As the rainy season is fast approaching, I felt that I needed to plan a weekend summer getaway with my girlfriend as soon as possible. She had never been on an airplane so I made it very special and picked Cebu Pacific’s Airbus A330 flights to Davao.
We booked flight 5J 8975 from Manila to Davao on May 31 and flight 5J 8968 for the return trip to Manila the following day. I had not heard a lot about these planes so I became very curious to see what it was like inside and to experience what it was like flying on them.
At the airport, the boarding process took a lot of time because there was only one door used to enter the 436 seater plane. In Davao, they managed it very well because they were strict in boarding the passengers seated in rows located at the back first. In effect, the line created on the jet bridge was not that long.
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RP-C3344 at the Francisco Bangoy (Davao) International Airport
Copyright Photo by Mark Anzaldo/PFN |
The first plane we boarded was RP-C3343 bound for Davao that was delivered last February 19, 2014. We were also very lucky that on our return flight to Manila, we had the opportunity to fly with their latest aircraft, RP-C3344, that was just delivered on May 17, 2014. Both aircraft smelled brand new, very clean, and had good quality leather seats.
The lavatory looked very clean as well and there was water available for hand washing. The faucet was automatic. You just had to push the blue button for cold and the red for hot.
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Interior of RP-C3344
Copyright Photo: Mark Anzaldo/PFN |
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Interior of Cebu Pacific A330-300
Copyright Photo: Mark Anzaldo/PFN |
Both times when the aircraft took off in Manila and Davao, the sound that came from the Rolls Royce Trent engines were less noisy than other A330 aircraft that I have travelled on before. The planes were very stable even though there were clouds around. We observed the wings shaking due to air pockets, but inside, we enjoyed a very smooth ride.
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Big Juan in the Sky RP-C3343
Copyright Photo: Katrina Lico/PFN |
When the fasten seatbelt sign was turned off, the crew began to sell snacks and we ordered our favourite cheese rolls. They cost P80 each, but the taste was delicious and enough to fill our tummies.
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Cheese roll for snacks on our flight to Davao
Copyright Photo by Katrina Lico/PFN |
The complete on-board menu can be found in Smile magazine located in the seat pocked in front of you. However, there is no guarantee that everything listed on the menu, whether food or merchandise, will be available on every flight. On our return flight to Manila, we ended up ordering chips and cup noodles for lunch because there were no sandwiches or rice meals available at the time.
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Smile Magazine – June, 2014 Edition
Copyright Photo: Mark Anzaldo/PFN
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Like other Cebu Pacific flights, there were also games on board. It was funny because the crew found a way to make all the passengers participate by asking us look under our seats for a sticker that’s non-existent.
Wi-Fi is available on all A330 flights, but the cabin crew told me that I would need a credit card in order to use it. Since I didn’t bother to try it, I cannot say if it is fast or slow.
On our flight back to Manila, we were seated in an exit row. Since I have travelled a lot in the past, I noticed that the emergency exit door was like the main door from where the passengers have entered, and not like the ones in the A320 aircraft. I immediately took the safety instruction card for exit rows and discussed it with my girlfriend.
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Safety Instruction Cards
Copyright Photo: Mark Anzaldo/PFN
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The landing in Davao and in Manila were remarkable. Each were very smooth to the point that we almost didn’t feel that the tires had already touched the runway. We just realized that we were already on the ground when the pilot activated the reverse thrusters.
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Rolls Royce Trent Engine in Reverse Thrust Mode
Copyright Photo: Mark Anzaldo/PFN |
We had a checked baggage on our flight back to Manila. I was a bit worried as I thought it might take a lot of time for us to wait at the airport’s baggage conveyor. But thanks to a Cebu Pacific employee stationed at the baggage counter in Davao, this was not an issue as he granted my request for a “Rush” tag on our baggage. I am not sure if this is available for all Cebu Pacific flights because I’ve only seen it done once.
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“Rush” Bag Tag for Checked-in Baggage
Copyright Photo by Mark Anzaldo/PFN |
Overall, flying with Cebu Pacific’s A330's are very rewarding. However, it could have been better if they had ample stock of food. Surprisingly, the experience was so good that we never felt that we had boarded airplanes belonging to a low cost carrier. I would definitely recommend these A330 flights especially while the aircraft are in brand new condition.
-Mark Uriel A. Anzaldo
Just felt awkward on the inflight games on my first time flight on 5J. I find it so corny kasi.
ReplyDeleteagree, even the prizes.. haha. but the good thing, it makes the flight less boring.
DeleteYou mean they still play those games? Dont know what to say
ReplyDelete@anonymous, yeah they still do play games. The last time I experienced that was a flight from ILO-MNL last March.
ReplyDelete@ian, I actually joined the first time I experienced it and luckily, I won! :)
How full was each sector?
ReplyDeleteHow did you find the seats? Apparently seats have a very restrictive pitch given the number of economy seats that 5J has crammed into this aircraft.
Hello, for those people who haven't flown with the Cebu Pacific's A330 yet, the legroom of the regular seats are the same with their A320s unless you are seated in the exit rows. They are much bigger due the huge emergency doors.
ReplyDeleteI rode RP-C3344 yesterday 5J189
ReplyDeleteThere were 2 CEBU Pacific Air
RP-C3277 and RP-C3344
I wonder if pilots have a favorite aircraft model they enjoy flying the most. AV8 Prep learning how to fly
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ReplyDeleteGood detailed review. The A330 on this route is a big step up from the older narrowbodies, especially the seat pitch, and the notes on the inflight games match what I saw on my last Manila-Davao hop. The only thing I would add is that boarding at Terminal 3 can eat into the schedule at peak hours, so on-time performance often depends more on the terminal than the aircraft.
ReplyDeleteGood review, and the photos make the seat pitch clear. For this route the A330 is really the selling point - wider aisles and two aisles instead of one change the boarding experience at Terminal 3 during the peak departures. I would be curious how the on-time numbers compare against the narrowbody flights on the same sector.
ReplyDeleteNice breakdown of the cabin. The A330 handles the Manila-Davao run well, and the extra width helps on the busy afternoon departures when the flight is full. If anything I would like a follow-up comparing the A330 and the A321 on the same route, since the fare difference rarely matches the comfort difference.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the detailed write-up. The point about the inflight entertainment is fair - the games are a small thing but they do break up the flight, and the crew usually join in. I would add that baggage allowance is where the low-cost carriers differ most, so checking the fare bundle before booking saves more than the ticket price difference suggests.
ReplyDeleteHelpful review. I flew the same A330 configuration and agree the cabin feels much less cramped than the A320s on the domestic routes, especially on the longer sectors. One tip for anyone booking: the seat map matters more than the fare class here, because the emergency exit rows make a real difference on a two-hour flight.
ReplyDeleteDetailed review — the note about the A330 cabin feeling roomier than the A321 is spot on, and the seat pitch comparison is genuinely useful. For anyone turning a trip into a quick edit afterwards, AI Rap Video turns a single travel photo into a short rap clip with its own lyrics and vocals. Thanks for the fare breakdown too.
ReplyDeleteGreat review of the A330 experience. The cabin really does feel roomier than the A320s, and the new leather seats made the Manila-Davao run feel quick. For anyone wanting to save QuickTime clips from their trips as MP3, I usually use MOV to MP3 converter free directly in the browser - no upload needed.
ReplyDeleteThe A330 really does feel like a step up from the usual A320 on this Manila-Davao route - the extra legroom and leather seats made the flight far more comfortable. I keep a few clips of the cabin for my travel videos, and I recently ran some older low-res footage through the video upscaler free tool to bring them back to HD. Great writeup on the on-board menu and the in-flight games too!
ReplyDeleteThe A330 really is a noticeable step up from the A320 - the extra legroom and cabin space made the Manila-Davao leg far more comfortable. I keep a few travel clips from each flight for recap videos, and sharpening up older low-light phone footage with Unblur Video made a real difference to the final quality. Great write-up of the route and the new aircraft anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe A330 is such a step up from the A320 on this route - the extra legroom and the reclining leather seats made the Manila to Davao leg genuinely comfortable. Long layovers also gave me time to play with a little side project, and I use the ASCII Art Generator to turn quick text or photos into real ASCII art for terminal banners and README headers. Handy little tool, no install needed.
ReplyDeleteReally nice write-up on the A330, especially the single-door boarding in Davao and how much more comfortable the leather seats are than on the A320. If you want to turn cabin photos into retro text art for a trip recap, I have been using ASCII Art Generator for it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the round-trip comparison, the part about the A330 handling the Davao leg with a much quieter cabin than the A320 matches what I noticed too. I made a small cover image for my own trip notes from a text prompt using this Ideogram-based image tool, it handles the lettering on the title well.
ReplyDeleteGood to know the widebody gets used on Manila to Davao, I always assumed it was A320 only. I turned a few window shots from a similar flight into a short animated clip with a short clip generator and it came out better than expected.
ReplyDeleteNice detail on the boarding process at NAIA, it really does feel slower when the whole widebody loads through one bridge. On the delay I ended up taking a silly quiz, https://12axes-test.pro/ , to pass the time before the call to board.
ReplyDeleteThe return leg photos make the cabin look much newer than I expected for a budget carrier. Funny enough it was raining hard when we landed in Davao too, I later made a little rain themed music clip with raindance ai from the footage.
ReplyDeleteThanks for listing the actual block times both ways, that helps a lot when planning a connection. I stitched my plane-spotting clips from a Davao trip together with this video tool and it handled the transitions nicely.
ReplyDeleteAgree that the seat pitch on the A330 feels more generous than on their narrowbodies, a short domestic hop is far more comfortable this way. My travel buddy spent half the flight on https://attractivenesstest.pro/ with offline screenshots, which was pretty funny.
ReplyDeleteThe takeoff shots over Manila Bay are great. Mine from the same route came out shaky and soft, so I cleaned them up afterwards with a video sharpening tool before sharing them with family.
ReplyDeleteHelpful review, especially the note about buying snacks onboard since nothing is included on the promo fares. On our layover my nieces made a goofy dance clip with https://gasstationdance.pro/ that kept them busy until boarding.
ReplyDeleteThe cabin crew section was a nice touch, the service on that route has always been friendly in my experience. Random but before the trip my sister tried new looks with an ai hair color changer and showed the whole row.
ReplyDeleteI like that you compared both directions, the morning departure from Davao usually seems more on time. My landing clip was only a few seconds long so I stretched it with https://ai-videoextender.pro/ for a short travel reel.
ReplyDeleteThat red-eye style schedule makes everyone look half asleep at Davao arrivals, myself included. A friend turned our tired arrival selfie into a zombie clip with https://aizombie.pro/ which got a lot of laughs.
ReplyDeleteVery useful round-trip write-up, the baggage drop tip at Terminal 3 saved me some time. I edited my wing view photo with this image editor to remove the reflection on the window, worked well.
ReplyDeleteFunny how a domestic flight on a widebody feels like a little holiday in itself. My cousins jumped on the zombie trend with our boarding pass photos using Zombie AI Trend while waiting at the gate.
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up on the A330. The seat pitch comparison against the A320 and that single-door boarding flow are exactly the details I look for when flying Cebu Pacific, and the little cabin games on the IFE were a nice touch. I have also been using AI Music Video Generator to turn my flight playlist into videos, which beats the pre-takeoff jingle hands down.
ReplyDeleteGreat breakdown of the A330 vs A320 on that Manila-Davao run - the single-door boarding and the seat space comparison are the details I remember most. Your note on the in-flight entertainment and games is spot on, they kept the short hop entertaining. If you want to clean up your travel photos before posting them, I use image editor ai
ReplyDeleteGreat read on the A330 vs A320 seat space on this route - that extra legroom makes a real difference on the Manila-Davao hop. Also good to see the single-door boarding process mentioned, it clearly made the turnaround quicker. I have been using unblur image free to clean up some of the blurry cabin shots I took on my phone, and it does a surprisingly solid job on the low-light ones.
ReplyDeleteReally solid write-up on the A330 - the legroom comparison against the A320 is exactly what most Manila-Davao pax want to know. The single-door boarding process and the cabin comfort notes match my own 5J 8975 experience last year. I used Bernini AI to whip up a quick cabin-themed illustration for my flight recap post, which made editing way more fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat read on the A330 - the extra legroom over the A320 really shows on that Manila-Davao run. Wish the entertainment system had a bit more variety for the longer hop. image text remover to strip the date stamps off my cabin photos before I post them.
ReplyDelete