class cabins. I will always fly with PAL from now on. They even speak English fluently . Thank you Philippines. Mabuhay!
@Ryle The Game Explorer Totally agree with you! Their catch is the non-stop between SFO and MNL, Other than that, they do NOT maintain their equipment, even in business class. The only business class with 3 in the middle. PAL why don't you help out your fellow Filipinos with Business where one doesn't have to cross over another passenger to use the restroom? Mediocre food. Hate it when Filipinos have extremely biased reviews promoting PAL. Produce a good product and I will promote you.
Lol you must be overproud Filipino Eva Air has actually 33 inches of legroom and better service While Philippine Airlines has 31 inches of legroom and ok service
Excellent review! I have flown the PAL A350 JFK-MNL in business three times. I've found the service and food to be consistently good. I am 6'3" and I have a hard time sleeping in the bed - probably because I'm too big. I agree about the IFE screen, but on 4 out of 6 legs I've flow, the IFE either malfunctioned or didn't work properly. Again, great review & thanks!
I have loved every flight on PAL. Great service and friendly staff. The fog was not as bad as when I flew into Iceland from Scotland en route to Toronto. We were parked next to the terminal, which we could not see it was so thick. Raised my appreciation for the skill of the pilots.
Heyho, thanks for sharing ... I LOVE THE A350 .... So sad, that Philippines dont fly to FRA anymore ... Greez from a Planespotter and Flightreporter from Frankfurt,Germany :)
After years of flying QF to MNL from MEL via SYD, I got tired of the extra stop in SYD as well as the evening and late night arrivals in MNL so I tried PR after decades of avoiding them. I was pleasantly surprised by the service and the food. The midday arrival in MNL plus the direct flight from Melbourne was a big plus too. I wish they have more European destinations though so I can stopover in Manila more often.
Overall a good review but seems you were a bit picky about amenities. I recently flew business class round trip. Previous trips were premium which were ok. Business class was excellent and considering how much more other airlines charge for business, I think it's a bargain. Since you slept almost 9 hours seems no mattress pad was not a problem . Thankfully no pajamas were offered or the bathrooms would have become changing rooms and would have been tied up for hours. Anyone who flies that long should dress comfortably . Food was great, service was great and I'll be flying back NY / Manila IN 8 weeks.
Clever safety video. Also the Business Class cabin looked great. One of my favourite airlines...mainly due to the excellent cabin crew!! Great take off vision and sound. Manila is crazy but one of my best cities to visit. Love the people there !! Great to see an Australian wine on the menu!! A most excellent review of a most excellent flight. I would be more than happy to fly with them !! Well done as always!
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I'm about to end my 2 months 15 country Asian tour and I'll be taking my flight to Manila with Philippines Airline. I'm really keen to fly with them and I can't wait.
PAL uses Terminal 1 and 2 for the correction. Terminal 3 is used by its subsidiary PALex. There are 2 restaurants at the landside, Jollibee on the left side of the terminal and a coffe shop on the right.
Nice video. PAL has a winner with those business class seats. Hope they upgrade their business class to those seats on the 777-300 they fly to LAX and SFO.
Thanks for sharing this flight report! I will be taking this exact same flight this November. Hoping to get my bid for prem economy then buy biz class on the day off. How full was the flight for biz class during your trip? Like to know the chances of being in biz class. Thanks!
At this point, all PAL needs to become truly competitive is to *become a member of one of the three big alliances* so they can tap into the very lucrative frequent flyers (most people flying to MNL from the US choose United-ANA, Singapore, or Delta since they can get a boatload of miles and points towards good fares). Good video as always! More Power.
How can they(PAL)? When all three alliances keep on snobbing it not even giving our flag carrier the chance and all three are monopolyzed by mostly chinese airlines...since the beginning of these alliances not once was PAL invited why?I don't buy they're excuse of route overlap BS!!
Good point but some airlines in those big three alliances do have competition with PR from their hubs to MNL and back to their hubs just look at MNL-ICN & MNL-TPE you have Star Alliance Asiana & Skyteam Korean Air and Delta while Manila to Taipei it's Star Alliance Eva Air Skyteam China Airlines and KLM. Oneworld it's MNL-HKG/KUL/NRT & SYD
That is why once the new Manila international airport is built in Bulacan these three alliances will be racing to get slots for their "precious " alliance airlines.
Very impressive flight. The two meals are on par with business class plus filet mignon is almost non existent now on airlines. That mid-flight snack was almost a meal into itself ! Only part I'm a bit surprised is no bedding cover or cushion for sleeping. But I think if suggestions are made to management they will change what I believe is an oversight bc it's standard for all business class flights.
Thanks for the review. I guess since it's business class the attitude was a business like environment with minimal interaction? Just like in business, efficiency comes first.
Premium economy has the same exact meal as economy, but with metal utensils instead of the plastic ones in economy. The FA’s were probably reserved because you were not speaking Tagalog. But you are right about the other airlines having better service. I find the only good things about PAL is that the flight Is a direct non-stop to Manila, and you arrive late morning. Personally I would rather fly with any other major Asian airline, especially Singapore air and EVA.
I flew PAL from manila to vancouver back in 2015. And they were using T2 which is more modern and spacious. After 4 years, k was supprised when PAL gated at T1 when i arrived from vancouver. T1 is ok, but i preffered T2 better. And when we went back to vancouver. Our PAL plane B777 was in T1 and i did not like the Terminal. It's ok, but not so much space. And i cant even bring water to the gate even if i refilled it to a water station NEXT to the gate. But i heard the Philippine president is making a new bigger airport soon.
If PAL filled A350 on SFO to MNL , I will come back, its been 10 years already, I haven't flown PAL. Try EVA for 5 but now I used Asiana Business Class much , much better. I wrote to PAL to fill A350 but no response...
I am excited about the new airport in Bulacan which will be finished in 2025, a $16 billion worth of new airport, this would help decongest manila. It has a direct subway train to the airport and from metro manila. The new airport is said to accommodate 70-100 million passengers a year.
The condition is pretty much the same as last time I fly from YYZ to MNL in July in PAL's biz. Anyways, nicely filmed and your comments are really referenceable!
8th longest flight in the world and they use both Terminals 1 & 2 in MNL. They need to join one of the big three Alliances Star Alliance UA,ET,SQ,TG,NH,CA & OZ. Skyteam KL MU,DL, & KE Oneworld JL,CX QR & QF to get more partners. Some of the airlines in the big three alliances do fly into MNL like UA offering EWR-MNL via Guam & Honolulu or DL EWR-DTW-NRT-MNL
Cathay pacific super low price economy is all we can afford usually 3500 usa dollars for a family of 4 to fly from jfk to mnl with 1 stop in hong kong that was in 2019 who knows if we can ever travel there again i only will fly cathay
Great 🎥! Don’t think I’v ever seen an nice onion soup like that on any plane! Steak and veg looked average. To serve the last course before you clean the main course plate - big no no! Mid flight snack looked tasty! Breakfast as well! Great seat!
The JFK to MNL trip is a unique situation. Singapore and other premium carriers may well have a higher level of service which, to be fair, is important at this price point. What sets PAL apart is its non-stop service from NY to Manila that takes between 2 to 4 hours off the trip, depending on carrier. Add that factor and reassess PAL's value proposition. It may well tip the scales in favor of PAL despite shortfalls in amenity kits, etc. I've made the trip on a variety of airlines and enjoy good food and service as much as anyone, but I'd give that up to avoid a transfer and get there much quicker. Perhaps the larger question is, given the reduced 16 hour vs old 20+ hour flight difference, could premium economy be the better play?
Yes for sure the premium is in having a monopoly on a non stop route. If PAL can provide a good premium economy product AND join Oneworld or Star Alliance that would be very exciting and add a lot of competition to EVA and SQ. Nowadays airfare are a lot more expensive anyways and I would actually say a non stop ticket in economy on PAL for around 1400-1500 is totally worth it when the one stop tickets are nearly the same price. One of the other reasons I have held off on PAL economy is the lack of frequent flyer benefits despite paying cash since I want to maintain either my Star Gold or Oneworld Sapphire membership.
@Ryle the Explorer overproud what made you say so? that's my experience and I'm travelling business and first class for more than 20 years, all continents except greenland. i can even give you first hand memories of Concorde flights. prove to me that almost every airline offered 3 options for main entree
Sir/Ma'am If I want to book a flight for travel vacation then I chose Manila-NYC destination, how much do I have to buy a ticket for it? & Is Philippine Passport required for booking?
We need to wait 6 more years for the New Manila International Airport to build.The new airport will feature at least four runways, expandable to six. It will have a capacity of 100 million passengers per year when fully built, which is about three times larger than the current capacity of NAIA.
Soon, In the Next 5-10 Years, Philippine Airlines Hub Will be in The New Manila International Airport in Bulacan, Better Take Souvenir of NAIA Before it Moves to NMIA, Because NAIA in the Future will be a Central Business District Similar to Downtown Core of Singapore and BGC in Taguig.
