After spending a few days around Davao, it’s time for us to go back to our normal lives. My friends & I took one of the last flights out of Davao last March 27, 2022. For the 3rd time on this trip, I flew with Cebu Pacific Air on flight 5J 982 back to Manila. Allow me to share with you in this flight report how this flight went, from when my pre-booked seat went missing to a delayed departure back to Manila.
In case you missed it, I shared my DG 6192 Legazpi to Manila & 5J 971 Manila to Davao flights that took me to Davao from Legazpi days before this flight back to Manila.
Cebu Pacific Air
Cebu Pacific Air is the country’s largest low-cost carrier. The airline is owned by Cebu Air Inc which is part of one of the country’s biggest conglomerates, JG Summit Holdings. The airline commenced its first flight in 1996 & has been flying for over 26 years. Together with its subsidiary, Cebgo (previously Tiger Air Philippines), the airline flies to over 60 destinations across the country, Asia Pacific & the Middle East. It operates close to 70 young & fuel-efficient jet & propeller aircraft. Cebu Pacific Air operates the narrow-body & wide-body aircraft while its subsidiary operates the propeller passenger & cargo aircraft.
The airline has a lifestyle & loyalty program called Go Rewards. It is also a founding member of Value Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of low-cost carriers. The airline has opened the opportunity for every Filipino to fly domestic & international at extremely low prices compared to its industry rivals. It is known for its ₱1-base fare promotions offered a few times a year.
In case you missed it, I post reviews & features of my flights since June 2019. I’ve covered airlines such as EVA Air, Indonesia Air Asia, Singapore Airlines, Philippine Airlines & Cebu Pacific Air. All posts about these flights are found under the Flight Reports category.
Airfare
I opted not to use my CEB Super Pass for this leg. Instead, I availed the GO Easy fare bundle available on the website at the time of the booking. I got the base fare for ₱199 & added ₱519 (plus VAT) for the 20-kiloggrams check-in baggage allowance & free standard seat. This bundle is way cheaper than using my CEB Super Pass then adding baggage on the add-ons page. I even added another ₱59 (plus VAT) to book a standard plus seat located in the forward cabin.
The ticket cost me ₱1,658.68 one-way. This is already a steal considering it includes a 20-kilogram baggage allowance & a forward cabin seat. Check out the breakdown of fares & taxes in the image below.
Travel Requirements
Metro Manila was downgraded to Alert Level 1 last March 2022. This meant the metro is now open to all types of travelers. No documents or tests are required to fly to Manila domestically.
Please note that these alert levels & requirements can change anytime. Always make it a habit to check Cebu Pacific Air’s Covid-19 Information Page for the updated requirements for your upcoming trip.
Before The Flight
MISSING PRE-BOOKED SEAT
At the time of booking this ticket in February, the assigned aircraft for the flight was the Airbus A330-200. I got a standard plus seat at the back (48J) & hoped that I would get the whole 2 seats for myself. A little over 2 weeks before the flight, I got an e-mail advising that the flight times have been pushed to a later time. I didn’t mind the minor schedule change. I checked the flight & saw the assigned aircraft was changed to the A321neo. I also noticed that my pre-booked seat (48J) is missing – A321s do not have Row J seats. I tried to add a standard plus seat (same type of seat I availed at the time of booking) but I was prompted by the system to pay an additional fee for this same type of seat.
I reached out to Cebu Pacific Air through their online channels (Website inquiry form, Twitter, Facebook Messenger & general e-mail) but didn’t get a prompt response. Their customer care hotline has been removed during the pandemic as part of their digitalization efforts. I tried to send an e-mail to the airline management & I got an e-mail reply after 2 days. I was endorsed to the Manager of Customer Care & was issued the ticket with my preferred standard plus 5A seat. I’d like to thank Cebu Pacific Air management for responding to my e-mails & for taking on board my concerns about the airline & system.
PRE-FLIGHT REMINDERS
Like my Legazpi to Manila & Manila to Davao flights, Cebu Pacific Air sent pre-flight e-mail reminders to all passengers. The e-mail reminders included the updated requirements for the flight to Manila as well as the process of contactless flight experience. They also gave instructions on how contactless check-in works & provided reminders to follow the health protocols from the airport terminal to the flight itself.
I applaud Cebu Pacific Air for continually sending these e-mail reminders despite the lax border requirements. The airline makes sure that passengers are up-to-date with all the travel requirements & procedures.
Flight Information
This Davao to Manila flight on 5J 982 was operated by the Airbus A321neo. This plane has a registration code of RP-C4125 & was delivered to the airline last March 2021. The flight took off from Francisco Bangoy International Airport or Davao International Airport at 11:13pm & landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 12:42am. The flight took 1 hour & 29 minutes & was delayed by almost an hour.
Airport & Ground Experience
CHECK-IN
Cebu Pacific Air check-in counters at Davao International Airport are located in the right part of the check-in area. The check-in process starts at the self-service check-in kiosks. At the time of our check-in, only 1 of the 4 kiosks were working. The ground staff pointed me directly to the counters for check-in & bag drop. I finished check-in in less than 5 minutes.
PRE-DEPARTURE
After check-in, my friends & I went through security & headed to the pre-departure area to wait for our flight. Davao Airport’s domestic pre-departure area was hot & crowded that night. All seats near the boarding gates were occupied. We found a relatively empty & cool area in the leftmost part of the pre-departure area & stayed there until our flight commenced boarding.
BOARDING
Boarding commenced at 10:35pm. Priority passengers, those traveling with kids, senior citizens & persons with disabilities boarded the aircraft first. After a few minutes, the crew called the rest of the passengers for boarding. Passengers boarded in 2 lines.
I gave way to most of the passengers & decided to board the plane last. The front aircraft door closed at 10:53pm. The whole boarding process only took 18 minutes – quite fast considering the large number of passengers onboard this 321neo aircraft.
Inflight Product & Experience
SEAT
Cebu Pacific Air’s Airbus A321neo is fitted with 236 seats in a single class (all-economy) cabin. Around 95% of the rows have 6 seats in a 3 x 3 configuration. Rows near the emergency exits / aircraft doors only have 4 seats with a 2 x 2 configuration. According to SeatGuru, premium / exit seats have a seat pitch of 30 inches. Standard plus (forward economy) & regular economy seats have a seat pitch of 28 inches. All seats have a width of 17 inches. Recaro, a world-renowned seat manufacturer, made & supplied all the seats in this A321neo.
I got seat 5A in the forward cabin for this flight to Manila. I actually got the entire row to myself. The seat features a decent-sized tray table, an individual reading light & air nozzle. It also has a netted seat pocket with the inflight safety card & air sickness bag. One new feature that’s found in Cebu Pacific Air’s A321 (not in the A320s) aircraft is the USB charging port. Each passenger has a designated USB charging port found near the seat pockets.
One thing I do not like about these Recaro SL3510 seats is its non-reclining feature. All seats can no longer be reclined because these seats have the ‘pre-reclined’ design by Recaro.
INFLIGHT SNACKS
Cebu Pacific Air does not offer complimentary snacks or meals on all of their flights. Instead, the airline offers buy on board light snacks & drinks during the flight. This paid snack service was only re-introduced recently when cases have gone down.
For this flight to Manila, the cabin crew offered light snacks & drinks to passengers shortly after take-off. Choices were limited to chips, light snacks & drinks. Rice / heavy meals & alcoholic beverages were not yet offered during this flight. Inflight menus are not yet available on this flight.
INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
Cebu Pacific Air planes are not equipped with personal entertainment screens. Pre-pandemic, the airline had inflight magazines for every passenger. The magazine rollout has been suspended temporarily due to the pandemic. The airline is known for their inflight fun games. Cabin crew asks questions or asks for a certain item; the first passenger who provides the answer the fastest or shows the item wins an airline-branded item.
For this Davao to Manila flight, the crew decided not to have the inflight games since most of the passengers were asleep during the flight. The airline also recently brought back their Change for Good program in partnership with UNICEF. Passengers donated cash to be turned over by Cebu Pacific Air to UNICEF. This donation program came next after the snack service.
LAVATORY
The cabin crew regularly sanitized the front cabin lavatory. The lavatory was clean & well-maintained throughout the flight.
Cabin Crew Service
I had little interaction with the cabin crew on this flight – only during boarding & disembarkation. Of course, they greeted all the passengers during these times. Also as mentioned above, I noticed the crew went to clean the front cabin lavatory a few times during the flight. I also noticed that the crew placed a garbage bag / litter bag near the airplane door during disembarkation. Good one!
Disembarkation & Baggage Claim
We arrived in Manila close to 1:00am. Our plane / flight got assigned a terminal gate & jet bridge. All passengers disembarked only through the front door. I waited for & joined my friends in leaving the plane. We then went to the baggage claim area & waited for our bags.
Final Thoughts
The Cebu Pacific Air Davao to Manila flight on 5J 982 last 27 March 2022 was an ‘okay’ flight. It was not one of the best & not one of the worst 5J flights I’ve had. The airfare, including the baggage & seat bundle, was definitely a win. The aircraft used for the flight had comfortable but not-reclinable seats.
The last-minute aircraft change started it all. The airline’s system didn’t assign me a standard plus seat on the new aircraft. It even prompted me to pay again for the said add-on. Cebu Pacific Air’s customer service contact options added to the frustrations – no airline hotline available, unhelpful chatbot & busy live chat agents. I waited for 3 hours on a queue via Facebook Live chat only to be disconnected after being connected with an agent. I reached out to the airline management & was gladly issued the itinerary receipt with my chosen standard plus seat. I wish it didn’t have to go that far. I’d still like to thank Cebu Pacific Air management for responding to my e-mails & for taking on board my concerns about the airline & system.
One thing is for sure. This experience won’t discourage me from flying with Cebu Pacific Air. I will continue to fly with them in the future!
For those interested with the technicalities of this flight, please see the details below:
Airline: Cebu Pacific Air
Flight Date: 27 March 2022
Flight Number: 5J 982
Route: Davao (DVO) to Manila (MNL)
Duration: 1 hour & 29 minutes
Seat Number: 5A
Aircraft: Airbus A321-271NX (A321neo)
Aircraft Registration: RP-C4125
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney PurePower GTF Engines
Age: 1.1 years old
Delivered: March 2021
Thank you for joining me in today’s flight report. Do you have questions about the flight or the aircraft? Feel free to post them in the comments section below. You may also send in your questions via email to contact@thewkndtravel.com.
Stay tuned for upcoming flight reports & posts! In the meantime, you may check out my previous flight reports here. Before you go, can you visit my social media channels –Facebook & Instagram – and like or follow them? Thank you & see you in the next one!
PS. Photos were taken using my OnePlus 9 Pro.