Taking a quick break from the Star Alliance flights to travel on one of the busiest air routes, if not the busiest, in the Philippines. Competition on the CEB-MNL route is a fierce three-way battle between Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and Philippines AirAsia, with all three carriers deploying modern Airbus narrowbody (and in the case of PR and 5J, the occasional widebody) aircraft between the two busiest airports in the Philippines. Our flight today is on a recently-renovated workhorse of the route, Philippine Airlines’s A321-200.
Server: Solo
Airline: Philippine Airlines
Aircraft: Airbus A321-200
Origin: Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Mactan, Philippines (CEB)
Destination: Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, Philippines (MNL)
Flight Number: PR1842
Route: RPVM-RPLL
Seat: 50A (Economy)
Time En Route: 1 Hour 21 Minutes
Waiting to board in Mactan for our flight to Manila. We’ve lucked out today, because we’re going to be flying in one of Philippine Airlines’s newly-retrofitted A321-200s.
Pushing back from Terminal 1. Though we don’t have the extended legroom of the exit row, we have the advantage of having a window, which the exit row doesn’t. Aside from that, the seats in economy are much more modern than their predecessors and the in-flight entertainment system is a generation ahead of what came before. Seems like it’ll be a good trip as far as creature comforts are concerned.
Taxiing to Runway 04R, the only operational one at CEB right now, for takeoff. Given that we’re departing before dawn, it’s very quiet in the cabin, which is definitely a plus. Few things will ruin one’s mood quite like being tired on a raucous flight.
Pre-dawn departure from Cebu. The distinctive Terminal 2 is visible below us in the background, along with Runway 04L/22R under renovation.
Climbing out over the larger island of Cebu with the lights of the departure end of the runway still faintly visible in the distance. The grayish-purple clouds over the Philippines this morning are adding an ethereal effect to our climbout.
Once we’re leveled off at our cruising altitude of 30,000 feet, the cabin crew serves us a light snack while the first rays of dawn appear, as most passengers will likely be getting their breakfasts in Manila. It’s tasty enough, but certainly not anything we’d usually be getting in one of PR’s long-haul cabins or even on one of their longer narrowbody routes, although this is unsurprising for such a short flight. For this same reason, the seatbelt sign is being kept on for the duration of this flight.
Descending at dawn towards the cirrus layer as we fly along the coast of Mindoro. Some passengers who’ve been trying to catch a quick nap are being stirred from their sleep.
We’ve landed in Manila almost 10 minutes ahead of schedule, and just in time for breakfast, too! In the background is Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 1, crowded with Philippine Airlines widebody aircraft.
Taxiing clear of the runway on our way to Terminal 2, which handles Philippine Airlines’s domestic flights
Parked at Terminal 2 while we get ready to head to Terminal 3 for a layover of several hours before heading back to Tokyo. While we had a pretty good experience on our last flight aboard a Philippine Airlines A321-200, this one exceeded it due to the cabin renovations that make it an excellent choice for travel in the Philippines and beyond.