Philipine Air Quality

[meand]

Anyone have opinions/experience good or bad about Philipine airlines?

[rakman]

Manila has, like most big cities, lots of smog.. but the country as whole is pretty nice.

Philippine Air Lines has had it's ups and downs. The 1997 Asian Financial Crises hit them hard. They are now looking better.

New airplanes are being delivered and the service personnel have been friendly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Airlines

[Gonsalviz]

I've flew them once about 6 years ago. An older 747 LAX-MNL. It was a nice flight.

[pomchop]

Manila airport is a hell hole of the first degree IMHO.

I flew Philippine air biz class few years ago...certainly not up to par with most other Asian carriers but also usually priced a lot less as well.

[dddave]

They were threatened with loosing there landing rights by the US (not sure about EU) for a host of deficiencies but were cleared from that status this past year after upgrading their aircraft fleet and maintenance/management procedures.

The airport in Manila has also had some upgrades but still not a place for a long layover. I don't know if this is still true but when I flew them 4 years ago, SFO to BKK via MNL, during a 4 hour layover in MNL you were kept in a small but comfortable transit lounge. They gave waiting passengers free meal coupons for some airport restaurants; a rare touch among airports.

[nowork114]

Manila airport is a hell hole of the first degree IMHO.

I flew Philippine air biz class few years ago...certainly not up to par with most other Asian carriers but also usually priced a lot less as well.

Few years back, Mania airport looked like a bus terminal, but they just renovated and opened it year or two back. Regarding planes, you can fly on vintage 747 or on a brand new 777. I flew few times BKK-MNL and it was not the best, nor the worst experience.

[RichardThailand]

Manila airport is a hell hole of the first degree IMHO.

I flew Philippine air biz class few years ago...certainly not up to par with most other Asian carriers but also usually priced a lot less as well.

Few years back, Mania airport looked like a bus terminal, but they just renovated and opened it year or two back. Regarding planes, you can fly on vintage 747 or on a brand new 777. I flew few times BKK-MNL and it was not the best, nor the worst experience.

Which terminal did the renovate and open a few years back? I lived there for 8 years up until a month ago and I have taken 40-50 flights out of the four different terminals. I seem to have missed the renovation and opening.

To answer the question posed by the OP. Phillippine airlines are much the same as all the others. Some of the terminals are not so good but there again you will probably only be in one of them for a couple of hours.

[Pacificperson]

Philippine Air is OK, but the Manila Airport stinks. The taxis at the airport have more scams than you can count.

[meand]

Thanks to all.

[RichardThailand]

Philippine Air is OK, but the Manila Airport stinks. The taxis at the airport have more scams than you can count.

Well at least you get scammed in English :-)

Get the yellow taxi, make sure the meter is working and you should be 90% okay.

I speak from the experience of getting 20-30 of those yellow taxis over the last few years. Also would like to mention that 8 years of living there and taxis 2-3 times a week I do not recall one single scam. Dress like a tourist in Hawaiin T shirt and flip flops you can expect to be scammed like a tourist. Dress more like a local working expat like I do, tell the driver you have been living there for 5 years, don't engage in "where are you from conversations" any I don't think you will be scammed by the drivers.

[RichardThailand]

Philippine Air is OK, but the Manila Airport stinks. The taxis at the airport have more scams than you can count.

What scams did you experience and which kind of taxi was that? I was a local there for many years and experienced virtually no scams that I can remember.

[scavenger]

I flew them twice this year. First I flew from Hong Kong to Manila, on time, can't say it was a great flight as I then experienced my worst turbulence ever but the service was otherwise good.

The second time I flew from Manila to Singapore, delayed for 25 minutes, smooth flight. When I got on the plane I saw a flight attendant who was on that HK flight 28 days earlier; he recognized me too, smiled and greeted me with "it's nice to meet you again sir." Without the turbulence I had the chance to eat the provided meal: it wasn't fantastic, but it was decent.

The terminal used by Philippines Airlines is not great but okay for a few hours.

As for taxi drivers, just walk past the touts at the airport and you should be okay. Ask the hotel or a friend how much to expect to pay for where you are going. Last month, I paid 265 pesos from Cubao to the airport (as per meter), in the usual Friday morning traffic.