My first Mabuhay Miles : Philippines Airlines Brisbane – Manila in A320 J

[albatross710]

In June 2013 PR introduced a thrice weekly MNL-BNE-MNL service. I had a need to travel to Manila for some business and previously have used SQ & QF so I took up the PR web offer offer of a $800 return J class tix.

Before leaving home

At 5:30am I checked the progress of the incoming service PR221 and noticed that it was running about 50 minutes behind its schedule.

Check-in



Arriving at 7 am at BNE I headed to row 7 where the Menzies staff were already checking in the pax. I was the only pax in the business queue with one pac already at the J counter. Must have been some problems with that booking as I didn’t end up leaving the check-in area until 7:20. My J booking allowed 30kgs of checked bags. I fronted with a 23kg suitcase and an unsealed box of books for donating to my local Ph staff in Manila. The books weighed in at 10kgs and I was allowed to seal the box and have these included in my allowance. I left it unsealed just in case I needed to remove a few books. Each trip I take text books, novels etc.

As I was walking towards the escalator entry to immigration I noticed that the crew had arrived at the airport. I could see y the way they were looking around that they had not been to BNE before. I later learned that the captain had been the only one of this crew to have been to BNE.

Pre-flight

J pax are offered the use of the Qantas Club. I checked with the QF staff about the guest policy and advised that the PR J boarding pass permitted one person to enter the lounge. Any guests would need to have a lounge pass provided by PR. I didn’t have a guess but it might be something that other travellers may need to consider. Arriving at the lounge about 7:50 on a Sunday morning it was quite empty but was full to seated capacity by 9:15 ish.
In the lounge the scheduled departure time of 0915 had passed and on the display screen was just shown as “Boarding soon”.

The aircraft (A320 Rp-C8619) boarding commenced about 0925 with J pax being invited to board early. I took up the offer and was quickly seated in row 3. Total of 3 J pax to Darwin where we were joined by a fourth J pax to MNL.

On Board

The J seating is 3 rows of 2x2 recliner J seats. Blankets and a pillow were waiting on each seat. Seatback IFE was turned on after take off. The seats have a forward footrest. 110V seat power with a universal socket available for each seat. The in-seat power charged my iPhone but would not support my 65 watt laptop charger. The green led changed to orange as soon as I plugged in the laptop.

A welcome drink.

I enquired about some other J items. Pens and paper generally not available. On board amenity kit ie toothbrush not available but the purser advised she has requested that they be included in the future. No eye shades or ear plugs available. No combs. I’ll be packing all of these for my return flight.

I had some difficulty opening my overhead locker. I was impressed to see that they summonsed the aircraft ground engineer whom was off duty on board. He was able to resolve the issue with the skilful use of a bottle opener.
In the lav there is a selection of soap, moisturiser, cologne and an antibacterial hand sanitiser. No hand towels and tissues were be used instead.

We had the long taxi from gate 78 to the threshold of runway 19. After departure we turned right and joined a track directly to Karumba in the gulf where the course came to the west and headed for Darwin.

Economy Cabin.

 

[albatross710]

Meals

The onboard meal service was quite nice. It didn’t have the pizzazz and presentation that an SQ meal service provides but certainly was special. I’ll let the pictures doing the talking. I felt that the service was just a little inconsistent. Welcome back to the Philippines I guess.

This is the initial setting. According to the menu, Prosciutto, pastrami and ham with brie and smoked cheddar. Also provided at this time are the fresh fruit slices and the ‘tiramisu’ cake. The cake ended up being a small peach pie.



For main as per the menu I ordered the Barbequed Baby Bay roesti potatoes. I’m not convinced that is what I received but it did taste pretty good. I think it was a hybrid meal along with the Pinoy Chicken Barbeque also on the menu.

The brewed coffee and premium chocolates were nice. The coffee was freshly brewed and did not have any stewed coffee bitterness.

The IFE movie selection was limited and didn’t do anything for me. Choice of 8 movies that I could see. The music selection was actually quite diverse and I enjoyed this.

Darwin

Prior to arriving in Darwin I asked the cabin crew if we would be required to leave the aircraft or be staying on. The crew could not tell me and said that they wait until they receive advice from ground staff upon opening the forward door.

We arrived at 1355 with a scheduled arrival of 1300. Upon arrival we were asked to leave the aircraft and we waited in the gate lounge for approximately 40 minutes before reboarding.

In the gate lounge area there is duty free, a cafe, currency exchange and toilets. We were soon back on board with our one extra J pax.
We departed 1500 scheduled 1405.

Pre-departure drinks were offered. I was surprised to see that the glasses weren’t collected prior to takeoff. I stowed my into the seat pocked in front.

After departure on runway 18 we did a left turn to head to MNL. We had about 20 minutes of turbulence and staying in our seats.

 

[albatross710]

Darwin to Manila meal service

Th is is the initial meal setting. Roast beef (silverside) Smoked salmon terrie and a potato dill vinaigrette. (Delicious!) Also presented at this time was teh strawberry mouse cake, as well as the Cheeses and fruits.



For the main I ordered the Pan-fried snapper with black bean sauce with shiitake steam rice in a bowl. As you can see It didn’t come in a bowl but it did taste as good as I had hoped. Fish was nicely cooked.


To go with the strawberry mouse I was provided with a tub of Serendipity ice cream. The mouse cake needed the ice cream. Unfortunately the ice cream had been allowed to thaw previously somewhere in the supply chain and had been refrozen and had that ‘ice’ mouth feel. Both items were still very nice

Arrival Into Manila
Descent and arrival into Manila was as expected about 60 minutes late. Priority bag tag did work and I was soon on my way to the waiting area for the driver and my journey into Manila traffic. Now that could be a longer journey

 

[Inver]

Thanks for the trip report. It does'nt look like there is much space for the seat to recline.

 

[jayday13]

I am doing the same flight in September. Thanks for the trip report - very informative. BTW how full was the flight?

 

[RB]

This is a good read. Not sure that my 192cm would appreciate the space shown

 

[jetlagger]

Thanks for the TR albatross710..
Nice review.
I also had the exact same flight week before PR222 BNE/DRW/MNL. & it's ironic that my flight was also 60 minutes delayed, which the check in angel pointed out that there would be 'some delay - 20 or so minutes" Ho Hum.. Well especially when the inbound was currently 45 mins behind schedule.
Anyway, I'm surely not used to travelling in Int J on a A320, however I somehow found it to be not such a bad day flight experience. Overnight - No thanks.
The seats have very limited recline & I was fortunately seated in 1A with slightly more room.
My flight had only 3 other passengers in J with the Captain resting in 1C for a couple of hours en route to DRW.
The food & variety was adequate as displayed in the photos & the service was lovely & very friendly - executed by the more mature CC.
I had a nice chat with them & they also gave mentioning that it was their first return flight to BNE & were very content with the 2 day layover in BNE.
The 1 hour stopover in DRW was initially slightly confusing as we were held back from exiting the AC, as there was a JQ 24 hours delayed flight to DPS, & with the slightly irate pax in the holding pen, they were released in observed to 'stampede" the JQ bound AC on the tarmac :shock: - It was a sight to see.
We were then allowed around 40 mins in the 'charming" DRW int. transit area.
Back on board.. the second leg was a comfortable 3 hours & 50 mins to MNL, arriving 1 hour behind schedule.
Overall a pleasant experience.
jl rating
7/10

 

[albatross710]

Thanks for the trip report. It does'nt look like there is much space for the seat to recline.

Not a lot of recline. In my case I was lean in back into the first row of Y. They didn't really appreciate that.

This is a good read. Not sure that my 192cm would appreciate the space shown

I'm 186cms. I didn't have issues with my length.

I can also mention that the seat has just the recline, no lumber adjust. Foot rest is on the seat in front and is manual.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Appreciate this report thanks, so the same crew work both sectors?

 

[jetlagger]

Appreciate this report thanks, so the same crew work both sectors?

Yes - the same crew work both sectors.

It was interesting to note that PR appear quite nice to their FAs, as they mentioned to me they were having 2 days rest after these sectors, then MNL/SYD & two days rest then MNL/MEL -> 2 days rest. As the FA's reiterated, it is a kind work schedule.

IMO there is nothing worse than a tired worn out crew & it often shows in the service delivery on particular airlines.

An interesting observation I made was that on the second sector DRW/MNL after the 'thirsty ones" boarded the San Miguel beer ran out - I did happen to see one of the FA's initially bringing ample quantities from the front galley to the rear & was repeated till the beer bar was dry. :shock:

My particular flight was about 80% pax load in Y & 25% (4/12) apparent revenue pax in J.

I also shall endeavour to review & update the consistency of these flights, as have several more booked over the next few months.

Cheers,
jl

 

[Simo]

Thanks for the TR

 

[albatross710]

Well just recovered from my return MNL - BNE flight.

My week in Philippines was pleasant and productive. I did some shopping on Saturday morning, avoided the pickpocket that was following me for a while and then the fun started.

a) The washing I had asked to be ready at 3pm for me to pack and bring back home? Good news was it was ready at 3:30pm as I had allowed an hour of lateness...the bad news is it also included some other hapless traveler's shorts along with all of my washing. Haha..fortunately I saw them before having to explain to Mrs Albatross how they got into my bags!

b) Upon hotel check out from my cash deposit they deducted P50 for each of a tea bag and the two coffee sachets that I had consumed in my room during the stay. I am talking about the standard ones that are complimentary in every other hotel in the world. Those that travel in Ph will know how this discussion can go with a 'well trained' front desk hotel employee and it just went around in circles until I gave up. It wasn't the $3 that mattered, just the principle of fair trading and good service to improve future customers' experiences.

c) Upon getting into the taxi it took about 3 minutes to get the driver to turn on his meter and then he started on about an extra P100 charge as he couldn't get a fare back from the airport (as he wasn't registered to pickup from the airport.) Once again....you know how this conversation went. By the time I got to the airport I was happy to pay him the extra so he could spend another hour battling his way through the traffic. BTW, the meter fare from the hotel to airport was P180. (The hotel's preferred rate was P800.)

Well as you can see I was ready to leave the Philippines when these normal daily events were tweeking me too much. It had been a long work week!

Arrival at Terminal 2 was a drop off directly outside the correct entrance. The Business counter staff were excellent. I decided to move from my pre-assigned Row 3 seat Row 1. My theory was that the Y pax in Row 4 would disrupt the sleep. As I would later discover this didn't work out as in Row 1 with my tall frame didn't get the benefit of being able to slip my feet under the seat in front and instead was stopped by the bulkhead.

The Mabuhay lounge in T2 is being renovated. There is a temporary lounge cordoned off at one end of the terminal. The alternative is the use of the Mabuhay domestic lounge accessible via a lift very close to the departure gate S3. The lounge food was good with a freshly toasted panini on offer, reasonable wi-fi and a selection of beers. Once again I enquired as to the guest policy. No guest allowed with J tix unless the host is Premium Elite Whatever.

The aircraft boarded on time with 5 J pax. Offer of a mango smoothy upon boarding. I declined and took water instead.

The aircraft pretty well operated to schedule from here on. Arrival into Darwin was on time and into Brisbane I recall we deplaned about 10 minutes after schedule.

My main observation is that this flight certainly didn't get me home refreshed. The hour long stopover in Darwin combined with the two meal services, the slow/delayed dimming of cabin lights, the early preparation for landings all combined to give me about 1.5 hours of interrupted sleep on the first leg and then another 2.5 hours poor sleep on the DWN - BNE leg. I just couldn't get my head comfortable on the recline angle. Leaning towards the aircraft outer, I found the gap was too wide and my pillow was falling through. I ended up getting two pillows, reclined my seat and then leaning the two pillows against the ledge with the un-reclined seat.

I'm going to leave the other observations of the trip until later in the week. Perhaps I'm still too grumpy from lack of sleep and only seeking the negatives. I should be happy, I traveled in J, had nice meals and arrived on time!

To be continued.....

 

[albatross710]

In hindsight, the meals on the flights were quite good. What stood out for me was the 'disconnect' between the stage at which the I was at my meal and the service I was being offered.

On the first leg MNL=BNE the Supper had an entre of Smoked Tea Prawns with Mango Avocado Salsa. The prawns were very meaty, flavoursome and nice. I didn't need the Salsa.

For the main I choose the Tau Cheong Ginger Duck with vegetable fried rice in a bowl. Once again a nice dish. After my first mouthful I was interrupted and asked if I wanted to choose from the Assorted Fresh Fruits which were presented to me now on a platter. That's ok, I chose some grapes and continued on with the duck. Two more mouthfuls and I was presented with the requirement to decide if I wanted Premuim Ice Cream (with my duck?) I took the ice cream aside, with the grapes and hoped to enjoy them with the No-bake Cheesecake and Apple Slices.

Lots of little things like this that just interrupt the meal.

For breakfast I asked to be woken about an hour out form Brisbane and was hastily served what remained of the breakfast. By now my danish had been well heated for the past four hours since leaving Darwin - kind of burnt and dry. The fresh fruits were nice. I never did get offered anything to go with that butter.

For the main I took the Filipino option Daing na Bangus (fish) with Adobo Butter with spiced vinegar, scrambled egg and garlic friend rice. A nice way to finish a flight.

The coffee that was served was actually very acceptable.

 

[albatross710]

Today I checked the Miles posting into my Mabuhay Miles account.

Both outbound and inbound have posted at 3,905 miles each way. The 25% loading for the I Class booking hasn't been applied. I have emailed MM customer service and await their reply.


In summary, I am satisfied that I flew in a premium economy fashion from BNE-MNL-BNE for less than I last flew economy for the same trip. I'm already book and paid for my next J trip on this same route next year. For that trip I'll be better prepared for the return flight. I'll pack my own neck pillow, eyeshades and ear plugs.

 

[Inver]

Thanks Albatross I appreciate you posting your TR.

 

[petermac123]

Thanks for the TR Alby, I've learnt a whole new level of patience since starting business dealings in the Philippines....

 

[Melburnian1]

albatross, your photos are excellent.

MNL is a growing business destination as it's now the leading call centre location in the world. The place is expanding - speedier than mainland China. Call centres are gradually spreading to the provinces: places like Cebu (CEB) and Davao (DVO) as the owners need to find suitable labour and there's a fair bit of demand in MNL for call centre operators.

I haven't yet flown out of BNE, DRW or PER on PR but I have to and from SYD and most often MEL.

The SYD route still has the modern B773ER with slightly tilted but still excellent sleeper seats in J; 10 across in whY except right down the back: 370 pax if full. AVOD installed.

The MEL route has unfortunately just reverted to the much older A343s (42 seats in J; 222 in whY if I recall). Cinema-screen style entertainment only, but the seats in whY are thick foam not QF's horrible 'thin' seats.

The food on the 773ER in J is excellent. I love how San Miguel beer is now available.

PR has a fairly new website Philippine Airlines Deals Australia | PAL Flights that lists specials. It doesn't make any sense to me that it is separate from the airline's main site Philippineairline.com but no doubt some bright marketing guru thought of the idea.

Most SYD and MEL flights are on time or early.

The reason PR attendants (and pilots) have such good layovers is that PR flies 4x weekly from MNL to each of SYD and PER, and 3x weekly to each of MEL and BNE. DRW is an intermediate stop both ways for the PER and BNE flights meaning that it receives a daily flight to or from MNL. For DRW passengers, the northbound timings (a 1500 or so departure) are much better than JQ's middle of the night nonsense.

It's good to see the loadings at 80 or 90 per cent: much better than when it started, but that's to be expected.

PR offers a pretty good product that will improve when more new planes arrive and it scraps the 15 year old plus A343s, which need retirement in my book.

QF was running QF19 from SYD and QF20 from MNL one day a week via BNE, but QF pulled out unannounced after PR introduced its MNL - DRW - PER or BNE flights in June 2013.

I have found it very easy to redeem Mabuhay Miles FF points, even for travel at the start of December last year. Take note, QF!
'

 

[albatross710]

albatross, your photos are excellent.
'

These were taken with iPhone 4s.

 

[Melburnian1]

Thanks for the TR albatross710.

We were then allowed around 40 mins in the 'charming" DRW int. transit area.

jl rating
7/10

jetlagger, when you describe DRW's international transit passenger area as 'charming' do you mean 'old fashioned', 'decaying', 'boring', 'cramped' or something else?

Are there any shops at all airside that as a transit passenger on PR one can access? Are they open at 0430 or so when PR touches down daily from MNL before proceeding to either PER (4x weekly) or BNE (3 x weekly)? (I assume that any DRW airside shops would be open at 1330 when PR northbound to MNL should be on the ground in DRW.

 

[jetlagger]

jetlagger, when you describe DRW's international transit passenger area as 'charming' do you mean 'old fashioned', 'decaying', 'boring', 'cramped' or something else?
.

All of the above..
It is total coughola airport INT transit.
IIRC.. One Cafe open on the northbound PR run, a tiny newsagent & a Duty Free store trying to entertain the bored individuals.
The seats, space & general ambiance @ DRW INT transit IMO is very underwhelming.
It has potential though.. One day..:shock: