Your Home in The Sky to Hong Kong: A Philippine Airlines Flight Review

Out of nowhere, my eldest brother asked me to check out fares to Hong Kong. I was quite surprised since our travel plans for 2013 were just focused on our US trip, which would later occur at the end of the year. I checked out PAL's website for the best schedules and best fares. My dad didn't want to take Cebu Pacific as he wasn't in the mood to fly with a budget carrier. He wanted Philippine Airlines' Hong Kong flights so that he could earn additional Mabuhay Miles. My brother advised me to choose the best schedule to and from Hong Kong so I chose the second earliest flight departure to Hong Kong, and the last flight out of Hong Kong via PAL.
philippine airlines hong kong flights
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
One other factor that influenced my decision was the type of aircraft operating the flights. On the day of our scheduled departure, the first flight out was to be operated by an Airbus A330-300, while the second flight would be operated by an A340-300. I chose the A340 since it had been ten years since I last flew on that particular aircraft type. Although aircraft types are usually shown in your ticket, it should always be expected that there could be last minute changes. The Philippine Airlines Hong Kong promo cost my parents and I cost $790.50 with taxes and surcharges included except for the Philippine Travel Tax, which we had to pay after check in.

TRANSIT AT NAIA TERMINAL 2

We arrived at the airport at 7:30 in the morning. We bumped into my eldest brother and two of his best friends inside the terminal. The international wing of NAIA Terminal 2 wasn't really crowded as it was still early. Check in went quickly and smoothly. I was happy that I got a window seat at my preferred row, which was close to the wing. We later proceeded to the kiosk in the middle of the terminal to pay the Philippine Travel Tax of 1,750 pesos per head. After that, we headed to another kiosk before entering the immigration area to pay the terminal fee of 550 pesos per head. Even though the lines weren't very long in the immigration area, processing took a bit longer than usual. But security screening was quick and the officers were friendly and courteous. While my parents and my brother went to Cafe France to grab some snacks, I went to the coffee shop to grab some coffee, do some plane spotting, and to light a cigarette.

Departures at that time of the day were PR730 bound for Bangkok operated by RP-C7472, PR112 bound for Los Angeles operated by RP-C3430, PR539 bound for Jakarta operated by RP-C8601, and our flight PR318 bound for Hong Kong Operated by RP-C3436.

Days before the flight, I already had a feeling that I would be flying on this particular aircraft. She was just painted to the full PAL livery days prior to my flight. But I could see that she wasn't actually fully repainted as the stripes of the former operator were just covered up. The logos of the engine manufacturer CFM were retained and the name of the aircraft type beside doors 1L and 1R were still visible. The PAL Sunriser logo was added to the tail fin and winglets, while the name 'Philippines,' and the grey waterline were added to the fuselage of the plane. I guess the aircraft had not been fully repainted because she was under a tight schedule, and because PAL needed to cut costs since this aircraft was only for temporary capacity.

Later on boarding was announced for our flight.

philippine airlines hong kong promos
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

philippine airlines hong kong promos
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

Date: July 14, 2013
Flight Number: PR318
Route: Ninoy Aquino Intl. (MNL) - Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Intl. (HKG)
Distance: 712 miles
Flying time: 2h10
Aircraft: Airbus A340-313X
Registry: RP-C3436
Scheduled Departure Time: 10:10am
Scheduled Arrival Time: 12:20pm

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES AND THE AIRBUS A340

In 1992, Philippine Airlines ordered 6 Airbus A340-211s to replace the airline's Boeing 747-200Bs on flights to Europe for delivery in 1994. Delivery dates were postponed and the order was later reduced to just four aircraft. Due to financial and operational difficulties, the four aircraft were subleased to Cathay Pacific Airways from 1994 to 1997. The reduced aircraft order would later turn into a massive deal when the airline made the decision to have utilise Airbus aircraft for their refleeting program. The large Airbus order consisted of four A340-211s, four A340-313Xs, eight A330-301s, and twelve A320-214s. The total number of aircraft ordered amounted to 28, which was announced at the Paris Airshow in 1993 for delivery starting in 1997. This order paved the way for a new advertising campaign entitled "Asia's Sunniest" that aimed to brand PAL as one of the best airlines in Asia. The order also made Philippine Airlines the first airline in the world to operate the full range of new generation state of the art Airbus aircraft.

To satisfy demand until the first deliveries arrived, four A340-312s were wet leased from Gulf Air for one year. However, plagued with financial difficulties caused by the major expansion binge, and an on-going Asian Economic and Financial Crisis, Philippine Airlines was forced to shut down in 1998. The original four A340-211s were returned to Airbus and leased to Aerolineas Argentinas after the shut down. Three of the original four A340-313Xs (RP-C3430, RP-C3432, and RP-C3434) are still in service to this very day. One aircraft (RP-C3431) has been taken out of service and is currently stored at Clark.

In 2012, Philippine Airlines ordered twenty Airbus A330-343Es to replace its original eight A330-301s and four A340-313Xs. To add temporary capacity and support expansion until the new aircraft arrived, six former Iberia A340-313Xs were leased from Airbus. As of today, five of these are in service (RP-C3435, RP-C3436, RP-C3437, RP-C3438, and RP-C3439). One more will be added to the fleet later this year.

Powered by four CFM International CFM56-5C engines, the A340 is designed for "long and thin" routes. The A340-313X fleet of Philippine Airlines continues to fly intercontinental routes to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Honolulu, Melbourne, Sydney, and soon, London. They are also frequently used on regional flights to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, Singapore, Seoul-Incheon, Tokyo-Narita, Tokyo-Haneda, and Osaka-Kansai.

ABOUT "MARIA DE MOLINA"

philippine airlines a340
"Flying on behalf of Iberia as EC-HGU"
Copyright Photo: Javier Gonzalez / Planepictures.net

pal a340
Copyright Photo: Peter Ho/PPSG
pal a340
Copyright Photo: Rommel Dorado/PPSG
This particular aircraft was assigned construction number 318 and made her first flight on January 24, 2000. She was delivered to Iberia on February 9, 2000 registered as EC-HGU, and was given the name "Maria De Molina." She served the Spanish flag carrier for twelve years before she was returned to Airbus and stored in 2012. She was leased to Philippine Airlines in June 2013 and was registered RP-C3436 retaining Iberia's seating interior and configuration of 36 lie-flat seats in business class, and 218 seats in economy to make a total of 254 seats.

ON-BOARD

As I entered the aircraft, the flight purser greeted everyone who boarded. Her name was Marina Nathaniel, and looked really friendly and approachable. She was young, a change from the senior pursers that I've encountered on my previous flights with PAL.  She asked for my seat number and directed me to the starboard aisle of the plane.

Purser: Good morning sir, welcome aboard! May I see your boarding pass please?
Me: Good morning!
Purser: Right this way sir...

One of the things that I first noticed with the "new" plane were the flatbed seats in Business Class with Iberia's orange-brown upholstery. The original A340s of PAL had the old school recliners which were state of the art back when they were delivered in 1997. The "new" plane also had a mini bar area in the business class section, which never existed in most of PAL's planes.

philippine airlines a340
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

I then proceeded to my assigned seat of 20L. As I sat in my seat, I was beginning to compare the economy seats of this aircraft versus the economy seats of the original A340-300s of PAL. The seat was a bit hard, and the legroom was tighter compared to the ones on the original aircraft. The air that surrounded the cabin smelled like an expired underarm. The upholstery of the seats were also from Iberia. In terms of aesthetics, and seat comfort, I still prefer the economy seats of the original PAL aircraft.

philippine airlines hong kong promo
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

philippine airlines hong kong promo
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
philippine airlines hong kong promo
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
philippine airlines hong kong flights
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
The cabin doors were now closed and we were ready for pushback. The pre-recorded announcement in the PA system was in Spanish. The flight purser gave her welcome speech and provided the flight details, while the cabin crew stationed themselves at the emergency exits to demonstrate the safety features of the aircraft. The dummy life vests that were used in the safety demo also had the Iberia logos on it. One by one, the four engines were started, flaps were set, flight controls were checked, and we started our taxi to Runway 06. As a safety requirement, the cabin lights were turned off.

Copyright Video: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

We took off fast, despite criticisms about the A340's slow and underpowered take-off performance. There are even jokes that circulate around the aviation industry that, "The reason why an A340 takes off is because of the earth's curvature." One of the factors for our quick rotation could be the short duration of the flight, which meant that we only carried enough fuel to get us to Hong Kong along with some reserves in case of diversion. After the seatbelt signs were turned off, Hong Kong Immigration and Customs declaration forms were handed out. As we climbed to our cruising altitude of 36,000 feet, the cabin crew prepared the hot meals. One of the friendly flight attendants assigned in our section approached me for my meal choice:

FA: Good morning sir, would you like to have Florentine Chicken? Or Taosi Fish?
Me: I'll have the Florentine Chicken
FA: What would you like to drink?
Me: I'll just have Pepsi. Thank you!
FA: You're welcome sir!

philippine airlines hong kong promo
"Florentine Chicken"
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
The Florentine Chicken was okay. I am just not into chicken skin that has not been fried or roasted. It appeared that the skin was roasted, but not as roasted to the extent that most of us would be used to. It was accompanied with fried rice and mixed vegetables. The sauce around the chicken was flavorful. Dessert was a pound cake from Bizu.

The friendly flight attendant came back to collect the trays. As an aviation enthusiast and a critic of airline catering, I decided to order the second meal choice and she didn't hesitate to give me one.

Me: Is it okay if I try the Fish?
FA: Oh sure sir, I'll check out first if we still have some.
Me: Okay!
FA: Would you like to have the whole set?
Me: I'll just have the main meal.

After a few minutes, she came back and handed the fish meal to me.

FA: Here's your Taosi Fish sir.
Me: Oh thank you very much!
FA: You're welcome sir! Would you like something to drink?
Me: I'll just have Pepsi again.

She returned with a full can of Pepsi!

philippine airlines hong kong meal
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
The Taosi Fish was delicious! It almost tasted like the ones found in Chinese restaurants. It was perfectly seasoned, the fish was cooked perfectly, and it didn't have the "fishy" taste. The only downside was the consistency of the sauce, which led me to believe that a slurry, thickening agent made from corn starch and water had been poured in. But as they say, you can't complain because it's standard economy class airline food. Having said that, I have enjoyed airline meals that deserved some praise!

After eating, I decided to be one of the "unofficial" cabin crew members of the flight. I took my meal tray, collected the meal trays of my parents and my brothers, and headed to the rear galley to return them. In the galley, I saw the cabin crew on their break, also eating their meals. I asked one of them if I could have five cups of water to be given to my family. I later returned to our section and distributed the water to my parents and to my brothers.
philippine airlines hong kong flights
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
This aircraft, alongside with the original A340's in the fleet, weren't fitted with personal in flight entertainment screens in economy class. The only in flight entertainment that was available was the overhead TVs and they were in pretty sad condition as if I was watching from a TV that came from the early 90s. Overall, the cabin and in-flight entertainment were not on par with the in-flight experience offered by competing carriers such as Cathay Pacific. Headsets weren't even distributed during our flight even though there were movies playing. It was announced earlier that iPads were available for usage and were available upon request. I regretted that I wasn't able to use one and check out its contents as I already had my own. All I did was just stare at the windows, staring at the wings flexing up and down during turbulence.

The friendly flight attendant came back to me and asked about the meals that I had.

FA: Hi sir, which tasted better? The Chicken? Or the Fish?
Me: Both were good, but the fish was the best!
FA: Okay sir, thank you!

The captain announced over the PA that we would be starting our descent shortly and gave our arrival details to Hong Kong. The captain mentioned that to the left side, we would be seeing the city during our approach, followed by Hong Kong Disneyland, and finally landing onto Runway 25R.

During our descent, the cabin crew went around for the in-flight duty free sales. I went into one of the lavatories to freshen up and noticed that it was clean and in better condition compared to the lavatories of the originals. As we reached our final approach, the flight purser made her announcement:

PurserPA: "We are now on our final approach and please ensure that your seatbelt are securely fastened. We shall be dimming the cabin lights for landing as a safety requirement. Cabin crew landing stations."

Copyright Video: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

We landed 5 minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival time and made a long taxi from Runway 25R to our gate. As the aircraft came to a full stop, the fasten seatbelt signs were turned off, the passengers started to retrieve their personal belongings from the overhead bins, and disembarked the aircraft. As usual, we were the last to disembark, and the friendly flight attendants stationed at the exits said their goodbyes. Prior to leaving the aircraft, I bumped into the flight purser and asked for permission to visit the flight deck.

Me: Hi Ma'am!
Purser: Hiiiii! (in a very delightful manner)
Me: What's your name again?
FA: I'm Marina Nathaniel
Me: Is it okay if I pay a visit to the flight deck?
Purser: Uhm, I'll ask permission first kay Captain ah, hold on for a second.
Me: Okay

After a few seconds, she returned to me with the happiest words I could ever hear.

Purser: Captain wants to see you, follow me!
Me: (Happy)

As we entered the flight deck, the flight purser introduced me to the flight crew, Captain Boy Tagan, and First Officer Rommel Estrada.

Purser to Captain: Hi sir, this is Peter and he wants to check out the flight deck.
Captain: Hi!
Me: Good afternoon Sir!
Captain: Would you like to have a seat here? (In the Left Seat)
Me: It's okay Captain, can we just have our photo taken? (Shy)
Captain: Sure!
Captain: Ah Ms. Marina, please take our photo.
Purser: Okay sir, 1..2..3...
Me: Thank you ma'am!
Me: Oh by the way, it was a beautiful and smooth landing Captain!
Captain: Thank you! (laughs)

One of the ground crews entered the flight deck to discuss things with the captain. After 10 minutes, I started to bid farewell to them.

Me: I have to go ahead sir. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to visit the flight deck!
Captain: Oh don't leave yet! We're going to depart after one hour pa! (Laughs)
Me: My family is already waiting for me sir (laughs)
Captain: Oh okay, thank you and enjoy your stay!
Me: Welcome sir! Have a safe flight back to Manila!

As I left the flight deck, I also said my goodbyes to the flight purser.

Me: Bye ma'am, thank you for the opportunity!
Purser: You're welcome! How long are you staying?
Me: 5 days
Purser: Okay! Enjoy your stay in Hong Kong and take care! Bye!

philippine airlines hong kong flights
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
philippine airlines hong kong flights
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
philippine airlines a340
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

TRANSIT AT CHEK LAP KOK INTL. AIRPORT

I headed straight to the immigration area to meet my family. As usual, I was given a sermon for staying too long in the flight deck. Lines at immigration were long and the processing took a long time. We then headed to the baggage carousels assigned to our flight. As usual, our luggage was the only ones left at the carousel. Customs was uneventful and we went straight to purchase the Octopus cards for our train ride via the Airport Express to Kowloon.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE ON PR318
  • Ground Staff at NAIA T2 (9/10)
  • Punctuality (10/10)
  • Service (10/10)
  • Food (8/10)
  • Friendliness of the Crew (10/10)
  • In Flight Entertainment (5/10)
  • Total: (8.7/10)
HONG KONG

Hong Kong is one of my favourite cities due to it's distance from Manila - just two hours by plane. The best thing about Hong Kong is shopping. We stayed at Tsim Sha Tsui, which had a close proximity to numerous retail stores. We didn't have the chance to drop by Hong Kong Island, as our time was consumed by shopping.

philippine airlines hong kong promos
"A View of Hong Kong Island from Harbor City"
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

philippine airlines hong kong promo
"Canton Road"
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
philippine airlines hong kong promo
"A Must-Have in Hong Kong"
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
philippine airlines hong kong promo
"Custard Made From Italian Tomatoes"
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
philippine airlines hong kong promo
"Mong Kok"
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
CITY CHECK-IN AT ELEMENTS KOWLOON STATION

We decided to leave the city early to enjoy the amenities at the airport. We arrived at Elements at around 5:30pm, four hours before our departure time to check our bags in and take the Airport Express to the airport. We had to load up our Octupus Cards to enter the check-in area but there seemed to be a problem with the machines as it ate all the credits in our cards. We had to ask assistance to again load up our cards. Finally, we entered the check in area, but we found out that the counter for our flight was still closed.

After a few minutes, the agent arrived and weighed our luggage. It turned out that our luggage was overweight and we had to take out stuff and transfer them to our carry-ons. The trial and error on transferring stuff around our luggage to our carry-ons and the weighing of our bags took almost an hour. Our luggage was finally cleared and the agent asked us for our preferred seats. I then checked out the seat maps and it showed that an Airbus A320 (disappointing) was our equipment to Manila. I was expecting an A330-300, a wide body, but I assumed that there was a lack of demand hence the smaller aircraft was deployed. We then headed to the boarding area to take the Airport Express to Chek Lap Kok Intl. Airport. Travel time to the airport was 20 minutes.

TRANSIT AT HK INTL. AIRPORT

philippine airlines hong kong promos
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
As we had already checked in our luggage at the Kowloon Station, we went straight to Terminal 1 to grab some snacks. My family decided to have dinner at Popeyes. I just got a biscuit as I was planning to have dinner instead onboard the aircraft. We didn't have the chance to go around the airport as our time was consumed by the transit at Kowloon Station. Security screening and immigration processing were uneventful and I must commend that the security officers at HK airport are friendly. We then headed straight to our assigned gate, where we discovered a line as it was already our boarding time.

philippine airlines hong kong promo
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
Date: July 18, 2013
Flight Number: PR311
Route: Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Intl. (HKG) - Ninoy Aquino Intl. (MNL)
Distance: 712 miles
Flying Time: 2h05
Aircraft: Airbus A320-214
Registry: RP-C8610
Scheduled Departure Time: 10:05pm
Scheduled Arrival Time: 12:10am, July 19, 2013

philippine airlines hong kong promo
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
ABOUT THE AIRCRAFT

This particular aircraft carrying the construction number 3310, made her first flight on October 29, 2007, and was delivered to Philippine Airlines on November 19, 2007. She was given a registry of RP-C8610, and was the sixth of the second batch of brand new Airbus A320s that the airline received. It was fitted with 12 seats in Business Class, fitted with Panasonic EX2 personal in-flight entertainment systems featuring audio-video on demand capability, and 144 slimline seats in Economy Class, all by Recaro Aircraft Seating of Germany.
pal a320
Copyright Photo: Kit Stephen Agad/PPSG
philippine airlines a320
Copyright Photo: Kit Stephen Agad/PPSG

ON-BOARD

Upon boarding the aircraft, I was greeted by a senior purser. She greeted everyone who boarded in a rather unfriendly manner. My brother later told me that she had a bad stare at me while I was walking on the aisle, maybe because I was bringing a lot of carry-ons with me. Anyway, I just settled into my seat and looked forward to my trip back to Manila. The morale of some of the other cabin crew on our flight was also low. Their facial expressions suggested that they had lost the lottery or something. I just reminded myself that they are also human and can get tired. Pushback commenced, the lights were turned off, and the safety video was played. Engines were started, flaps were set, flight controls were checked, and we eventually made our long taxi to Runway 07R.

It took a while before we were cleared for take-off as there was a lot of departing traffic on the runway. We eventually took off at 10:16pm. The runway surface at Hong Kong Intl. Airport is pretty bad. Most of the fittings in the cabin rattled during our take off roll.

Copyright Video: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

As we climbed to our cruising altitude, the cabin lights were turned on again, and the cabin crew started to distribute the Philippine immigration & customs declaration cards, and headsets. Meal service commenced and the flight attendant asked me for my dinner choice.

FA: Would you like to have Chicken Inasal? Or Sweet and Sour Pork?
Me: I'll have the chicken please
FA: What you you like to drink?
Me: I'll just have OJ

philippine airlines meal
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
philippine airlines hong kong flights
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
The Chicken Inasal was dry and bland. It had the gamey taste of chicken. It would have been better if they included soy sauce with chopped chili. I decided to ask if I could try the pork. Dessert was a pound cake (again) from Bizu.

Me: Is it okay if I try the pork?
FA: Okay, what drink would you like to have?
Me: I'll just have Pepsi, thank you!

philippine airlines hong kong flights
"Philippine Airlines Hong Kong Flights"
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
philippine airlines meal
Copyright Photo: PapaLimaSierra/PFN
The pork was worst. It looks like both meal choices weren't seasoned very well by the caterer. It also had the gamey taste of pork, and it was already soggy. The sauce around it was good though it lacked quantity. People will tell me that it's typical economy class airline catering, but I've experienced good economy class catering from PAL in the past and this was just bad.

While eating, short films were shown on the overhead televisions, and one of them was Whipeout, a game show series billed as "the world's largest obstacle course." I could hear other passengers laughing when this was shown. I just played one of my favorite games on my iPad, which was AeroflyFS, flying the same aircraft type that I was on.

We eventually started our descent to Manila. The cabin crew began going around to do the in-flight duty free sales. The cabin lights were dimmed, and headsets were collected. Coming in from the north, we started doing left turns over Manila Bay to line up for Runway 06 at Manila. Flaps were set to CONF2, and gear down! The pre-recorded announcements were made, cabin lights were turned off, and flaps were set to CONF3, and finally to CONF FULL. We touched down smoothly on Runway 06 at exactly 12:20am with idle reverse and auto brakes assisting our deceleration. As we entered the high speed exit, the flight purser made both her English and Tagalog announcements in a sleepy and tired accent. We had a quick taxi to our gate, and as we came to a full stop, the two engines were shut down. My family and I were the last to disembark. Prior to leaving the aircraft, I bumped into our flight purser and asked her if I could visit the flight deck.

Copyright Video: PapaLimaSierra/PFN

Me: Hi ma'am! Uhm, is it okay if I could visit the flight deck?
Purser: Hindi Pwede (In a pretty bad tone)
Me: Okay

I didn't like the the way she told me that I wasn't allowed to visit the flight deck. It would have been better if she told me that: "I'm sorry sir, but the flight crew are busy right now," or "I'm sorry sir, it's against regulations," etc. I guess she was also tired. I just left and moved on.

TRANSIT AT NAIA TERMINAL 2

There were no lines at immigration, and processing was quick. It took a while though to retrieve our luggage in the carousels. Customs was uneventful as we didn't declare anything. After 30 or 45 minutes, we were cleared to exit the terminal.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE ON PR311
  • Ground Staff at NAIA T2 (9/10)
  • Punctuality (10/10)
  • Service (8/10)
  • Food (6/10)
  • Friendliness of the Crew (3/10)
  • In Flight Entertainment (6/10)
  • Total: (7/10)
-PapaLimaSierra

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this flight review belong solely to the author and do not reflect the opinions of Philippine Flight Network.

8 comments:

  1. I seriously Love your reviews! :3
    I can imagine it myself being with you during your flights!

    I cant wait to fly with PAL this summer on June 12th. Honolulu to Laoag Via Manila. So Ill be experiencing their International and Domestic flights! I hope theirs improvement and hoping to fly one of their new A330 by then. As they recently just launch their new B777 to LA. Im hoping to be in one of their new A330.

    Also, I didnt know you can try both plates. Will defiantly try it during our flight to Manila. I just glad to fly PAL again. As I go to the Philippines for a family visit. But I just love being with PAL because it already feels like I am at home :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw the photos of the new a330 that they will use on HNL flights. Don't expect too much sir unless you will be on business class or don't expect at all. The seats are herringbone, 2-2-2, brown, and lie flat bed. There's gooseneck light, shades in between, and USB port. No IFE but with iPads for business class. Economy seems to be on 3-3-3 and I hope they will lend the iPads for free in the economy class.

      Delete
    2. No, its usually 2 4 2. Ive been flying with PAL, and flight from Honolulu to Manila has always been 2 4 2 seating chart. I dont really mind about the personal TV screen. If its not in front of me i dont really care much. As long theirs a over head TV I am fine. I usually just sleep during the long hour of flight so yea. I am just hoping to experience a new plane, so things with IFE and stuffs dont matter to me because i believe PAL will have those in their plane soon. I'll give them more time needed. Their improvements are just starting by refleeting their fleets.

      Delete
  2. Great Trip Report... Please the name of the grumpy FA.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I cant wait to read yourflight report aftertaking 5j

    ReplyDelete
  4. It sounded that you are the luckiest passenger everytime you fly with PAL.. I loved PAL from the start but I was not able to get or experience any of those things you mentioned even in your past reviews... I just found PAL safe to fly with and nothing else, nothing special, nothing extra-odinary, no reason to be excited... I am hoping that little by little, PAL can fly high and proud in the company of her colleagues around the world!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The pilot of your a340 flight is the Rude PAL pilot from Bangkok. check this out.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9DpaAVlLO8

    ReplyDelete

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