After years and years of supporting the flag carrier of the Philippines… I finally got a tiny taste of its business class! I have never flown business class EVER. This was a surprise booking which I’ll explain later.
I’ve filmed material for a new video episode about my experience flying PR 507 Manila to Singapore in business class. You can subscribe and visit my YouTube channel. For now though, some quick photos I managed to take.
Excuse the geekery. Also, nahihiya ako mag-picture (I’m a bit embarrassed to take photos). I guess this fuels my aspirations in life. Sipping on champagne at 35,000 feet. Sitting or sleeping comfortably on a flatbed or super reclining seat. A Parks and Rec ‘treat YO self’ situation. Or a feel of what money can buy if you work hard for that money. Like start a business, run for office, or strike some sort of agreement with a sugar daddy.
I’ll cover the Mabuhay Lounge (NAIA T2) and actual seats in my upcoming episode. Let’s fast forward to the plane. It was a Boeing 777 on the first Monday after New Year.
Like in SQ economy (what I can afford on a good day), we get menus!
What’s in the menu? A selection of the flight’s hot meals along with a list of beverages available like champagne, wine, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. My seatmate got herself mimosas… so I basically asked the FA for the same.
Next, the seat in front of me. Look biiish at this space:
You have to get out of your seat to grab the magazine. Oh snap. The screens are also a bit far. LOL. But what I enjoyed was the configuration of the seats. There’s no squeeze. There’s no ‘ma’am may I go out???’ drama. Use the bathroom as many times as you want. There’s so much space. You get a view of 3 or 4 windows too.
They provide cloth for your table!!! Okay, you’re getting my drift. Maybe I can grab table cloths from Daiso and use those during our upcoming Scoot to Bali.
Here’s a photo of the lightly salted cashews… served in a saucer. Exquisite. No tiny bag of peanuts to deal with. No Korean Air nut rage needed. I had a glass of white along with the orange juice.
By this point, I had struck a conversation with my seatmate who was happily sharing her travel experiences to and from Singapore. While she was talking, I wanted to take a photo of the appetizer. “Picturan ko lang muna ito ahihi.”
A bread roll. Except that you can choose from a basket that the FA in the business class goes around with. And that the bread is very nice and warm. The butter is served in the usual packet you can see above. Then there’s this glazed shrimp over mango. In fairness, masarap. The greens… for texture or garnishing. Kinain ko ghorl.
Now onto the mains… I picked the milkfish with mixed brown rice.
Yes, serving you business class bangus.
It was a healthy chunk of milkfish which I loved. Served in a nice ceramic bowl. β€
I enjoyed my brief business class experience on Philippine Airlines Flight PR 507 Manila to Singapore. Can’t wait to edit the full video and share that with you. Also, the FAs of Philippine Airlines are beautiful and handsome. I will always have a soft spot for Filipino.
How did I end up in business class? I had booked my Manila flights quite late in the year. The economy ticket was expensive (over $400) and the return was… SOLD OUT. They only had business class available for my preferred return day and time. BUT… there was a special promotion at that exact moment where the business class was on “sale”. I ended up buying return flights (SIN-MNL-SIN) for SGD 780 (one part economy, one part business class). That’s almost a steal for the peak season.