Philippine Airlines Flight Review: Manila to Hong Kong (Round-Trip)
Because I am a Paranoid
Traveler, I arrived four hours ahead of my 10 a.m. flight to Hong Kong via my
"home in the sky," Philippine Airlines. I had hoped that I would be
allowed to fly the 8 a.m. flight but was told my fare code didn’t allow for it.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
So I had a lot of time to
kill as check-in and immigration clearance took less than 15 minutes. It was a
good thing that the chairs for the computer table were available this time
after a long while so I just kept myself online. I then proceeded to our gate
near boarding time and noticed that the seats were kind of cramped.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
One "kuyakoy"
(leg swing) will lead to a kick in the shin.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
Boarding commenced on
time.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
Things were pretty normal
until a kid came along to take his seat behind my row but not without screaming
(not crying, mind you) first. Upon sitting, he started slamming the window
repeatedly prompting my window seat mate to shush him. The kid kept doing his
thing so there was another reprimand but this time, the father defended his
son's behavior saying he was just a little kid.
"Doesn't matter! This is a two-hour flight!" my seat mate shot back. She then called the flight attendant requesting to be transferred which was granted.
"Doesn't matter! This is a two-hour flight!" my seat mate shot back. She then called the flight attendant requesting to be transferred which was granted.
"Take me with
you," I said in jest. That made her smile but she just couldn’t resist and
turned around for one last look at the father telling him to teach his kid "some respect." The father cursed under his breath.
The kid's sibling behind me then started kicking my seat. I could hear the father telling his unruly kids to behave but the kid kept kicking. I was about to turn around when she stopped.
Take-off was smooth but a bit noisy as this same family decided to chitchat among themselves as if they were on a chartered plane with no sleeping passengers around them.
The kid's sibling behind me then started kicking my seat. I could hear the father telling his unruly kids to behave but the kid kept kicking. I was about to turn around when she stopped.
Take-off was smooth but a bit noisy as this same family decided to chitchat among themselves as if they were on a chartered plane with no sleeping passengers around them.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
Newspapers were offered
afterwards.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
I wanted to try the In Air
entertainment app but it was not offered on our flight.
Meals were then served to the kids first. I prayed that the unruly kids would be so stuffed that they would doze off for the remainder of the flight. Turns out it was just wishful thinking as it gave them sustaining energy leading to the resumption of kicks.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
We had a choice between pork adobo and braised
chicken and I chose the former which tasted like those awful microwaved foods.
As I was gulping down my meal, I heard the attendant give out a shriek as a Coke bottle tipped over when she reached out for another bottle next to it,
spilling some of the contents on the passengers seated across me. I tipped the
bottle back to its proper place to prevent the contents from emptying entirely
on them. The other attendants came with several moist towels and apologies. I
tapped the passenger on the arm lightly and teased him about having the
possibility of a free ticket. He chuckled, along with the attendant who
overheard me and returned with an unopened juice for him as their way of making
up for staining his Lacoste and his wife's Penguin shirts. I told him he should
have gotten wine instead. He drawled, "The juice will just give me
diabetes."
The duty free cart was
rolled out and in the busyness of things, the male steward stepped on my
exposed toe. But I guess his foot was so big that he didn’t feel my tiny toe
whimper underneath its weight. He just kept walking.
The captain then announced the start of our descent. It was nothing unusual except that it seemed like a female voice. I asked the purser, “Did I hear her right? She’s our pilot?” She said yes nonchalantly like I was living in the dark ages for being surprised about having a female captain. I followed up wanting to know how many female pilots PAL has and she said, "We have quite a number, probably more than twenty flying different aircrafts."
The captain then announced the start of our descent. It was nothing unusual except that it seemed like a female voice. I asked the purser, “Did I hear her right? She’s our pilot?” She said yes nonchalantly like I was living in the dark ages for being surprised about having a female captain. I followed up wanting to know how many female pilots PAL has and she said, "We have quite a number, probably more than twenty flying different aircrafts."
Upon touchdown, the unruly
kids gave one final loud scream and proceeded to chat with their mother for all
to hear, probably including the pilot. The other passengers and I just
exchanged looks.
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| Copyright Photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
As usual, immigration
clearance was a breeze at Hong Kong International Airport but what was not
usual was the time it took for our flight’s baggage to come out. We must have
waited for twenty minutes before the first one appeared and banged against the
carousel loudly. The passengers beside me started feeling sorry for the owners
of the baggage that followed suit until one noticed he was observing his.
“Bah-bay, HK!”
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
And now it was time to go
home. I did the in-town check-in service at Hong Kong Station and took the Airport Express afterwards.
I arrived three hours early
but time passed quickly with so many distractions like the TV news report on
the Umbrella Revolution, shops, restaurants, free (and fast) WiFi, and even an
exhibit right next to our gate.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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Then a ground crew member
announced that they were ready to board Group C. The other passengers and I
looked at each other perplexed as to what she meant. I then took out my boarding
pass and saw which group I belonged to. That was the first time I encountered
boarding by groups.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
Like my earlier flight,
there were two noisy kids behind me and a crying baby to my left. But unlike the previous flight,
nobody complained to the parents. However, in fairness to the kids, as soon as
we took off, they were so quiet that I had forgotten all about them.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
Newspapers and meals were
served. We had a choice between pan fried fish and lechon manok (roasted
chicken). I have sworn off fish on flights as they tasted like frozen dinners.
But when the chicken was served to me, I almost wanted to return it and have
the fish instead. I do not lay claim to being a lechon connoisseur but I have
never seen Andok’s or Baliwag serve something like this. I couldn't even tell what
the sauce was so I gave up after a few bites. I lapped up on the green beans
instead---and I don’t even like vegetables.
I turned to the coffee
cheesecake and it, too, did not taste like any cheesecake I have had. Once
again, I do not claim to be a cheesecake expert but are coffee cheesecakes
supposed to taste like yema thrown together with something that looked like
pudding and crumby cake? It reminded me when as a kid, I used to mix a lot of
food (Chippy
on my instant noodles) or soft drinks (Royal, Coke and Sprite) together just to see how they would taste. And usually, they never tasted good but my brother and I enjoyed annoying
our parents. I think our experiments tasted better than what I was served.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
I then remembered to check
PAL’s In Air flight entertainment app which was offered aboard this particular
aircraft that we were on. Here is what it looks like per click.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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As I forgot to take out my earphones from my hand-carry stowed in the overhead bin, I decided to check out the magazines.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
I tapped on all the icons but nothing happened so I decided to try
another.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
Okay, let’s just watch “Batman”
without sounds.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
An hour into the flight,
the (male) captain warned of some major turbulence due to rains in Manila and the crew was immediately ordered to their stations. This got my heart beating
real fast and hard so I prayed equally fast and hard. God answered fast by
making the baby cry out his lungs thus diverting my attention away from my
anxiety. The noisy kids behind me resumed as well. A few minutes later, the
seat belt sign was turned off with hardly a wiggle. (Thank You, Lord!) The
captain then announced our arrival leading to one of the smoothest landings I
have ever experienced.
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| Copyright photo: The Paranoid Traveler/PFN |
Immigration clearance was quick as I was second
in line among many counters opened. Baggage claim wasn't as bad (by Philippine
airport standards) as it took only fifteen minutes before mine came out and off
I went to exit the airport looking forward to my comfortable bed and dogs.
Until next time!
---THE PARANOID TRAVELER
The blogger has full of hatred in her life.
ReplyDeleteOr just the reverse? Remember, journalism should be neutral in all aspects (and not too opinionated).
DeleteFly Business class next time you fly....
ReplyDeleteThat's sad, but episodes like these can be solved by the parents and the flight crew. They all need training, don't you think?
DeletePlease take down this review. You're not allowed to say anything bad about PAL. Didn't you get the memo???
ReplyDeleteCome on, man! Let them do anything legal to make their airline afloat. Whoever the writer is, give her a chance and give PAL a chance as well. It's journalism. Do not be too suspicious. They need our help, everybody's help.
DeleteFunny thing is she never said anything bad about PAL per se. She was just describing her experience, as any flight review should be. Too many overly-sensitive imbeciles here who think that PAL is god's gift to the airline industry, but in reality is just a sad excuse for an airline.
ReplyDeleteHow about those bad-tasting PAL inflight food? Read again.
DeleteIt's a matter of opinion. If you believe the food on PAL is great, then good for you. But not everyone has to subscribe to that opinion. Flight reviews are opinion based -- it's not traditional journalism by any means. The views expressed in such articles belong solely to the author. But based on those pictures, I'm not surprised the food made a poor impression.
DeletePAL food sucks anyway. Only caters to the Pinoy palate. It's an international airline flying international routes. They should offer a choice
DeleteThe father of the kids need a lot of parenting skills training and if they (kids) are now attending schools, parents need to interface with school administrators (particularly psychologists and psychiatrists) about social and behavior-related issues. On the other hand, the airline crew were supposed to help the parent(s) by handing the kids some types of (handy) attractive toys and color booklets or if there are none, cheer the kids up with little jokes and interesting anecdotes/fables as well as a promise of rewards (airline souvenirs, toys or post cards) for becoming well-behaved kids during and after the flight. It's a matter of good communication, baby. Some airlines like Lufthansa usually provide these types of training to their employees (flight crew) because a flight crew does not only serve food and drink but needs to have other skills related to social, goodwill, and proper interaction with customers including children and the disabled, etc.. In return, pictures of Lufthansa crews with exceptional skills are rewarded by printing their pictures in their own boarding passes, i.e., "flight crew of the month", etc. What a good way of motivating employees! And that's a plus for a successful airline business.
ReplyDeleteRelax guys
ReplyDelete@ 5:01 AM: But this is a civilized open forum wherein possible solutions to problems and suggestions are discussed. There is no fighting or cursing here (looks like these people are educated as their writing skills are even impressive. Good job.
DeleteOne suggestion: Read the article thoroughly and understand what the reader is telling us; this would avoid miscommunications!
If only closed minds came with closed mouths! The blogger wasn't even commenting negatively on PAL. She was just stating her experience. Who wouldn't get pissed with those rowdy kids? Isn't the blogger human to be experiencing annoyance? She wasn't even biased when it came to how she reviewed PAL. To those who keep saying "what about the food? she commented on it negatively" oh come on! Let's not use our biased judgment just because we support PAL doesn't mean we can let these things pass??
ReplyDeleteNot very good journalism/ blogging to be honest.
ReplyDeleteThis article is a review of a Manila- Hong Kong round trip. What would be the point of it if the writer was not honest/critical. This is not the first time PAL food has come in for criticism in an aviation publication. Any good company should take note of its critics and try to improve their services
DeleteCorrect!
Deletea blog entry from an amateur flyer? why the big fuss over those kids. you are in the cattle room, what do you expect? fly business class or choose anither airline. unfortunately, the truth is that you get what you pay for.
ReplyDeleteAmateur flyer? Looks like you're the one who's an "amateur" here as the blogger had been posting flight reviews even before.
DeleteRight! And this blogger need to review his English grammar and composition including spelling, sentence structure, etc.
DeleteSimple English = easier to understand
ReplyDeleteThe more grammar police you are, the more regional English you will make, or even wrong grammar.
What are yu saying?
DeleteMy goodness, we are now infected by the "carabao English" virus. End the discussions now. Foul language and hatred will follow!........
Delete@ 9:43 P.M. 10/21/14: Regional English? In the Philippines you mean? You must be kidding! The whole RP archipelago (except the Benguet/Cordillera/Mountain Province areas) has lost (almost totally and still ongoing) its fluency of the American English language, a supposed-to-be "lingua franca" as well as the second language of RP (?). Unfortunately, this is now a pressing topic of older FilAms here in the United States as almost all of the young Filipino workers as well as health care workers, particularly nurses (30 years old and below), could hardly speak and write decent and correct American English. (One reason discussed was, at the end of the Subic Bay presence of GI's, nationalism followed suit that the RP government was not able to make a firm hold of continuing to instill the English language in schools). True or not, I do not care. But, I have met with some of these nurses in my job routine (state worker), visiting patients and interfacing with administrators of nursing homes and convalescent hospitals in Southern California, my assigned catchment area (territory). I could tell you it is so depressing! Need not explain more.
DeleteTrue, I find it depressing that my 2 nephews and a niece are examples of what is discussed above. They are all registered nurses in RP and hopefully be able to go abroad one of these days, so maybe they will be able to learn better written and spoken English in foreign lands. What a sad reality!
DeleteThe writer wanted to watch "Asian Air Safari". I absolutely hate that show. The host is so full of himself. Old geezer wanting to look cool. And not the cute lolo type who would look adorable. Ugh!
ReplyDeletehahaha..
DeleteWhy a lot of hater comments here?
ReplyDeleteThe blog is very anonymous, no photo, no name, no credibility. The blogger can write all the nonsense about something.
Take Rvxkaz for example (Flight Travels), he does bash some airlines for unsatisfactory service but no one hates him.
I do agree with the 'English Carabao'... The way she writes is too redundant. You can write 'I was hoping for this...' Instead of 'I had hoped for...' which has a diff meaning.
Okay, this is getting too silly. If you have been reading other bloggers' posts, you could see that this writer would be the last person to pose as someone using "English carabao." Also, I don't see anything wrong in using simple English. Personally, I find it irritating when bloggers use "big" words only to sound professional. But thanks to this writer, I find it easy and I can visualize her review even more. The problem with most people who commented here is that when they see something rather bashful for their taste, they tend to compound their hate towards another thing; which led us here.
DeleteIt is all a part of a healthy dialogue, that's why it is called open forum. We are here to discuss an item (and anything that is related to it) whenever necessary and gather as much information from all these nice and not nice bloggers. I can see that the writer 's English grammar is not "carabao" at all!.
DeleteEveryone is allowed for their own opinion..that's democracy! Either the blog was redundant or say carabao english, the main point here is the content no matter how it was delivered...imo...
ReplyDeleteSometimes, Filipinos dont deserve too much of democracy, and that's becoming a problem...
DeleteNo matter how it was delivered? No credibility? No real identity?
That's why all of us are 'Anonymous'...
Someone is preaching about democracy here... Lols
The writer's topic is absolutely impressive. She or he was honest and frank of her/his flying experiences. The obvious problem here are those bloggers who are very hateful, harmful, insensitive and impolite. So sad!
DeleteHa ha ha! Paranoid Traveler, you must be really laughing so hard right now. We can obviously say that PAL has strong believers even up to this day. What's bothering me is that people can't even classify poor from proper English. People who judged you are only blinded by their undying love for PAL. Don't mind them. Such naive and gullible minds.
ReplyDelete' the father defended his son's behavior saying he was just a little kid.'\
Delete\
Di ba bawawaw? He was or he still is a kid?}
' the father defended his son's behavior saying he was just a little kid.'\
ReplyDelete\
Di ba bawawaw? He was or he still is a kid?}
OK then, what about latest news about Philippine aviation? 2 weeks from now (excluding this flight review), still no latest news?
ReplyDeletethere are a lot of news on the other site... and more interestingly about their article about Tan's take over on PAL.
ReplyDeleteI think this news portal will soon cease to operate.
DeleteI wonder if pilots have a favorite route or destination they enjoy flying to. AV8 Prep Flight trainings
ReplyDelete