PHILIPPINE AIRLINES BUSINESS CLASS: 13 Hours from Manila to San Francisco

Today we try out Philippine Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER Mabuhay Business Class product on their 13 hour flight from their main hub in Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila across the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco International Airport. Let me know your thoughts below on Philippine Airlines and their Business Class experience!

0:00 Manila Check In
2:53 MNL Term 1
3:52 PAGSS Lounge
7:15 US Pre Boarding Screening
8:52 Boarding
9:37 The Seat
11:51 Menu
12:39 Amenities
16:08 MNL Departure
17:15 Seat Trouble
18:40 Entertainment
21:51 First Meal Service
23:32 Bed Time
26:25 Mid-Flight Snack
27:20 Second Meal Service
29:25 Question for You
30:40 SFO Landing
31:20 Final Thoughts

[jermsestr]

Dimming the lights when landing at night is a safety protocol in case of a crash, your pupils have adjusted to the lighting so in case of an emergency evacuation, your eyes do not have to adjust to the brightness/darkness of the environment. Conversely this is done opposite when landing the day, when the window shades are asked to be kept open

[garrett]

My wife flew round trip on PAL Business Class from Manila to Los Angeles a few months ago. She said PAL Business Class was terrible and was just like premium economy. It was a waste of money. Also, had a broken seat that she told the flight attendant about. They said they couldn’t change her seat because the flight was full. So she couldn’t sleep the entire flight because the seat cushion kept sliding and had to be frequently adjusted. PAL was not very helpful afterwards and has poor customer service. I would avoid PAL at all costs.

[jamesbray]

Nice video Patrick, I just returned with my family Wednesday night on basically same flight and time. Once you experience traffic in Manila, you won't complain about traffic in the US. Food and service were exceptional on our flight, for us the extra cost for business class is well worth it especially having 2 young kids.

[ad]

i've been told by a former commercial pilot that if you're sitting on the window side, IT IS YOURS - i.e. no matter how charming the FA, you could say that you'd rather have the window open while in flight. however it is de rigueur to have the window open during take off and landing. the former pilot also mentioned that this close-windows thing, esp during night time, might have been due to passenger reactions. some passengers may think they 'saw' something outside the plane and become hyped. it could potentially cause concern or make the other passengers panic..

[getatme]

I find it amazing that everytime you land on an airport you see/meet people that you will probably will never see again for the rest of yur life. Airport = strangers land

[ianbrinas]

I liked how you narrate the details of your trip report, professional and use of kind words to express your frustration and dislike. Other vloggers make use of brutal words on their unpleasant experiences with either hardware or software products directly highlighting those crap, Very well presented with honest, well researched, balanced and fair reviews. Nice Bro!

[edgardolemque]

Thank you so much Patrick for pointing out positives and negatives on this vlog. I hope PAL and NAIA T1 management view your vlog and make the necessary adjustments for the better because much is to be desired.
Hopefully, by 2028 or 2029 the New Manila International Airport in Bulakan, Bulacan will be ready for use.
PAL will have a run for its money on head-on competition from United. Competition is healthy and gives potential passengers options to choose what airline to fly, price wise, service, comfort, and convenience of flight schedule.

Great vlog and keep up with your excellent work.

[t]

I can't believe how you managed to keep your cool with the litany of hassles you experienced throughout your "business class" nonstop flight. Sadly, "you get what you pay for" is so true. But crew and food were the saving grace of the day. Still, as a Filipino, I appreciate how you ended your video on a positive note by still flying PAL despite it all.

[porksisig]

PAL business class used to be my go to flight to MNL because it was the only direct flight from SFO, I hate layovers. It wasnt bad service. But now there is United Airlines direct to MNL, im giving that a go with the Polaris class and better seat layout/design.

[aliasmargta]

Thank you for this video. You saved me money. There's no advantage in paying extra for a business class fare. IF PAL wants to compete with other airlines, they need to up their game.

[x-qo]

After living in Makati for 5 years NAIA Terminal 1 has to be the worst airport I've ever had to depart from. I purposely avoided any airlines that departed from T1 and even T2, and chose Cathay/ANA/Singapore Airlines from T3 instead. Also in my 5 year of living in PH I can't remember a single time my flight was on time after 100+ flights out.

MNL airport only has 1 runway for wide body planes so you're either circling the city for 30mins+ waiting to land, or you're waiting on the ground for flights to come in, then waiting for your turn to take off.

As for Philippine Airlines, I avoided them at all costs and would even take a stopover in HKG, NRT, or TPE to get back to North America. I'd rather pay a bit more vs settle for below standard service/airline. I'm not surprised about your review at all in fact it makes me cringe bringing back bad memories.

And why would you ever WANT to fly home on PAL? lol

[stebopign]

the big boxes is because filipinos love bringing things back for friends to and from the philippines!

[joseb]

I flew PAL Economy class last June of this year and I promise myself I won’t do it again. Period!

[carlsmith]

This is why I fly Delta. I have been flying to Philippines for a while now . Never have I had any problems. It will always be Delta Airlines for me.

[asianbarbzie]

What’s the point of giving a mobile pass if they’re not gonna honor it. Damn this airline is stuck in the 70’s when they were “world class!” So damn happy that United is finally flying directly to Manila!

[jg-bdhr]

I don’t know if anybody said this but not to spook you but if there’s water in the wall there’s a lot of stuff there including the window itself that can be damaged in an unsafe deadly way. That’s just my analytical mind saying but I don’t know for a fact. What I do know is when you have power problems like that that could lead to a fire that plane should’ve never been flying. Seats being removable it could’ve been a loose plug between the seat and aircraft but that’s also a fire hazard. I might choose a different airline even though I kinda like that one. Loved your video.

[bonindaisylim]

It looks like the aircraft that you rode on is an older model. The aircraft that we rode on last December from Honolulu to Manila (RT) is the Airbus A330-300. The Business Class seating configuration was 1-2-1. And our seats were pretty big. A pod like style. Very nice! My family and I are traveling to the Philippines again this December 2023, and all nine of us are all seated in Business Class. Excited for our flight!

[Jbud]

I flew July 31 to LAX.
It was exactly as you described.
Heavy turbulence most of the flight and i couldn't get a cup of coffee served to save my life.
I even asked in the galley during a restroom run.
But again was ignored.
Meanwhile a male flight attendent was delivering coffee to the passengers in his section.
We didn't see our flight attendent for at least two hours.Not trying to be petty.
But when you treat yourself to business class, you just assume a cup of coffee would be easy.
Instead getting ignored compounded the issues with my chair not recliner having issues and the entertainment system kept turning on by itself.Its a long flight either way, but springing for Business class doesn't seem really worth it.

[woutergijs]

The positive thing about 4 terminals is that it can go wrong 4 times. Great to have a lot of material to write about .

[danielclooney]

Patrick, you are so right on flying in a darked out cabin for that long. Drives me crazy. I need to see out to maintain any level of sanity. On a recent flight to Hawaii, a lady with a window seat refused to put her shade down so I was able to look out her window. She was staying in same hotel as I so I made sure she knew how appreciative I was. I'm a foodie so I think I could put up with the mechanical issues if the food is wonderful. But that airport is a mess and don't think I could easily deal with it since I'm older now and less tolerant of unorganized crowds.