The project involves the installation of state-of-the-art in flight entertainment systems, new business-class and economy-class seats, and the infusion of a new, modern look that emulates the tranquil seas and sandy beaches of the Philippines.
The new Mabuhay Class cabin is luxurious cocoon seats supplied by Recaro of Germany. The new seat has a fixed privacy shell that enables the passenger to enjoy utmost privacy while an ergonomic design transforms it into a lie-flat bed.
The seats are adjustable to a variety of positions. Each seat is equipped with its own programmable position controls with memory, individual directional LED reading light, oversized tray table and bottle holder.
Source: ASEAN Affairs
My eyes lit up at the sight of this small screens at the back of the seats right in front of me. Mind you, I’m only flying economy, so this is quite a treat. PAL now have a separate mini-magazine of their entertainment selection called Flights of Fancy. This lists the movies available for viewing, as well as TV shows, music CDs and even games to help you pass the time while flying.
Since the flight from Manila to Hong Kong was only an hour an a half, the entertainment choices were limited to TV shows (and a very limited selection at that), the radio and games. The displays were touch-screen, so you can navigate through the menus on screen or by using the control. The touch screen comes specially handy when you’re playing Bejeweled or Bookworm.
Philippine Airlines has refurbished several of their big planes (Boeing 747-400, Airbus A340-300) with the comfortable Recaro seats and installed the personal AVODs to be competitive with other international airlines that offer the same. I’m not quite sure when I’m flying PAL again, but it was great to have experience this at least once.
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