After spending a few days walking around the beautiful city of Tokyo, my friends and I took the train to the airport and hopped on our Cebu Pacific Air flight back to Manila. This flight, 5J 5055, which flew out of Tokyo Narita International Airport Terminal 2, will be the subject of today’s flight report.
Join me as I share with you the details of this full low-cost flight onboard Cebu Pacific Air’s flight 5J 5055 from Tokyo Narita (NRT) to Manila, Philippines (MNL).
In case you missed it, I previously shared the details of our onward flight to Tokyo from Manila onboard Cebu Pacific Air flight 5J 5056. Click on this link to learn more about that ideal flight.
Cebu Pacific Air
Cebu Pacific Air is not a new airline in this website; it is actually my most-reviewed airline here. 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 and has been flying for over 28 years. Together with its subsidiary, Cebgo (previously Tiger Air Philippines), the airline flies to over 60 destinations across the country, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. It operates close to 70 young and fuel-efficient jet and propeller aircraft. Cebu Pacific Air operates the narrow-body and wide-body aircraft while its subsidiary operates the propeller passenger and cargo aircraft.
The airline has a lifestyle and 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 and 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 and features of my flights since June 2019. I’ve covered airlines such as EVA Air, Indonesia Air Asia, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and Philippine Airlines. All posts about these flights are found under the Flight Reports category.
Airfare
As shared in my previous 5J 5056 flight report, my friends and I paid ₱7,116.72 each for the Manila-Tokyo-Manila tickets with Cebu Pacific Air. We got the fare bundle that includes a standard seat, 7 kilograms of carry-on baggage allowance, and 20 kilograms of checked luggage allowance.
I booked this ticket during Cebu Pacific Air’s ₱1 base fare anniversary sale back in March 2023. I honestly think these ₱1 base fare tickets are the cheapest and most valuable ticket purchases in this age of surging air ticket prices.
Do you want to know the difference between a full-service & a low-cost airline? Check out my previous post detailing the differences of these 2 types of airlines.
Travel Requirements
Philippine passport holders are only required to present their valid passports and the E-Travel QR code when entering the country’s borders. Non-Philippine passport holders may be required to present other requirements, such as a valid visa or onward departure ticket. These requirements vary from one nationality to the other. It is always best to check with the relevant authorities regarding the updated entry requirements.
Before The Flight
Cebu Pacific Air sent email reminders as early as 3 days before our intended flight schedule. 72 hours before the flight, the airline sent an email containing reminders about prepaid baggage, important travel documents, and online arrival cards.
48 hours before the flight, Cebu Pacific Air sent another email about the check-in process and reminders. The email also advised that online check-in is now open for our flight to Manila. 24 hours before the flight, the airline sent another email detailing the airport check-in process, times, and reminders.
Aircraft & Flight Information
This Tokyo Narita to Manila Cebu Pacific Air flight 5J 5055 was operated by a 4.1-year-old (at the time of the flight) Airbus A321neo aircraft. The plane, delivered to the airline in October 2019, features a single economy class configuration with 236 pre-reclined seats.
Flight 5J 5055 left Tokyo Narita International Airport at 1:48 p.m. local time, cruised at an altitude of 34,000 feet, and touched down Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 5:14 p.m. local time. The flight only took 4 hours and 26 minutes.
Ground & Airport Experience
Cebu Pacific Air flies out of Narita International Airport Terminal 2.
CHECK-IN
My friends and I arrived at the airport a few minutes after 10:00 a.m. We went straight to the R check-in counters and saw long and slow-moving check-in queues, both for online check-in and regular counters. We noticed the empty kiosk check-in counter and immediately looked for the kiosk check-in machines.
We found one near the escalators, a few check-in counters away from counter R. We checked in using the kiosks, scanned our passports, printed our boarding passes and bag tags. We walked back to counter R and lined up at the kiosk check-in section. We finished our check-in process in less than 5 minutes. Whew!
PRE-DEPARTURE
After check-in, we checked the shops on the second floor and bought some last-minute treats. We quickly went through immigration and security and dropped by the duty-free stores to get tax-free chocolates and treats. We had lunch at Yoshinoya, near our boarding gate, while waiting for the boarding process to start.
BOARDING
After lunch, we walked towards Gate 97 and saw that boarding had commenced earlier than 12:30 p.m. schedule. Also, the passengers were all over the place with no clear lines. I am pretty sure the ground staff made some pre-boarding announcements, but I do not think these instructions were followed.
We chose a random line and eventually made it to the plane. We settled into our seats and waited for a long time before the cabin doors were closed. The cabin crew had trouble fitting all carry-on bags in the overhead bins. They eventually sent luggage and bags to cargo hold, which they had to prepare additional documents for.
Cabin doors closed at 1:25 p.m., 10 minutes after the scheduled departure time. The plane was pushed back at 1:28 p.m. and headed over to the runway for take-off. It took off at 1:48 p.m.
Inflight Hard & Soft Product
SEAT FEATURES
This Tokyo Narita to Manila Cebu Pacific Air flight was operated by one of the airline’s newest (at the time of the flight) Airbus A321neo aircraft. The aircraft features 236 pre-reclined Recaro seats in a 3-3 economy class configuration. According to SeatMaps, each regular economy seat has a seat width of 17 inches and a seat pitch of 28 inches.
Each seat features decent legroom with no recline. It also has a seat pocket, which contains the aircraft safety card, inflight magazine, onboard café menu, and air sickness bag. Each seat has an assigned individual air vent and reading light. Each row has two cabin crew call buttons and four regular USB charging ports. These charging ports can be used for free after take-off. The cabin also features the old overhead cabins, which can only fit limited luggage.
I got seat 11D on this flight back to Manila. I think the seat is alright for short haul flights like this. I just miss its recline feature.
INFLIGHT SNACK SERVICE
Cebu Pacific Air does not offer complimentary snacks or meals on all their flights. Instead, the airline offers pre-purchased meals and snacks at the time of booking or up to 48 hours before the flight. The airline also offers buy-on-board snack and drink service for those who get hungry during the flight.
The cabin crew served inflight snacks 25 minutes after take-off. They served the pre-booked first before offering the buy-on-board service.
My friend and I skipped the inflight snack service because we were still full from our Yoshinoya lunch. We also brought snacks from the convenience stores and ate them midway through the flight.
INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
Cebu Pacific Air does not feature personal entertainment screens on their planes. They only provide inflight magazines named Smile Magazine, which passengers can read through during the flight.
Also, the airline is known for conducting inflight games in exchange for airline-branded items. For this flight, the crew asked for 3 items; the passengers who raised their hands first and showed the requested items first won Cebu Pacific Air-branded pouches.
After the snack service, the crew conducted the CEB Fun Game. After that, they went around for the UNICEF Change for Good donation program.
I did not participate in either of the two and decided to take a short nap during the flight.
INFLIGHT CONNECTIVITY
The airline does not offer inflight Wi-Fi services on all its flights.
LAVATORY
I visited the front lavatory once during the flight; I found it clean and well-maintained. It has toilet papers and a small bottle of hand soap for those who need to use them.
CABIN CREW INTERACTIONS
I had minimal encounters with the assigned cabin crew on this flight. I can tell that they performed their work and duty to the best of their abilities. They assisted people in fixing the bags in the overhead cabins, and they served the snacks and meals with their best smiles.
Disembarkation & Luggage Claim
Disembarkation and immigration were quick and efficient. It did not take long before we finished both processes. The checked luggage took a while before it came out of Luggage Belt 5. My friends and I got our luggage 30 minutes after we disembarked from the plane.
Flight Experience
It was a full low-cost airline flight with Cebu Pacific Air on this 5J 5055 service from Tokyo, Japan, to Manila, Philippines. It was nothing fancy, but surely a bang for the buck.
The flight stood out in many ways. First, the best part of this journey is the affordable return ticket we booked during the airline’s anniversary sale. My friends and I only paid a little over ₱7,000 for a return ticket to Tokyo, including standard seats and checked baggage for both sectors. Incomparable! Second, the airline never failed to keep their passengers informed of everything before the flight. They sent out emails about travel requirements, check-in reminders, and even the check-in process. Props to Cebu Pacific Air for continuously doing this on all their flights.
Third, the aircraft has modern seats with complimentary UBS charging ports. It is quite rare to see a low-cost airline offering complimentary charging facilities on their flights. Please do not change this anytime soon, Cebu Pacific Air. Lastly, the kiosk check-in option at Narita International Airport was a lifesaver. My friends and I skipped the regular and online check-in lines and opted for the kiosk check-in and bag-drop process. We finished the whole check-in process in less than five minutes.
This flight was not all good; it also had its misses. First, there was no difference in the online check-in and regular check-in queues. Both lines moved slowly, leading to longer check-in times for most passengers. Second, the boarding process was chaotic in so many ways, from random boarding lines to a longer boarding process due to the full overhead cabin storage spaces.
Lastly, the pre-reclined seats, which may be the future of airline seats, are something I am not comfortable with on flights longer than three hours. Unfortunately, most of Cebu Pacific Air’s aircraft are equipped with these pre-reclined Recaro seats. Too bad.
I still had a wonderful time flying Cebu Pacific Air on this Tokyo-to-Manila sector. I will always consider the airline my favorite local carrier, and I cannot wait to fly with them again to many destinations in the future.
For those who want to know more about the flight and the aircraft used, I have prepared some geeky details for you below:
Airline: Cebu Pacific Air
Flight Date: 17 October 2023
Flight Number: 5J 5055
Route: Tokyo Narita, Japan (NRT) to Manila, Philippines (MNL)
Duration: 4 hours and 26 minutes
Seat Number: 11D
Aircraft: Airbus A321-271NX
Aircraft Registration: RP-C4120
Engines: 2 x Pratt and Whitney Engines
Age: 4.1 years old
Delivered: October 2019
Thank you for joining me in today’s flight report. I hope I gave you a comprehensive review of how it is flying with Cebu Pacific Air on their Tokyo to Manila route.
Have you flown with Cebu Pacific Air in the past? How was your flight experience? Are you looking to book a ticket with the airline soon? If yes, let me know if you have questions so I can respond to them. post your questions in the comments section below. You may also send them via e-mail to contact@thewkndtravel.com.
I hope you can check out my previous flight reports with Singapore Airlines and other airlines like Emirates, EVA Air, Air France, Vietnam Airlines, and Philippine Airlines. I hope you also look forward to more flight reports in the future.
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PS. Photos were taken using my OnePlus 9 Pro.