Philippine Airlines

As anyone can see, the flight OP is taking is operated by a Boeing 777-300 with full in-flight entertainment with 9" seat-back mounted screens in Economy class. I think on a travel forum any advice given should be current otherwise what's the point.

The point that you may not have noticed is that PAL changes planes to suit their needs so what is showing now might not be the plane on the day

airlines are not uniform and have different standards on different routes. Once I took a Royal Jordanian to Bangkok via Amman. London-Amman it was OK - it was like one of the decent Gulf airlines, but Amman-Bangkok - not one of their top-notch destinations, everything went sharply downhill. PAL are going to be the same, like one airllne when they carry Americans from LA to Manila, and another airline completely when they are carrying OFW's back from their two years on the Gulf.

We use PAL occasionally from Bangkok to Manila, because they tend to be the same price as Cebu Pacific but with food and luggage included. I made the comment to my partner that the flight was ok from Bangkok, but that's a relatively short hop of 3.5 hours, I wouldn't want to fly PAL long haul...he agreed completely. The service was very inconsistent, they only had 4 blankets for the whole economy section of the plane and you can't choose your meal (if you are veggie for example) online, you have to call PAL and request a special meal...seriously, calling in this day and age?! The food was edible, it was just ok but that's the majority of airline food.

The app BigJim is talking about does work - we tried it out last month when we flew with PAL last, but it will suck the battery on your device, so unless there are in-seat chargers it mightn't be any good (not sure on the bigger planes, as FCG says, check seatguru for that).

The point that you may not have noticed is that PAL changes planes to suit their needs so what is showing now might not be the plane on the day.

All airlines change the planes from time to time not just PAL. Last summer I was lucky as Qatar put the Dreamliner on my Manchester Doah legs.

#18 - Absolutely NO chance of Dreamliners on a PAL codeshare Toronto - Vancouver - Manila... Dream-ON-Liners maybe?...

Future timetables / schedules may be changed but last minute aircraft changes from scheduled are always a last resort. Airlines don't have several planes standing around idly, it's not viable and makes no financial sense. All aircraft have planned routes days in advance and flying anywhere have to come back with yet another load of booked passengers, you can't simply "swop" aircraft types without causing problems down the line. Cock-pit and cabin crew are not a one size fits all, they can't just get into any plane and fly it, they are trained for specific aircraft types. You have no idea of the logistical implications involved when the operating aircraft type has to be changed, it's not done on a whim as you seem to be trying to imply. This is why we have schedules and this is why all airlines strive to maintain their schedules, nobody wishes to work in an enviroment of chaos.

I don't need a crystal ball to be reasonably sure that the scheduled Boeing 777-300 will operate OPs Vancouver to Manila route. I don't get what you have to gain with all this scaremongering.

Who's scaremongering? The OP asked about the flights: one flight is with a budget carrier who's trying to be a long haul operator and the other is with an airline who are fine around SE Asia but struggle to match their neighbours long haul. Neither are great airlines, but you get what you pay for. I'm with loubbylou - PAL's fine around SE Asia, a lot better than they were a few years ago, competitively priced, but long haul there are better choices for not a lot more money.

Last time I flew from Canada to Manila I went Cathay Pacific - and very pleasant it was too.... but I was spending the company's money not mine.

#18 - Absolutely NO chance of Dreamliners on a PAL codeshare Toronto - Vancouver - Manila... Dream-ON-Liners maybe?..

That's scaremongering - trying to deny the credibility of published schedules.
You clearly dislike PAL, when was your last long-haul flight with them that has caused such an outburst of negative comments? Why was it so much more dreadful than any other Economy seat?

#24 - What published schedule? Neither WestJet nor Philippine Airlines currently operate, or intend to buy, the Boeing 787 freqently referred to as The Dreamliner, so the chances of the OP flying it on their forthcoming trip to MNL is approximately zero... I believe WestJet operate 737/767 and PAL probably run the 777ER to Vancouver, but I'm not sure... and some of them are getting rather old.

I don't dislike PAL at all.... I last flew them long haul LHR-MNL-LHR about 18 months ago, also on a 777ER... I didn't like the flight much (13hrs non stop or whatever is too much for my old bones). Mrs norrie and our youngest daughter flew them again last summer. In the past year I've flown PAL to HKG, SIN and several times to BKK, 2 weeks ago being the latest. I fly between Europe and SE Asia 4 to 6 times a year and I prefer to route through the Gulf, break the journey, and enjoy a better flight experience, (for me and the majority of others apparently, given the huge passenger numbers involved) than that provided by PAL - and it's got very little to do with one Economy seat versus another and more to do with breaking the journey, better baggage allowance, miles you can actually use etc.

By far the worst part of PAL is the fact they use MNL T2... 3hrs flight time from BKK and the thick end of 2 1/2 hrs to get out of that dump of a terminal...

No, there's plenty airlines I dislike more than Philippine Airlines... plenty - usually operators who've come worryingly close to killing me over the years.

My apologies, I misread your initial comment about the Dreamliner. Although it's a moot point in view of its spontaneously exploding batteries, why anyone would have a preference for it.

I'm not sure what relevance of preferred routings from Europe or breaking up journeys has to do with OP flying over miles of ocean from Canada. You've lost me there but nevermind.

Due to a variety of shortcomings in the aviation industry, PAL was blacklisted and had a 5 year ban from flying into Europe. This ban was only lifted in June 2015. This is welcome reassuring news for OP as it demonstrates a recent conformation to safety and service standards and regulations.

For me in business class with Qatar compared to the Airbus there was a massive difference in quality with the Dreamliner

#26 - Apologies accepted. Passengers like the Dreamliner since it can fly non stop as far as the longest range 777, is significantly quieter, and the cabin pressure is higher with higher humidity so you don't feel like hammered sh1t after 12 hours... Airlines like them 'cos they're cheaper to buy and more fuel efficient than the 777ER, hence more profitable, but there's not many second-hand ones on the market. No passenger has been killed or injured as a result of 787 battery problems - and they've never 'exploded', otherwise hundreds of passengers would have died. The aircraft is completely safe to fly otherwise it wouldn't be flying, and I haven't met anyone who's flown the 787 who didn't like it.

Sorry I lost you - you asked me about long haul flights that I'd taken on PAL and I told you... It's relevant to the post since it's likely to be the same aircraft type the OP will fly from Canada. Flying across the Pacific or across Russia - long haul PAL ain't the best experience in the air... believe me there's better, otherwise PAL would have a much higher passenger approval than they currently enjoy.

You're correct that PAL was banned from the EU, but never at any time from North America, Australia, Middle East or a dozen countries in Asia. Odd that... 'safe' enough to fly to LAX but sadly not 'safe' enough for LHR?... Hmmm.

In my case they were changed after I booked for a one month period hence the bonus but now they are permanently rostered.