Since I had a duty to travel to work in the Philippines, at first I planned to fly with Thai Airways as I had done before, in order to accumulate miles for Royal Orchid Plus Program. However, when I used Google Flight to search for flight schedules and check prices, I stumbled upon the local airline, Philippines Airlines, operating an Airbus A340. Given that I rarely see anyone using the A340 for flights anymore, I was intrigued. Plus, I wanted to experience sitting in an A340 from the past, when it was still in active service. So, without hesitation, I quickly chose to fly with the local airline.
Flight and Route information
Route : Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK) – Manila (MNL)
Flight Number : PR731
Aircraft : A340-300
ETD : 13.50 (GMT+7)
ETA : 18.10 (GMT+8)
Duration : 3 hours 20 minutes
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After checking in and receiving my boarding pass, I immediately headed to the gate (because today the traffic was heavy, and I arrived at the airport quite late, so I had to rush to take care of everything). Today, I would board at gate D4.
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When I arrived at the gate, the aircraft was waiting us already.
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Less than 10 minutes of waiting, and boarding was called on time. Today, the number of passengers was significantly high, probably close to 100% capacity. The majority, around 95%, were Filipinos. I could tell by their familiar faces resembling Thai people, but they spoke Tagalog and English fluently like native speakers.
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The economy class seats were arranged as 2-4-2. For me, I added-on my booking with “Choice economy seat” which allow me to sit at Exit row. It had more space for stretching. The cost was about 27 USD.
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As soon as all passengers wer boarded, the flight was pushed-back and taken-off on-time.
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When the aircraft was set in cruising altitude and seat belt sign had been switched-off, I started to survey the lavatory.
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Then, the cabin crews served food and beverages in the usual full-service manner. However, I must say that it took quite a long time. It took about an hour after take-off to start meal serving. Based on my observations of the staff’s work, I guessed it was due to their unfamiliarity with the A340 aircraft. Each of them seemed a bit hesitant and unsure. I thought that the A340 was probably brought in temporarily and not frequently used for actual flights. Well, this is purely my personal opinion.
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I chose chicken with rice, which tasted similar to stir-fried chicken with oyster sauce. It was delicious (or maybe I was just really hungry, as I arrived at the airport late due to traffic, and the food service staff were a bit slow as well).
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The soft drinks were served after meal. I ordered the apple juice and hot tea to sip during the flight.
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Once I finished my drinks, the plane was descended and landed at Ninoy Aquino Int’l Airport (Terminal 2)
Overall, the airport was quite small, with few immigration counters and limited baggage carousels. It used the same carousel for flights arriving from Tokyo and Beijing. I had to wait for over an hour to retrieve my luggage. In summary, this airline was average, meeting expectations but not exceeding them. It’s like the saying goes, “Less expect – Less disappoint” (I would give it a rating of 6 out of 10).
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Finally, I would like to end-up my review here. See you next time. 😀
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Written by : SHIPY SIWARIT TIASUWATTISETH
Shipy-Ship 