Philippine Airlines Business Class

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Looking at travelling to Bangkok next year and Phillipines Airlines have some good business class deals via Manila . Anyone have any recent experience with them travelling in J class . TIA Cheers David

 

[craven morehead]

No experience just yet, but not too long to wait and find out. J all the way

 

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No experience just yet, but not too long to wait and find out. J all the way

View attachment 521201

Enjoy the trip- be good to hear what you experienced post the trip cheers David

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I've done both biz-class products on the 320s.

Flatbeds are acceptable for an overnight flight, and you can sleep on them.
The non-reclining recliners are average and OK for an hour or two.

The real experience is MNL airport

PAL has a status match out right now: https://philippineairlines.statusmatch.com/

 

[clifford]

No experience just yet, but not too long to wait and find out. J all the way

I hope you enjoy the recliners.

 

[craven morehead]

I've done both biz-class products on the 320s.

Flatbeds are acceptable for an overnight flight, and you can sleep on them.
The non-reclining recliners are average and OK for an hour or two.

The real experience is MNL airport

PAL has a status match out right now: https://philippineairlines.statusmatch.com/

Just tried for the Status Match and it doesn't list Qantas as someone you already hold elite status with couldn't proceed.

 

[jase05]

Just tried for the Status Match and it doesn't list Qantas as someone you already hold elite status with couldn't proceed.

Looking at the list it seems current frequent flyers of OW airlines are not eligible which is understandable.

 

[MooTime]

at $US349 for the Premier Elite is a bit steep, you'd want to be flying a fair bit with PAL.

Virgin status matches, but at ~$AU500 I'll pass for my pittance upcoming 2 flights.

 

[jase05]

at $US349 for the Premier Elite is a bit steep, you'd want to be flying a fair bit with PAL.

The thought behind that would be it’s valid until March 2028 I believe and if PR is fully rolled into OW you would have OW status

 

[MooTime]

Yes ok, but PAL not due to join OW till late 2027 from recent articles so $AU500 for ~6 months of OW.
Still not great value imo, maybe for others.

 

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I've done both biz-class products on the 320s.

Flatbeds are acceptable for an overnight flight, and you can sleep on them.
The non-reclining recliners are average and OK for an hour or two.

The real experience is MNL airport

PAL has a status match out right now: https://philippineairlines.statusmatch.com/

Thanks very much for the feedback. Assume Manila is chaos cheers david

 

[SydneySwan]

Thanks very much for the feedback. Assume Manila is chaos cheers david

Well its not the worst but there are plenty that are better!

 

[Will.iam]

Recently did Sydney to Manila then to Vancouver in J with PAL. It was a reasonable in-flight experience overall and value for money.

SYD to MLN (PR212) was an A330, and was the more comfortable lie flat experience for me. My original booked flight was cancelled and I was moved to the following day.
MNL to YVR (PR116) was a B777-300ER showing cabin wear and tear but the seat was comfy. There just wasn't enough leg room to sleep well when flat.

Service on board was friendly and attentive as long as you weren't interrupting their routine at departure and meal times. The menu had sufficient choice, food presented well and tasted good. Champagne offered on departure and a prertty good range of drinks was available throughout the flights. Amenities kit was sufficient. IFE was a bit dated and not as sophisticated as I expected, but a good range of viewing and music. The touch screen was best not touched too much as it didn't always pick up the right touch point. Didn't try wifi. Departures were a bit delayed but both arrivals on time.

Manila is more chaotic than some airports but you can see some attempts to organise it in Terminal 1. Transfering to another terminal looks a bit wild but I didn't have to. The Mabuhay lounge in T1 is relatively new, spacious and well serviced but I don't have other recent business lounge experience to compare. Whichever lounge they used in Sydney was fine - reserved seating for PAL. They use Skyteam in YVR which is easily the worst lounge I've experienced but you won't have to deal with that one for your trip.

 

[craven morehead]

Enjoy the trip- be good to hear what you experienced post the trip cheers David

Pre-trip update

PR Check-in is self-service kiosks. Minimal fuss in the J section.
QF Lounge not available flying PR at this stage prior to full Oneworld Member. Was told, they normally use the Plaza Premium Lounge but is currently closed for renovations Directed to go to the Windmill Bar & Bistro just through duty free between gates 80 & 81. I went to the Cafe which had no seating available but was directed across the way to a temporary lounge which, as expected was incredibly basic. No power points or toilets and only allowed one complimentary drink No champagne was on the enhanced menu, so I had to settle for a pint of dirty old Great Northern Not exactly a Premium start to today's trip BNE-MNL-BKK













One thing I noticed with the meals they were bringing out was the portion sizes were quite large, so, not being overly hungry and knowing I will be eating and drinking for the next 15 hours I just went with a couple of poached eggs to line the stomach for the inevitable assault that was coming its way along with his mate the liver



Being a thirsty type of chap, I went and purchased another pint. Great Northern Lager $20

 

[SydneySwan]

‘Enhancing the traveller journey’ - ironic humour at its best!

 

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Thanks for the update Craven… looks like the lounge closed 6 days ago which is a bummer ..look forward to hearing how the flight goes cheers David

 

[craven morehead]

Let's see how we go on the first leg after the underwhelming start



A321neo - Twin engine narrow body single aisle aircraft



Boarding was late from Gate 76B as they must have loaded at least 6 people on in wheelchairs

They boarded all 11 J pax before they even opened the Y line



12 seat J cabin. I was in 3A and thought I had been kissed on the you know what as 3C was vacant. Not to be we were not long in the air when the CSM advised that this was the designated flight deck crew rest seat. I ended up having 3 staff rotate through the seat and of course they all wanted to lay down and have a kip. I'm only 5'8" with short legs and it was fairly acrobatic trying to extricate myself trying not to disturb them when the restroom called I would never pick a window seat again on this aircraft. At one stage there was a line up for the J Loo, so I turned around and saw 2 x Y Loos available. That'll do me I thought. Now, I have been ignorant of anything outside of the front of the plane for the last 20 years and couldn't believe how narrow the bloody aisle was back in the Y cabin



Seats were comfortable enough, but it was quite a tight twist to turn around to get the Headphones which were of a decent standard even though I couldn't see any branding other than PAL. I also thought it was excellent the way they presented the amenity kit & slippers neatly bundled with the blanket as a pack.



L'Occitane amenity kit was quite reasonable.



Toothbrush kit, socks, eye shade, hairbrush and some sort of refresher towelette I assume. Didn't open anything as I give them away.



View from 3A



They came around offering 3 types of non-alcoholic PDBs I said mate, don't you have Champagne. Yes, sir would like me to fetch you some was the appropriate response I'm thinking they only had 2-3 bottles loaded for the flight because about 3.5 hours into the flight they'd run out. I was giving it a nudge and an Aussie couple in 1A & 1C didn't mind a slurp either.



I hadn't had this Champagne before, so I've just looked up some info on the interweb:

Chanoine Frères Brut, a traditional non-vintage Champagne from the historic French house Chanoine Frères in Reims, Champagne, France. The house was founded in 1730, making it one of the oldest Champagne houses still operating today. "1730" on the neck label refers to the founding year of the house. The Brut style is dry, making it versatile as an aperitif and with food. As airline Champagne goes, it's a respectable authentic Champagne from France rather than a generic sparkling wine. It is not in the prestige tier of houses such as Krug, Dom Pérignon, Bollinger La Grande Année, or Cristal, but it is generally regarded as a solid, enjoyable Champagne offering good value. I would rate it a solid mid-market offering

More to follow - CM