Philippine Airlines removed from European Union blacklist

[elbarto]

When QF ceased the HKG-LHR-HKG run, it leased the slots to BA.

No idea about FRA, but I do know QF retains seat allocations to Germany as a country (which is why the rumour about QF flying from DXB to Berlin continues to gain some traction).

I believe they still need that seat allocation to be able to codeshare.

 

[jetlagger]

PR's flight attendants are not robotic like SQ's and may sometimes come across as a bit officious, but if you take the time to chat to them (even for half a minute) and give them a small smile, you'll receive very good service from most of them.

This airline is also unusual in that it is not part of Star Alliance, SkyTeam or OneWorld (ranking these three airline alliances in order of size, with Star being far and away the best).
Some say that the benefits of being in an alliance are overstated. PR would have to continue its refleeting program and convince an alliance's board why it should join when the three groups already have good representation from Asia. Of course, PR may not want to join such a group even if eventually it was considered suitable.

Owing to my recent flights on PR Int. I shall make a concerted effort to compile a TR, as time avails, on some valid experiences.. FWIW. :-|

 

[jayday13]

Philippine Airlines return to LHR from November 4. Business class specials on sale now at US$1400 O/W MNL-LHR for travel until May 31 2014. Travel is on their 777-300ER. Not a bad price.

 

[Melburnian1]

This airline has not yet made through Australia to LHR fares available, but will in time: it is never fast at doing this. I do not understand why, since that must cost it money. Expect those fares to be quite competitive.

 

[docjames]

Philippine Airlines return to LHR from November 4. Business class specials on sale now at US$1400 O/W MNL-LHR for travel until May 31 2014. Travel is on their 777-300ER. Not a bad price.

$1400 is seriously unbelievable.

I can't believe they can anywhere near make money on this - $1400 would barely cover the fuel! Let alone leasing, depreciation, crewing, repairs/maintenance etc etc.....

 

[anat0l]

$1400 is seriously unbelievable.

I can't believe they can anywhere near make money on this - $1400 would barely cover the fuel! Let alone leasing, depreciation, crewing, repairs/maintenance etc etc.....

Mind you, that's one way ex-MNL. Considering some of the o/w J fares I've heard people pull up ex-MNL, somehow that might not surprise me.

Of course, it also remains to be seen whether that price is inclusive of all taxes and fuel surcharges. The last few PR emails I've been getting for sale prices ex-MNL (i.e. a Philippines audience targeted sale) have huge headline prices which are not inclusive of auxiliaries, including local taxes and fuel surcharges. (The departure tax of PHP 550 or so is usually not included in any prices, but too small to bother with).

In any case, the final price can't be substantially higher than that, and on a return basis that's certainly a cheap fare, but this is PR and I don't see that as dropping pants prices really. You have to compare like for like quality with its neighbours (SQ, TG, GA, let alone others); the only biggest people happy may be bean counters looking for cheap J fares for longhaul trips for their employees (i.e. and the travel agent can find such fares).

 

[jetlagger]

$1400 is seriously unbelievable.

I can't believe they can anywhere near make money on this - $1400 would barely cover the fuel! Let alone leasing, depreciation, crewing, repairs/maintenance etc etc.....

I would expect this is a very restricted ticket.
IME PR J is often like a 'lucky dip" as far as the hard product is concerned.. Though the overall experience it is no where near the likes of SQ, QF, EK, TG, etc etc..
The J crews always seem to try hard, though often the lacklustre hard product sometimes deflates any consistency..
On a positive note.. Given time.. I am optimistic about PR & its expansion of services.

 

[docjames]

Definitely, at best, a "loss-leader".

 

[Melburnian1]

docjames, since the above fares are only MNL (not MEL, SYD, BNE or DRW) to LHR, they may not be quite as much a loss leader as some AFFers might have thought at a quick glance. It's usual for Oz residents to concentrate on fares ex or to Oz. PR would have lower staff costs than QF but neither are immune to expensive fuel, leasing or purchase costs, landing fees and so on.

This link may make things clearer - the fares are 'all in', which is the equivalent of what we in Oz call 'all taxes and surcharges included' (note that the return fares will include the UK's air passenger duty, which is why a single fare ex MNL to LHR is at a greater than 50 per cent discount to half the return cost):

Philippine Airlines :: Fly to London

(As anat01 rightly suggests, the miniscule P550 - US$11.45 last time I was there - departure tax must be paid in either of those currencies - no credit or debit cards - prior to passing through immigration. There's a booth at which you queue to pay it. The staff give change, although I've only ever paid in pesos. If paying in USD, the change is probably in pesos). In contrast, the P200 departure tax from MNL domestically is now included in the ticket price, but at most if not all other Filipino domestic airports, often tiny sums down to about P40 are always manually collected.

jetlagger, you are correct but PR's B773s are a comfortable aircraft on which to travel. They have good J beds (not quite completely lie flat, which as always may be annoying to a taller person). There is lovely diving and snorkelling available in Philippines, although the better time to travel within the islands is from about 15 December to 15 June, which is outside the unpredictable typhoon season. MNL is more subject to typhoons than the central and southern islands. Weather in months like January and February is often terrific: pretty low humidity and down to a comfy 21 - 22 at night (although Westerners used to a temperate climate may prefer airconditioning, or having a sea breeze and ceiling fans).