From Manila to Tagbilaran on Asia's First: Philippine Airlines

Date: December 22, 2012
Route: Manila (MNL) to Tagbilaran (TAG)

Distance: 384 miles

Flight: PR173
Aircraft Type: A320-200

Flight time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Scheduled departure time: 9:35am

For the past few years, I've been spending Christmas with my family in Bohol, one of the country's major tourist destinations which also happens to be my mother's home province. Every year, we look forward to seeing my mom's parents and her sisters with their respective families and get together to celebrate this important holiday. Well, this year isn't any different.

Whenever we'd fly to Bohol, it would usually be a toss-up between Philippine Airlines and its rival, Cebu Pacific. This year, however we decided to fly on Philippine Airlines, as it turned out to be somewhat cheaper than its low-cost rival (strange, I know). As always, we booked our flights and selected our seats months in advance to avoid any inconveniences.

Anyway, we arrived at Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for our 9:35 am flight around 7 o'clock in the morning. Getting inside the terminal was not a problem at all, since there were much fewer flights now unlike in Terminal 3. Since October this year, Philippine Airlines had transferred most of its domestic operations to its subsidiary AirPhil Express, and decided to focus more on international flights as well as their major domestic routes, which include Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, Iloilo, Laoag, Kalibo, and Tagbilaran. Since then, the domestic side of Terminal 2 has become much quieter, and long queues to get inside the terminal are now rare.

Passengers queuing to check-in to the two flights to Tagbilaran and the flight to Bacolod.

Tarp reminding passengers about the changes to PAL's operations

There was a rather long queue at the check-in counter since the queues are no longer specific to one flight, but rather to around 3 flights. Thus, the passengers who were at the same "snake" line as we were were either passengers on our flight, or the other flight to Tagbilaran (which leaves about an hour after our flight), and another flight to Bacolod City. Despite this, however, we were able to finish checking in in less than half an hour.

At the check-in hall

Previously, passengers were supposed to pay for the terminal fee right after checking-in. Recently, however, airport officials decided that the terminal fee would now be integrated into the plane ticket, so that we could avoid any further queues and to make things a bit easier for the travelers. Thus, right after checking-in, we proceeded to clear the final security check before we could finally settle in and wait for our boarding call at the gate.

Terminal 2 has become much quieter since the changes were made to PAL's operations

Terminal 2, which is exclusively used by Philippine Airlines, is actually one of the nicer terminals at the NAIA complex. It is bright and airy, and the domestic side of the terminal also has a good view of the main runway which is a big plus for airplane enthusiasts such as myself. It also has a pretty good WiFi connectivity which allows passengers to check their e-mails or social networking accounts before their flight. It also gives them something to do as there isn't really much to do inside the terminal. The problem with this terminal, though, is the lack of food kiosks which are plentiful in the newer Terminal 3. I wish they could do something about this, although I don't think there is really enough space in Terminal 2 for that. Oh well.

My boarding pass

The boarding announcement was made at around 9 o'clock, and the passengers were asked to board by specific groups as indicated on the boarding pass. The Mabuhay (Business) Class passengers as well as those seated towards the rear of the aircraft would usually be asked to board first.

Getting ready to board

I was expecting that our plane would be one of PAL's A319-100s which were delivered in 2006 or 2007 and had newer seats, since I checked the PAL website the night before our flight. I was disappointed to see, however, that our plane was actually one of PAL's older A320-200 planes which were delivered during the 90s and had older seats. The plane did look worn out and the seats definitely needed some updating--they were of a purplish shade which surely looked like they'd seen better days. The entire cabin, however, was kept neat and spotless, which still somehow makes a difference.

Inside the cabin. The seats were of the older kind and definitely needed updating.

We were welcomed on board by two flight attendants who greeted the passengers as they walked past. At the Mabuhay Class Cabin, there was one male flight attendant who served the passengers welcome drinks. Throughout the Fiesta (Economy) Class cabin, there were other flight attendants who were ready to assist the passengers.

Parked beside us was one of PAL's newer A320s which had a special "70 Asia's First, Shining Through" sticker on it

Boarding was completed rather quickly, though we had to wait for quite a while as cargo was still being loaded onto the plane. Eventually, the plane did push back, and the new safety video began to play. Just to give you an idea, here's PAL's new safety video which was launched only a few years ago:

The new PAL safety video was conceptualized to be more entertaining so as to get the passengers' attention. This was probably PAL's answer to rival Cebu Pacific's dancing flight attendants which earned recognition worldwide, and became viral on YouTube in 2010 with over 10,000,000 as of this posting.

Legroom on the plane was really good, I must say. 

Eventually, we were airborne, and cruising at an altitude of 33,000 feet. Flying time to Tagbilaran would take approximately an hour and 10 minutes. Shortly after take-off, the flight attendants began serving snacks, which consisted of peanuts and a small cream-filled cake bar and a choice between water, tea, or coffee. Though it was enough for the short flight, I do miss the "snack packs" which PAL used to serve on their domestic flights. These "snack packs" contained a wide assortment of cookies, crackers, and sweets. I guess PAL had to cut costs.

Snacks served on the short flight

I originally wanted coffee to go with my snack, but the flight attendant said she would have to return to go back to the galley for a refill. I figured this would take a while since she had to prioritize serving the snacks to the other passengers first, so I decided to have a cup of water instead.

The view outside, from my window seat

They were actually showing short programs on the drop-down LCD screens found throughout the aircraft, but it was actually pretty useless watching them since there were no headsets provided. Unless, of course, they were showing an episode of Just for Laughs (a gag show), then the headsets wouldn't really be needed. However, on this flight, they showed an episode of a travel program as well as another show (I don't remember which one), so headsets would surely have been needed. Many passengers instead decided to entertain themselves by reading newspapers (which were distributed by the flight attendants during boarding) or by tinkering with their iPads and whatnot.

Soon enough, we were already starting our descent towards Tagbilaran. The flight attendants began collecting trash and started making preparations for landing. The approach towards Tagbilaran offered pretty good views of Panglao Island as well as the world-famous Chocolate Hills.

The Chocolate Hills, one of Bohol's major tourist attractions

Just before 11am, our plane landed at Tagbilaran's tiny airport. Despite Bohol being a major tourist destination, the island province actually lacks an airport that would be able to easily accommodate all the arriving and departing visitors as well as the several flights that take-off and land from the airport. The airport can actually only handle 2-3 planes at a time and isn't capable of accommodating night flights. Thus, the airport usually closes after the last flight departs between 4:30-5pm and opens again when the first flight from Manila arrives around 6:30am the next day. For years now, there have been talks about the construction of a bigger airport at Panglao Island (to be called the Panglao Island International Airport) but so far there have been to concrete plans, especially after President Aquino took over. Maybe this new airport should be made a priority.

Tagbilaran's tiny domestic airport

One last look at our plane

Claiming our luggage did take a while. Due to the lack of sufficient equipment, unloading the luggage from the aircraft and bringing them to the arrival area was a slow process. You can't blame the airline for this, though. After 30 minutes of waiting, we finally did get to claim all our luggage and off we were to our 5-day Christmas trip to Bohol.

Conclusion

There isn't anything to complain about on this flight, actually, except for the fact that we were on an older plane that had outdated seats (but were still actually quite comfy). Everything--from check-in to arrival--was a breeze. The new PAL management under the San Miguel Corporation has certainly done a great job of trying to "bring back" the glory days of the airline, when it was known as one of the best in Asia. They surely still have a lot to work on, though, since PAL is actually still much behind compared to the other leading carriers in the region such as Singapore Airlines. The PAL acronym, which to many people actually used to mean "Plane Always Late", doesn't seem to be that relevant anymore, as our flight to and from Tagbilaran did depart on time. I just hope it's an uphill climb from here (pun intended)--otherwise, how would PAL be able to live up to its "Asia's First, Shining Through" slogan?

Overall score: 15/20