Philippine Airlines premium economy review
Book a seat for the extra leg room and friendly staff; just pray you don’t get stuck in transit at Manila Airport.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) launched its premium economy class on international and domestic flights just prior to the pandemic, offering more leg room, a separate cabin and priority boarding. We boarded an A330 from Manila to Sydney to answer a travel conundrum: to upgrade or not to upgrade? Here’s our verdict.
Lounge access and check-in
There is no sign indicating check-in options for premium economy passengers on the initial flight from Bangkok, however having been directed to check-in via the business class line on my flight from Sydney to Manila, I join the priority queue and am able to check-in quickly and easily.
Mabuhay Miles is the airline’s loyalty program. Lounge access, extra baggage allowance, upgrades and priority check-in are among the perks offered to those who achieve Premier Elite and Million Miles status, but the program is not part of an alliance, so unless you regularly fly with the airline it’s not necessarily worth signing up.
Unfortunately, you’ll need to have Elite status at minimum or a business class ticket to score an invitation into the airline’s Manila airport lounge. Having neither, I am refused access.
This results in a three hour-long wait in NAIA Terminal 2 of Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport; one of the worst airports I’ve been to. Central Cafe is one of only two seated dining options within the terminal, and the only one that serves alcohol (limited to Heineken beer). Don’t expect much from the food either. It has a limited menu of sandwiches, pasta and salads, but most customers opt for microwaved Cup Noodle bowls.
If you’re anticipating spending a lengthy stint in transit on your travels, I strongly advise securing lounge access or choosing another carrier that offers a stopover at a different airport.
The seat
There are 24 fabric-covered recliner seats within the premium economy cabin, in a 2-3-2 layout. Seats are a generous 19.55 inches wide, with a seat pitch of 38 inches and eight inch recline. Each seat offers a calf and foot rest, a 13.3-inch touch screen TV with USB charging port and centre pull-out table with a small cocktail table for drinks. There are three storage sleeves and a jacket hook.
Each seat comes with a small pillow, large blanket and simple amenities kit containing eye mask, socks and dental kit.
On the menu
I’m offered a choice of water, orange or apple juice before takeoff. There is no menu card explaining the flight’s meals, but I am verbally offered a choice of chicken with rice or beef with pasta. I choose the pasta; a generous portion albeit lacking in sauce and flavour. The dish is accompanied by a tasty prawn, noodle and carrot salad, white bread roll with unsalted Lurpak butter, Pinkies Calamansi Bites and a pillow-soft coffee cake for dessert.
Drink options are limited to a Wolf Blass Chardonnay, Preignes le view Cabernet Sauvignon, tea, coffee, juice and soft drinks. A morning snack is served prior to landing, consisting of a limp tuna melt roll and a packet of choc biscuit bites.
It’s worth noting that at the time of the flight, PAL passengers were still required to wear a face mask except when eating and drinking.
Entertainment
The 300-hour entertainment offering is fairly small compared to other carriers, but it is satisfactory for a 7½ hour flight. Top Gun Maverick, Elvis, The Batman and Dune are the newer releases among the 143 films on offer. There are 35 TV shows, including Little Fires Everywhere, The Kominsky Method and Blackish. There’s also a broad audio selection – from Fleetwood Mac’s greatest hits to chilled contemporary sounds of Rufus Du Sol.
Wi-fi via the airline’s MyPAL service offers 30 minutes or 15MB worth of free usage, however despite following the instructional video I am unable to log on.
Service
The staff are exceptional on the flight. You can tell they are smiling behind their masks, and nothing is too much trouble. Bathrooms are regularly cleaned and restocked during the flight, too, so even towards the end of the flight there are no issues with overflowing bins or wet floors.
Verdict
For a long-haul flight, upgrading to one of Philippine Airlines’s premium economy seats is definitely worth doing so for the leg room, enclosed separate cabin and priority boarding. The food and drink options won’t blow you away, more closely resembling the economy than business class offering, and the in-flight entertainment is limited, so for travellers who consider these deal-breakers, you may as well stick with standard economy and try to nab yourself an exit row. If you’re flying out of Manila and don’t need to spend time in the airport, the lack of access to the PAL airport lounge is no issue. However if you are flying from Sydney to say, a country in Europe, I’d recommend choosing a carrier that offers a stopover at a different airport.