[chowchow]

I did back in 2005 when I went home . I took the nonstop flight from Los ANgeles to Manila onboard a Boeing 747. ABodo chicken and pork served. Beautiful stewardess . Petite , of course hind yung matatanda esp in other airlines,hehee.
NOw while we were getting closer into Philippine airspace, the captain was on the microphone telling us about the expected time of arrival and weather conditions. Then i remember he said this familiar words, "...as we enter into the Philippine's Area of Responsibility." Those words and tone of voice reminded me of the PAGASA forecaster making his daily weather reports on radio many many years ago when i was in college. It right away gave me that warm fuzzy feeling that, hey, Im home ! Deep inside it s a wonderful feeling , IM sure all Filipino balikbayans have that same feeling as we fly home.
Happy Thanksgiving .

[riddler]

Flew PAL once to go home and never again! The counter agent in LAX was so rude (like everything is a big favor to me and an inconvenience for her), and does not even bother to look you in the eyes when she talks to you.

The plane was so overloaded that it did not take on enough fuel to make a non-stop flight. We had to stopover Hawaii to refuel. While on the ground, the cabin was so hot, the lavatory was reeking and the stewardesses/stewards were nowhere to be found. The only thing good about the flight was the chicken adobo that they serve.

Since then I only fly Cathay Pacific going home. Service is awesome! Prettier stewardesses and I get to buy pasalubong at the Duty-Free for a couple of hours in Hongkong airport.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[ahtsay]

I used to Fly PAL and I still do if they're on sale. On a trip from Vancouver to Manila, one guy immediately started saving a row of seats in the middle section, all 4 of them. ( para makahiga siya during the long flight) He was one of the few people to board the plane early. Then after a few minutes 3 Indian looking people also boarded the flight, unfortunately their seats are the ones being saved by the guy. Naturally the foreigners flashed their boarding pass and told the guy that he is occupying all 3 of their seats. The guy wouldn't budge and pointed to a row of empty (at the moment) seats at the back. Para bang "Doon kayo o, walang tao, nauna ako sa inyo dito, baket niyo kinukuha ang pwesto ko?" hehehe!!! Ginawa ng foreigners they called a stewardess and the guy was eventually "evicted" hahaha!! It was really funny! Kala ata ng guy first come first served eh.
Once naman flying back from Hong Kong; when I reached the check-in counter the lady behind the counter informed me that the plane was late. Another lady beside her sarcastically commented "actually they are on time" and started laughing.
In fairness I think they have been improving though. My last flight with them to Sigapore about 2 months ago was pretty uneventful and on time. Basta mura.....PAL! hahaha!!!

[Mang Danny]

I used to work in PAL during early 70's. It means Plane Always Late!

[horge]

I just flew PAL ---domestic, though.
The flight attendants were good to look at (both male and female),
pleasant and professional. The plane was fairly new (A320).

Such a contrast with the previous time I'd flown PAL, in '96:
We'd 'patriotically' switched out the final (Cathay Pacific) leg on a BA flight
homeward from the UK. My impression of PAL then would dovetail with
riddler's account, except the chicken adobo was pathetic: meat gone from the
bone, in a sad, brown sauce that was warmer only than the soda served.
The flight attendants looked like THEY'D be needing assistance from us in
case of an emergency landing.

[CatsMeow]

Yipe, I'm taking PAL tomorrow to Manila. Hope it won't be cancelled because of the storm.

We government employees have a discount, however the special offer I got was more than the discount. The cheapest fare is for the first dawn flight, no way, I'll arrive tired and short-tempered.

[Wp.22]

for domestic travels we always use PAL plus factor of PAL is the airport here in manila a newer one than the old domestic airport where cebu pacific lands. On our last trip we took advantage of the promo of Air Philippines. The ticket price for the three of us is just a little more expensive for a two-way ticket for one person if you are using PAL. Plus they share the same airport pa. The only downside of using airphilippines is you cannot mention the model of the aircraft outloud "BOMBADIER"

[CatsMeow]

In one of the flights I took to Manila, years ago when PAL still had the BAC 1-11s, the steward was doing his thing at the aisle, that is, demonstrating the lifevest, and his fly was open. He didn't know it and nobody told him.

[isuzu]

Originally Posted by riddler

Flew PAL once to go home and never again! The counter agent in LAX was so rude (like everything is a big favor to me and an inconvenience for her), and does not even bother to look you in the eyes when she talks to you.

The plane was so overloaded that it did not take on enough fuel to make a non-stop flight. We had to stopover Hawaii to refuel. While on the ground, the cabin was so hot, the lavatory was reeking and the stewardesses/stewards were nowhere to be found. The only thing good about the flight was the chicken adobo that they serve.

Since then I only fly Cathay Pacific going home. Service is awesome! Prettier stewardesses and I get to buy pasalubong at the Duty-Free for a couple of hours in Hongkong airport.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I've heard that also, that the counter agents of PAL in the States are rude. Counter agents in Vancouver are not employees of PAL. They are probably contracted by PAL to run the counters. When our plane was delayed in June, the counter agents immediately brought Tim Horton's donuts and coffee, plus bottled water, pop and chips. They never left us in the pre-departure area until we boarded the plane. The flight stewardesses were so nice, and one even got a commentation from me through their vice-president.

As for the Hawaii stopover, it could mean several things. One is reduced fuel because of cargo; to unload and upload transit passengers, and because of the headwind that makes the plane consume more fuel. It also amazes me why PAL doesn't fly in a straight line from Vancouver to Manila. It usually passes through Alaska, Japan and the Philippines. 13.5 hours, non-stop!

I've heard a lot of good feedback with regards to Cathay. How I wish they could fly up to Bacolod when the new airport opens. Worth trying.

[isuzu]

Originally Posted by Mang Danny

I used to work in PAL during early 70's. It means Plane Always Late!

Mang Danny, do you have an ex-PAL employees group in SoCal? I know of two people who used to work for PAL Bacolod who are now in SoCal when I did my practicum in the late 80's. One who manned the fire extinguisher when the BAC 1-11 was starting up didn't like to wear hearing protection. Eventually naging bingi.

[Django]

In fairness to PAL, their services have improved a lot over these years.

I have taken other commercial airlines (Cathay, Singapore, Thai, Norhtwest,Southwest,AA,Jetblue,United,Korean,Vietnam,etc) and PAL offers equal or better service than most of them.

Makes me proud to be a Filipino.

[Wp.22]

me i like emirates

[Sweater]

I flew PAL once .From Narita ,Japan to Manila.All I can say is their service was not bad, compare to other carriers.Especialy on take-offs and touch downs ,you wont feel a thing just like other airlines do.Its a shame PAL doesnt fly to Newark,NJ just like before.

[antediluvianist]

It's not the airline that's bad, it's SOME of the passengers. I stopped flying on PAL the third time I saw a Pinoy from economy class sneak into business class. Of course I wouldn't call the stewardess and point him out - but, eh, sagwa. Have never seen that on any other airline, although I've flown other airlines with plenty of Pinoy OFWs in them. Maybe they think they can get away with that on PAL, and they did in fact.

[Django]

Some counter agents in LAX are not even Filipinos. Last time I was checking in there for a return trip to the Phils, I had a hard time communicating with one lady at the counter who barely spoke English. But she was courteous just the same.

[CatsMeow]

Originally Posted by Wp.22

for domestic travels we always use PAL plus factor of PAL is the airport here in manila a newer one than the old domestic airport where cebu pacific lands. On our last trip we took advantage of the promo of Air Philippines. The ticket price for the three of us is just a little more expensive for a two-way ticket for one person if you are using PAL. Plus they share the same airport pa. The only downside of using airphilippines is you cannot mention the model of the aircraft outloud "BOMBADIER"

Just pronounce it the French way, as it is pronounced in Canada where they are made: "bombardiey" (am I right Isuzu?). That goes for Sea-Doos and their most famous product (got to the North Pole!) Ski-Doos. Sabagay the "bomba" is still there...

On the subject of flight delays, I was supposed to take Cebu Pacific to Manila about two years ago, and it got delayed THREE HOURS. I had to watch the PAL and AirPhil planes take off for Manila on time while me and my fellow passengers fidgeted at the departure lobby.

[MozambiqueDrill]

Interesting thread with good timing. We are flying PAL from LAX to Manila in 2 weeks, round trip in first/business class. I sure hope the extra $$ for the family (four of us) will be worth it.

Back in the 90s, we flew Northwest a few times to Manila and it was just "o.k.". Before purchasing the PAL tickets, I researched the major airlines that fly to Manila and it seemed that Cathay was pretty darn good. Thing is, only PAL has direct flights. When time is an issue, the few extra hours here and there add up (between extended flight times and layovers).

I should add...> I was most concerned with flight safety in terms of aircraft maintenance. Then I learned that many of the U.S. airlines send their planes overseas for major maintenance. Go figure.

[Allegra]

China airlines has the cheapest fares to the US
How's the emergency response team at LAX?

[horge]

Originally Posted by Allegra

China airlines has the cheapest fares to the US
How's the emergency response team at LAX?

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

[batangueno]

There was a time when i was going to shanghai via PAL. Unusually all pretty stewardesses and they were all very courteous and nice. Moments later Lucio Tan walks in and sits at the front row seat. Kaya naman pala eh.

[atmarcella]

How's the emergency response team at LAX?

galeng...

plus factor of PAL is the airport here in manila a newer one

was there last month.... very poor maintenance

flew PAL to bangkok also last month...it was 2hours late on the return trip and also 2hrs late on the way to bangkok...so its still true to form...Plane Always Late hehehe

[crazy_hans]

it won't be long before we see very old and preggy flight attendants kasi i think pal lost at SC when they denied female flight attendants to get married sabi ng SC no substantial difference between a married and a single female attendant. i just don't know if that was reversed later on.maybe sir catsmeow can help us with that.(sorry sir passing the buck again)hehehhe

[glockbarok]

Originally Posted by MozambiqueDrill

Interesting thread with good timing. We are flying PAL from LAX to Manila in 2 weeks, round trip in first/business class. I sure hope the extra $$ for the family (four of us) will be worth it.

Back in the 90s, we flew Northwest a few times to Manila and it was just "o.k.". Before purchasing the PAL tickets, I researched the major airlines that fly to Manila and it seemed that Cathay was pretty darn good. Thing is, only PAL has direct flights. When time is an issue, the few extra hours here and there add up (between extended flight times and layovers).

I should add...> I was most concerned with flight safety in terms of aircraft maintenance. Then I learned that many of the U.S. airlines send their planes overseas for major maintenance. Go figure.

I would never fly with Cathay Pacific again. Last year we flew with them from NY to Manila. It was a horrible experience. The stewards/ess were rude and snobbish. Its really ironic how you would see a lot of posters saying Customer satisfaction as a priority. What really ticked me off was the flight from HK to Manila. The passengers in my side of the plane started freaking out, then the crew instead of trying to calm the passengers also started shouting orders. ONe of them shouted "We are on the same plane as you are, so shut up" At first, I didn't know what the commotion is all about, then I found out, OUR WING HAS A HOLE ON IT!!! Although, we landed in Manila without incident. There were no rescue crew on the ground. As if nothing happened. The crew made sure that the othe passenger wouldn't know, no pictures or videos.

I discreetly took a 1-2 seconds film of the wing. I did edit it to make it longer but you could see the hole clearly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jViFNU1VcwA

I am with my family at that time. I would rather spend a couple of hubdred bucks than fly with them again.

To add: They misplaced our baggage too. Have to wait 3 days to get it back. So, vacation plans were put on hold. !@#$@%!!!!

[chowchow]

When did this happen?

[jerrytrini]

PAL's flight meals during the '70s were wonderful. Breakfast especially consisted of fried rice, achara, tapa or longaniza and sliced mangoes. Those days are gone.......