PR J (international): my first (and likely last) time

[jjpb3]

Here's a really belated trip report, about a trip I took over the December holiday season (post-Christmas, pre-New Year). I'd have titled the report "One from the archives" but I think that's copyrighted by SQfg .

I already had enough miles to re-qualify for BD Gold, and I've always been curious about (1) PR J as an option between SIN and MNL and (2) the MNL T2 experience compared to the disappointment that is MNL T1. So I bit the bullet and instead of going with my habit of travelling on SQ, I bought myself a return ticket on PR J.

[jjpb3]

PR502 SIN-MNL

I thought I'd arrive relatively early at SIN T2 to get the benefit of some dutyfree browsing and coffee at the lounge. As you can see, I did give myself enough time



and the number of passengers who got there before me wasn't that bad at the business class counter:

.

Never under-estimate inefficiency, however. I spent a bit more than 20 minutes waiting to be checked in. I'm really still at a loss how to explain it. Even this early, I already missed SQ.

Fast forward to boarding time, after a rush from one end of T2 (where The Irredeemable One gave me some souvenirs ) to the other end of T2 where the flight was boarding. I needn't have been concerned. The flight -- the first PR flight out of SIN -- boarded late. No explanation. It just boarded late. The only good thing was that PR did enforce priority boarding. And my countrymen, notorious though they are for their inability to form queues, respected the boarding protocol. (I think that was the influence of the air in Singapore.)

It was a full flight, being so close after Christmas, and all 3 rows of business class were full. With the single aisle accentuating the feeling of being packed in, I was reminded of an intra-Europe flight. That's not a good thing.

At least I was seated in Row 1, which offered the greatest leg space. Here's a surreptitious shot across my seatmate:

.

Remember: this was the row with the most leg space.

Sorry, there are no other pictures from that flight. The full cabin made me self-conscious about snapping more pictures. Don't reach for the smelling salts, SQFAN, I took plenty of pics on the return flight.

I couldn't help compare this, a J flight, with my usual SQ Y flights (I didn't want to think about the occasional SQ J flights I took to MNL ).

Some observations:

• The cabin temperature was HOT when we were waiting to take off. You know you're in trouble when you see the cabin crew fanning themselves as they sat in their seats and we taxied to takeoff position. (The cabin did cool off once we took off, but still: I'm not fond of being reminded just how tropical it is outside.)
• Orders for the meals are taken as the passengers settle down and before the doors close. What I didn't expect was for menus to be taken away right after! I was totally unprepared for the FA to reach into the pocket on the bulkhead and take away the menu.
• My brother warned me the entertainment selection is very limited. I kind of expect that when I compare any airline to SQ. But he didn't warn me I'd get an overhead screen instead of a PTV. I owe the inventor of the iPod a drink.
• MNL T2 made me appreciate MNL T1. We parked at a remote stand, meaning we got to take the bus to the terminal. This was getting more intra-Europe than I had anticipated. The immigration counters were thankfully just a short -- as in, 30-second -- walk from the disembarkation point. That was the sole redeeming feature of T2. There wasn't even a board to show which carousel our luggage was going to come out of: you had to listen for the announcement. Fortunately, the selection was limited, so it's not as though you had to march up and down the baggage reclaim area.
• And believe it or not, the silly system they have at T1, where you're supposed to head to the section with the letter corresponding to your first letter of your surname, worked tons better than the unstructured arrivals area at T2. It's good to have a dad who's much taller than the average Filipino, and who thought nothing about waving a brigh orange baseball cap above the heaving masses.

But I really couldn't get morose after all that. It was Christmas time (recall that Filipinos consider it Christmas all the way to Three Kings' Day in January) after all.

So do I consider PR an option for SIN-MNL? Not really. I'd only do it again if I wanted to travel with my brother, and he was already booked on PR. Not that there was nothing to recommend PR. I loved the fact that they offered mango juice as an option (I'm a mango addict). I also like the inflight magazine: I could read up on the destinations in my homeland that I hadn't visited (how embarrassing, though). And I have to say, the garlic bread was crispier than SQ's.

But it just wasn't even close to SQ. At that point, if you asked me to choose between SQ Y and PR J, I'd have selected SQ Y.

This was the conclusion I wanted to test on the return flight.

[jhm]

Thanks, jjpb3 for the TR so far!

One question - apart from having your menu snatched away, how was the service and friendliness of the staff otherwise ?

[jjpb3]

PR503 MNL-SIN (before departure)

Time to do the reverse. I was curious how the checkin process would unfold at MNL T2, as T1 has an amazing ability to choke the queues at passport control / immigration. T2 at least didn't do that.

It was still a convoluted process. As you enter the terminal, you go through a metal detector and a luggage x-ray. You then get your BP from a checkin counter then head off to one end of the terminal to pay the departure tax. Then you queue up (behind the departure tax stand) to go through the immigration check (make sure you've filled out the departure form before then). And then you walk back to the center of the terminal to go through another security check (one metal detector for men, another for women) to enter the departure area.

If you're flying in Business or else are a Mabuhay Elite member, you'll get access to the PR Lounge. It's not a very appealing experience. It's an enclosed, windowless space



where most of the daylight falls on the reception area

.

I actually liked the domestic PR J Lounge a lot better. This lounge was so depressing that rather than explore the breakfast options (the arroz caldo in the domestic lounge was mmm mmm good), I chose to go outside instead. I'm convinced that the passengers who stayed in the lounge were all afflicted by the LHR SEN Lounge syndrome.

Despite the metal seats and industrial motif



that were bizarre design choices for a country with a beautiful lush landscape, there is a more airy feel in the terminal than inside the lounge:





The dutyfree selection is orders of magnitude more limited than at SIN, HKG or even BKK



but I thought that was quaint in a charming sort of way. I was actually grateful not to be tempted to buy something.

(Note those unsightly boxes on the lower right corner of the picture. The dutyfree operator has a thing or two to learn about retail presentation.)

Of course, the seats and the limited shopping might get to you if your flight gets delayed ... which mine, surprise surprise, was. Maybe that was why PR didn't even bother with digital displays :



At least I got to see some PR planes. This one was headed to HKG, I think:



And I do love the way they adapted the flag into a very striking tailfin design:

.

Finally, boarding began. As at SIN, business class passengers were boarded first, and as at MNL T1, there was a separate boarding lane for premium passengers.

I arrived onboard in no time. The head FA (I don't know what they're called on PR) was filling out some paperwork and blocked my access to my seat (again on Row 1). She didn't pause when I stopped near her. Finally I said, "Excuse me." She barely glanced up from her paperwork, moved to one side, and didn't acknowledge me with any greeting.

Uh oh. This wasn't a good sign.

[jjpb3]

One question - apart from having your menu snatched away, how was the service and friendliness of the staff otherwise ?

Weird thing was, the head FAs seemed the least friendly of the lot. The others were very nice. (Bizarrely as well, the male FAs were much more personable than the women.)

[SQflyergirl]

Thanks for the report. Reminds me of the one and only time I flew on PR between MNL and HKG in 1999 or so . I probably had a better experience than you cause we had an A340, and they opened up the 2 row F cabin for J pax, and I sat there. Apart from that - the experience sounds pretty similar.

Oh one more thing. I don't have pics of it. Lost my camera you see. Shame, really. You'll just have to take my word for it Pwede?

[jjpb3]

PR503 MNL-SIN (in-flight - 1)

The flight wasn't so full this time (most Pinoys were spending New Year's at home, unlike renegade me); of the 12 seats in J, only 5 were taken. I had much more leeway to take pictures and save SQFAN from the pain of reading a TR bereft of pictures.

This is a look into the Y cabin: feel that wondrous feeling of non-space, just like an intra-Europe flight, except that the choice of colors isn't as somber. (I'm not a fan of the dark blue leather seats on BA.)



Pan out, and you'll see that the business class cabin isn't that much more spacious.





I'd again invoke intra-Europe travel, except that the seats not pseudo-business. The seats really are wider than the ones in Y. The leg space isn't great





so if you ever have to travel in PR J, grab Row 1. I had no seatmate so my seat (1K) was fine, but look at the leg space for the pax across the aisle:



(It would be a pain to stow and retrieve my reading materials in those seats, though.)

Soon we pushed back and the safety video was shown on the IFE system:



I do think PR needs to hire a good designer (there are plenty of local talents) to re-think the awful uniforms endured by the crew:

.

I was initially cheered up when I saw that they were going to show a travelogue on the overhead screen. I love travel shows. But it turned out to be a show on Singapore, which was rendered excruciating by the breathless presenter who shuddered from the thrill of standing beneath the Merlion and who went around Singapore in a suit jacket and trousers (maybe that was the reason she was breathless?).

I retreated to my iPod (and its Law and Order episodes).

[jjpb3]

Oh one more thing. I don't have pics of it. Lost my camera you see. Shame, really. You'll just have to take my word for it Pwede?

Ang daya mo.

[jjpb3]

PR503 MNL-SIN (in-flight - 2)

Breakfast was at least filling. It started out well with an attractively presented fruit plate



complemented nicely by the mango juice and Figaro coffee , but went downhill with the main course. The breakfast selection actually created a choice dilemma for me

PRAWN DUMPLING
Complemented by sweet-and-sour sauce
Marinated Bangus, Green Tea Butter flavored ith Chili, Kailan with Red Pepper and Shanghai Fried Rice with X.O. Sauce

BEEF LONGANIZA AND CHICKEN ADOBO
Scrambled Eggs, oven-roasted Cherry Tomato, dry-fried Asparagus and Garlic Fried Rice

BRAISED PORK SPARERIBS
Featured with black pepper
Steamed Vegetable Dumpling, Kailan with Red Pepper and Beijing Noodles

Because I'd been enjoying good home-cooked Pinoy food, I decided to go for the first option.



I should have gone for the Filipino breakfast (option #2). I've had better meals on SQ Y.

So did this flight revise my initial conclusion? As you can probably guess, not really. I did like some elements of the experience. The coffee and mango juice were fab, and I liked listening to Filipino music in the radio channels (one reason why I like CX radio channels more than SQ radio channels).

But

• I was disappointed by the disappearance of the crew after the meal (hello, intra-Europe flights again),
• I disliked the utter lack of control over Y pax using the J toilet, and
• dammit, I missed KrisWorld and the smiling SQ Girls and Boys

So, would I do it again? No, unless I had the company to make up for the flight and ground experiences.

Was I glad I did it? Definitely. Sometimes you gotta venture out into the world to see why home is so good. This was one of those forays: character-building, you know. I can tell you how glad I was to be back home on the Golden Goose airline a couple of weekends ago.

[SQflyergirl]

Ang daya mo.

Ano?! Ako pa, hindi mo pa ako ganoon kikilala

One fine day i might magically find some pics of that trip

[SQ LPP]

Thanks for the report. But I should say your seats looks comfier than my trip on PR Cargo Class with MovieMan couple years ago!

[SQflyergirl]

Thanks for the report. But I should say your seats looks comfier than my trip on PR Cargo Class with MovieMan couple years ago!

yes I remember that one.



How does it compare to your SQ Cargo class flight?

[nickbot]

Great TR jjpb3 thank you Nice to see lots of pics

One fine day i might magically find some pics of that trip

You could always go on google images and photoshop something up SQFG,...I'm sure there's even some boarding passes you can edit to suit

[kalenska]

Wow - finally a PR trip report on Sqtalk of all places and by jjpb3 too.
I was thinking of taking a trip on PR from HNL to SIN via MNL as their F and J fares are really "reasonable". Now I know why so back to the drawing board for me on trip planning.

More on the topic of PR - it seems they are in the process of eliminating their F cabin and will be a 2 class airline come June. They are also refreshing their hard product - lie flat seats by Recaro and a service concept they call "One by One".

SQFG - ang galing mong mag-Tagalog. Now if only I could converse that well in Bahasa.

[kalenska]

RE: PR crew uniforms - yes the office lady look doesn't quite cut it nowadays. I always thought the uniform they had in the early eighties was the best since it incorporated traditional Filipino dress for both the male and female FAs.