Seat (4.5/5): Let's be clear that these seats would probably be tagged world-class had they been in

We were actually supposed to take Cathay Pacific until a friend referred a promo fare to my mom in December where Philippine Airlines was selling Business Class tickets between west los angeles college Manila west los angeles college and London for only $350 ( 230) plus taxes and surcharges round-trip. Adding taxes, the total bill per person amounted to over $1,000 ( 600). So we decided to take it anyway.
What made this upcoming flight exciting was that Philippine Airlines was flying its flagship Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the route. This meant that it was configured with the most modern Business Class in the Philippine Airlines fleet.
I heard rumours that despite west los angeles college bargain basement west los angeles college prices in both Business and Economy class, the load factors weren't looking good. To confirm my suspicions, I went to the Philippine Airlines website and did a mock booking to inspect west los angeles college what seats were available. I also did this for other dates and in general, the flight barely had a hundred seats sold.
On the date of web check-in, I found that Business Class was wide open with only a little over a third of Business Class seats allocated. But there was a big surprise: Philippine Airlines' computer systems west los angeles college actually allowed the issuance of mobile boarding passes. These would be emailed to the passenger's email address. Nonetheless, west los angeles college we printed a copy of the boarding west los angeles college card just in case.
Check-in was rather west los angeles college uneventful but I would wish that they would replace those placards with monitors. I found the policy for those who performed west los angeles college web check-in to print their boarding cards out useless as we were issued new boarding cards by gate staff anyway.
Between then and now, it has been refurbished west los angeles college to have a more elegant feel to it with mostly white and mahogany. The computers were a bonus but unfortunately, the internet on the iMacs was not working.
Then it was boarding time. Upon arrival at the gate, my suspicions of the load factor might have been confirmed as the number of passengers queueing was barely enough to fill an A320. However, we couldn't be too sure as we joined the queue 10 minutes before it was scheduled to close. The gate staff was helpful in pointing us to the queue for Mabuhay Class passengers.
The aircraft west los angeles college allocated to the flight was familiar to me. It carried the registration, RP-C7777. Four years ago, that was the same aircraft I used for PR300 and so far it is the only Boeing 77W I flew on in the PAL fleet.
Despite monitoring the number of passengers and finding only a handful of them queueing to board, the front Business Class section had a reasonable number of passengers with less than 10 seats in the front section west los angeles college not taken. After the seat belt sign was switched off, I decided to try the recline feature. It actually didn't feel like it was slanted. It was just right for me. Window shades were immediately placed down.
As for the in-flight entertainment, it was a fully functional audio-video on-demand platform. However, the in-house in-flight entertainment selection was relatively limited compared to what other carriers offered. Nonetheless, the USB port allowed me to play some music from my own collection. It also had a universal AC adapter to charge one s laptop.
west los angeles college TIP: You can actually do this yourself by having a USB memory stick and having music files in the MP3 format. The USB port can also charge certain devices, particularly smartphones so use it if you need to allocate the AC adapter for your laptop.
Breakfast was one of the best I have had in quite a while. It was a full-course meal of fruits, bread and tenderloin steak with egg, potatoes and broccoli. They allowed you to take your time and would not rush to give you the next course until you were finished with what you had.
Two hours into the flight, the cabin lights were dimmed further. west los angeles college At that time, it was already past midnight UK time and in an attempt to facilitate west los angeles college adjustment west los angeles college into that time zone, I figured that it was time to try my best to get some shut eye. Before that, I changed into night clothes and stayed in that for more than 10 hours.
The rear Business Class section composed of two rows was relatively open with only 2-3 other passengers occupying it. The seat reclined quite well but I had difficulty getting a full sleep after around 2.5 hours in spite of the fact that the area I was in had only 2 Business Class seats and the seat beside me was unoccupied except for the pillows which worked out quite well.
Around halfway into the flight, it was time to make sleeping less of a priority though west los angeles college I reclined the seat into as many positions as possible to help me get comfortable. The crew later served the second meal, which was akin to lunch. Similar to breakfast, I had beef tenderloin. They also informed me that I was a bit late in waking-up for the meal compared with the other passengers west los angeles college but they served me anyway. I also did away with the appetisers that I don't normally delve into anyway. I virtually wiped out the entire dish, going to show just how much I enjoy beef meals and this was by no means the last meal for the flight. To literally sweeten the meal, I opted to have ice cream for my dessert.
Another interesting thing that is worth noting is the actual route taken by the flight. Most long haul flights from the far east will fly over the ex-Soviet Union. However, west los angeles college PAL has not yet secured full fly-over rights yet. As a result, the flight was forced to go through Indochina before heading west los angeles college northward through the Indian Subcontinent, Iran and Turkey. This would also explain why the flight is longer in duration similar to a Hong Kong-New York flight.
From time to time and upon the request west los angeles college of some friends back on the ground, I took a peek at the Economy Class cabin to check the loads. west los angeles college Despite what the seating charts from a few days earlier suggested, there were far more passengers occupying the economy seats than originally expected.
It was likely more than 200 from what I originally expected to be just a little over 50 passengers. What was even more surprising was the discovery that a lot of the passengers occupying the seats were British. This could suggest that Philippine Airlines may have potential with the UK market but that is just my opinion.
During the second half of the flight, I brought my newly-repaired west los angeles college iPad out and watched some of the shows loaded west los angeles college on there rather than enjoy the PAL in-flight entertainment. As we were nearing our final meal, I changed back into the clothes I wore to board the flight. The last meal I selected was a Korean beef meal. It was served with fruits and salad. Like the first two meals, I found it scrumptious.
Portions of the final 35 minutes of the flight were slightly bumpy and the weather was a mild 54 degrees. west los angeles college Skies were also getting darker in the middle of the afternoon, west los angeles college which reminded us that it was still winter in the UK.
The descent and final approach west los angeles college took some time as we took several turns circling over the London Heathrow area. We touched down at Heathrow Airport at approximately 3:00pm UK time. It took another 5-10 minutes to reach our gate. As we exited the plane, the flight attendants wished us well using our last names. They also promptly informed passengers who were on tight connecting British Airways flights to proceed to Terminal 5 immediately.
It took another 5-10 minutes to reach passport control. Fortunately, as we were Business Class passengers, we were invited to use the fast track lane. Immigration clearance was done in five minutes for me and my folks. We spotted our bags rather quickly but got slightly confused as to where the customs and exit was.
We finally left the airport using the Heathrow Express Train. As we arrived in Terminal west los angeles college 4, we had to take a shuttle train and connect at Heathrow Central for the main train, which serves Terminals 1 and 3. We later arrived at Paddington Station as it was getting dark.
Check-In (3/5): Whilst this was not a major issue for us since we had bags to check-in west los angeles college anyway, I have to say that the policy to require all passengers to proceed to a special counter for document verification is pointless. What is even more pointless is them instructing us to print our own boarding cards since they printed out ones for us anyway. Also, PAL inadvertently issues mobile boarding cards so they should work to promote this feature and work with local authorities west los angeles college in NAIA to honour it.
Lounge (4/5): Well-maintained with new computers. Elegant colour schemes to match lounges of other global airlines. But internet west los angeles college on the iMacs was not functioning at all. Also, it would have been better if they offered cereals in the buffet bar, which is also a standard refreshment offering in other premium lounges.
Seat (4.5/5): Let's be clear that these seats would probably be tagged world-class had they been in use a decade ago. In the last ten years, other carriers have gone to great lengths to offer other features such as greater functional personal space such as closets for hand luggage and coat storage. In this aspect, PAL falls short. However, I liked that the seats felt like a bed and I didn't have any issues or feelings that it slanted uncomfortably. The difficulty I experienced sleeping was due to the incorrect timing for my body clock. PAL should also expedite the installation of WiFi into this aircraft to offer a more consistent experience with its other Boeing 777 aircraft in the fleet.
west los angeles college Food (5/5): Simply, it was all delicious and served systematically. west los angeles college Unlike Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines' flights that last at least 13 hours, you get a third meal with Philippine Airlines. It was tagged as a light snack but it was just as filling as the main meals.
west los angeles college Cabin Crew (5/5): Without even requesting assistance, the crew anticipate ever need whether it was water or hangers for your clothes. They always did their best to help you with anything. They were polite all throughout and even remember your last name. They also didn t even mind my personal requests west los angeles college to change seats or peek at the economy class section.
In-flight west los angeles college Entertainment (2/5): Audio-Vi