Philippine Airlines

they're rubbish.

and the Terminal where the plane will land, Terminal 2 in Manila, is rubbish too.

don't forget to claim your complimentary meal voucher if you have a layover of over 4 hours, that isn't anything particular to PAL it's what every airline should do. So keep your boarding pass.

I went from LAX to Manila and return twice on PAL with no issues. Timely flights, comfortable aircraft and good service. Can't compare because I did not use another airline yet for this trip.

As far as I am aware there is no requirement for airlines to feed you on lay overs that are ticketed only when you have missed a flight or it is cancelled.

There are a few airlines that will give you a hotel and food if your layover is 8 or more hours and there was not an earlier connection.

every time I've had a layover longer than 4 hours, and this is going back at least 12 years, when I've gone their desk at the intermediate airport and asked for a meal voucher, I've got one.

sometimes, like at Kuwait, they are really tight with it and just give you a snack voucher instead of a full meal one. Regardless of what time of day or night it is (I had 4 lengthy layovers there).

but it can depend on the time of day, what kind of meal voucher you get. When it's early morning you might get a mere breakfast or smaller value voucher whereas at dinner time you might get a bigger one.

the last time I got one, at Abu Dhabi, the meal voucher they have me, if I'd bought the same meal in cash at the same restaurant, it would have cost me $20.

some airlines, like Emirates, actually advertise it, and they have a special desk at the airport in Dubai where people can claim their meal vouchers and you don't have to go to the general airline desk like you have to usually.

PAL gave me a meal voucher too at Abu Dhabi, even though it was a codeshare with Etihad.

once I had a flight with Emirates that was delayed and meant I missed my connection to Manila, they put me up for 18 hours in a nice hotel in Dubai with free meals, but that's different and nothing to do with the meal vouchers you get if you ask for them when a layover is over 4 hours.

a couple of years ago I was annoyed because I had a layover that was 3 hours 50 minutes. I'd have much preferred it to be 4 hours and 5 minutes.

I have flown Philippine Airlines once internationally since it was several hundred dollars cheaper and several hours faster than other airlines. It was so bad I won't fly them again...

It's a lo-ong flight on, probably an older aircraft on not a very good airline with better cabin crew than they deserve, average food and below average IFE. Bring a good book, or a Kindle and snacks for the flight. Check in early (or book online) to get the seat you want (in Economy I prefer and aisle seat in the middle block away from the toilets). It won't make much difference where you sit in terms of getting through MNL - you'll still end up waiting for your bags. Long haul time reliability should be reasonable but I wouldn't plan a domestic connection shorter than 4 or 5 hours and preferably the next day - you'll need the break...

Flying into Manila you arrive at Terminal 2 which is a zoo of a place and operating at several times its design capacity, but there's nothing you can do about it apart from not being in a hurry, chill and just go with the flow... Plan 1 1/2 hrs to exit the terminal after landing and if it's less then you've done pretty well.

PAL are better than they were a few years ago and not as good as the early 80's. They tend to pitch to the cheaper end of the market and you get what you pay for - usually. Mrs norrie likes 'em better than I do - I don't do 10hr+ sectors as well as I used to.

Look at www.seatguru.com for all relevant information for your particular flight, i.e. entertainment, seat-map, seat-pitch, best / preferred seats, meals, WiFi etc etc plus some passenger reviews.

when I did that codeshare with Etihad on the UK-UAE leg and then Philippines Airlines on the UAE-Manila one, the difference was stark. It was almost like getting off an airconditioned bus and then getting on to a jeepney the difference was that much. It's not like I wouldn't ever fly with them again as I don't really care what a plane is like, my attitude is just to bear with it in any circumstances but I certainly wouldn't seek them out and even if they were a bit less than another airline I still wouldn't buy it.