I fail at packing lightly. Knowing that I will be flying in a plane full of Filipinos who are no doubts bringing home heaps of pasalubongs, I still tried my luck at having an excess of 5 kilos for my check in luggage.

My big luggage had a Twister DVD board game, Lundby Doll House accessories, Shrek playing cards, girly bags, some clothes, toiletries, a painting, several blocks of chocolates and 5 kilos of frozen turkey thigh fillet. My hand carry trolley bag contains my Pinky carrying case, more chocolates, more Lundby, a couple more clothes and a bag of potato chips. In my shoulder bag, I have two books, an old Starbucks planner, Viktor (my backpack) and my external hard drive. Yup, I was definitely pushing my luck.

The first thing the check-in lady noticed was my big shoulder bag. It was too big, she said. If I’m bringing it onboard with me, the total for the two bags shouldn’t be more than 8 kilos. My trolley alone was 9 kilos. After removing stuff and checking the weight (and failing to go below 8 kilos), the lady finally suggested that I use my backpack instead of the heavy trolley bag. After moving my stuff around, the final weight was at 6 kilos.

My big bag, of course, went over as well. She wouldn’t let me pass with my 25.5 kilo luggage (though I was able to get away with it on the flight from Manila). I took out two frozen turkeys, and ended up with a respectable 20.5 kilos. It felt weird to be travelling so lightly.

After receiving a nod of approval from the check in lady, she finally hands me my boarding pass. A quick glance tells me I’m seated at 17G. My only thought is whether it’s a middle or an aisle seat. I hope it’s an aisle seat.

Bidding goodbye to my sister and her family (who came with me at check-in to take home whatever excess I have), I made my way into immigration. It was quick and painless; I am once again stamped out of Australia. I had almost an hour before boarding and passed the time by deciding whether to snack on macadamia and almonds or salted cashew. The cashew won.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready to board Philippine Airlines flight PR212. Travellers transiting from Sydney can board on the right-hand line and passengers from Melbourne board on the left-hand line. Business class passengers can board anytime at your leisure.

I made my way to the left-hand line, wondering why the other passengers are carrying a green-bordered boarding pass, while I hold a blue one. The thought quickly leaves me as I pass through the final check. Stepping on board the aircraft, I show the flight attendant my boarding pass. Straight this way and turn right, she said. We boarded at the front end of the aircraft, and had to pass through business class. Lucky buggers, I thought. Mindlessly walking through the business class, not really paying attention to the seat numbers, I was stopped by a flight attendant who saw my assigned seat number.

“This is your seat Ma’m,” she said as she pointed to seat 17G in business class.

*blink blink* Holy crap.

With a big smile, I settled down in my seat and read the menu so I can give the attendant my dinner choice. Not long after, everyone was in their seat — even on the seats reserved for the flight attendants. We were overbooked and unless four passengers willingly gave up their seats the plane would not be taking off. Volunteers will be upgraded to business class, they said. Only one man made a move to stand up.

Ten minutes passed and nobody else moved. the flight attendants are starting to get agitated, as the purser, the captain and the ground staff point fingers on who to blame. They talked to a couple more passengers, and managed to convince two more to take the next flight. Only one more seat, and we can go. More minutes passed. It was almost two o’clock in the morning. We were supposed to take off at 12:20 am. We heard applause coming in from the back and moving in to the front. A family of three gave up their seats; we can now proceed with our flight to Manila.

Mabuhay class is actually pretty nice. It’s not as polished as Singapore Airline’s, but the food is comparable, and the ice cream, heaps better. (Singapore Airlines served green tea ice cream, which I cannot stand. PAL served vanilla, which is one of my favorites.) The extra legroom, seat width, and personal entertainment system certainly made for a very comfortable long haul flight.

After almost 12 hours (from the time I arrived at Tullamarine), I finally made it to Manila. I was welcomed with long lines at the immigration, people getting special treatment, mountains of balikbayan boxes, exhorbitantly priced airport taxis and heavy traffic. I love you, my Manila. I will always come home to you.

Popularity: 30% [?]

There are people who simply abhor airline food, while there are some who, oddly enough, are excited by it. I can understand both sides. Airline food is hardly ever something to write about, although on certain airlines, the meals served onboard are among the highlights of the flight.

In my experience, most of the time airline meals are nothing special. I think the most memorable ones were the wasabi peanut that they served on business class on Singapore Airlines and the green tea ice cream.

This meal from PAL is another one for the nothing special group. I *think* that’s the chicken meal. Doesn’t look appetizing, huh? It’s not. The highlight of this meal was the mediocre Rocky Road bar, and the small slice of Gouda.

This breakfast on the otherhand, is even lower on the scale. The bun on the left is pretty much the same roll they served for dinner. The croissant is certainly not fresh; it’s hard and very greasy. Since I’m not much of an ensymada fan, I didn’t touch the Red Ribbon packet, though I now wish that I did. The best part of this breakfast? The yoghurt and the strawberry jam.

Next time you fly with Philippine Airlines, lookout for the condiment packets.

Corny and cheesy, but admit it, you laughed

Popularity: 40% [?]

Last year, when we were planning for my first trip to Australia, my sister wanted me to get the fares for a round-trip Manila-Melbourne-Manila flight from Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. I, on the otherhand, kept on insisting to fly with Philippine Airlines, because I am a Mabuhay Miles member. It was only after a couple of weeks (yes, I’m that slow) to realize that if I’m to fly with SQ or CX, I can have a stopover in Singapore or Hong Kong. After that realization, I booked myself with Singapore Airlines, and spent 5 days in Singapore, hoarding dolls and manga.

Apart from the stopover, what I liked about flying with Singapore Airlines is their excellent service and the personal entertainment system. For a 3-hour flight, I don’t mind not having ANYTHING because I can just read my book, listen to my MP3s and bring my own food. For long-haul however, I need more stuff to keep me entertained. That’s where (in my opinion) Philippine Airline falls short.

Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to secure seats on either Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific, or even Qantas. In desperation (as there’s only 10 days before I have to leave) I booked with Philippine Airlines. I was certainly glad that I’ll be earning almost 8,000 miles for this trip, but what I didn’t like is that PAL doesn’t have personal entertainment systems on their planes. That means a number of screens spread at intervals, showing a set of movies or programs, whether you want to watch it or not.

The first movie they showed was the latest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. No complaints there, as I liked the movie the first time I watched it and wanted to see it again. I wanted to go right to sleep after that, but I ended up watching Nancy Drew. After Nancy solved the mystery, I resolved to get some sleep. So I put on my sleep mask and contorted to a more comfortable position (as if that’s possible in cattle class). Just when I was starting to drift off, somebody started laughing. Out loud. And he went on and on and on.

You see, after Nancy Drew and a couple of PAL commercials, some wise-ass thought it’d be fun to screen a gag show. Gag shows are funny; I like watching them. But damnit, not during a flight at 2 o’clock in the morning! The guy, who was on the same row as I am, just woke up from his 4-hour slumber and was so tickled pink at what’s happening on the screen. He enjoyed it so much that he couldn’t contain himself: he kept on laughing and laughing. Loudly.

Thankfully, the blasted show lasted for only 30 minutes. But alas, sleep just wasn’t meant to be. Soon after the show ended, the cabin lights were turned on and a disappointing breakfast was served. But that’s another another story for another day.

Popularity: 27% [?]

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines — At least 3 people were injured when a Philippine Airlines jet overshot the runway of the Bancasi Airport here around 6:45 a.m. Friday, careering into coconut grove, officials said.

Superintendent Elmer Doyo, regional director of the Criminal detection and Investigation Group (CIDG), said among the injured was the plane pilot’s Captain Fernando Santos.

The Airbus A320, which left Manila about 5:10 a.m., was carrying 148 passengers and six crew, aviation officials said.

The flag carrier sustained some damage as it nosed into a grove of coconut and banana trees when it overshot the 1.2-kilometer runway. The cause of the accident was not immediately known, a PAL spokesman told Agence France-Presse.

Thirty-four passengers were taken to hospital for treatment, but all but one have been discharged, PAL said in a statement.

Emmanuel Costelo, airport manager, said it was most likely that the pilot erred during landing and missed the runway.

Costelo said he received accounts from eyewitness about the plane landing on the wrong “touch-down zone.”

“The weather was good and there was nothing unusual. We’re looking into the pilot error angle,” Costello told the Philippine Daily Inquirer

Source: Inquirer.net

Hmmm, will we see 5J ads about airline safety in the coming weeks?

Popularity: 30% [?]

From the SunStar Bacolod website:

Philippine Airlines’s newest Airbus A320, which features a “21st-century enhanced cabin” that is the first to be outfitted for an Asian carrier, arrived recently to join the flag carrier’s modernizing fleet.

The cabin is the widest of any single aisle aircraft in the Philippines, allowing for wider seats in both Mabuhay (business) and Fiesta (economy) classes, a more spacious aisle and larger overhead stowage bins.

The German-made Recaro seats offer a pitch of 39 inches in Mabuhay Class and 30 inches in Fiesta Class, the most generous in the market - raising passenger comfort levels significantly.

There’s no picture in the website, but somebody from the PinoyExchange forum posted pictures of the aircraft’s interior. That certainly looks nice.

Damn, I couldn’t wait to try this out! (And get frequent flyer points while I’m at it, heh.)

Now, where should I fly to next with PAL?

Popularity: 14% [?]