Trip Report – Page 8 – The Wknd Travel

Flight Report: CEBU PACIFIC AIR 5J 328 – Legazpi to Manila – ₱600 ($11.50) Flight Back To Manila

Last month, I introduced a new section in my website called Flight Report. This section will talk about my experiences on the flights I took in the past. My 1st flight report was about our Taipei to Manila flight with EVA Air last June. It was a decent flight for such an affordable fare. Check out the post here to know more about this 5-star airline economy experience.

Weeks after the 1st post, here I am sharing with you another flight report of a recent flight I took. 2 weeks ago, I went home to my hometown to surprise my mom on her birthday. I took the bus from Manila to Bicol & took a flight back from Legazpi to Manila with Cebu Pacific Air. The flight back to Manila will be the subject of this flight report. How did the flight go? What aircraft was used for the flight? Was it on time? Find out in the text below.

Cebu Pacific Air

View from Legazpi Airport’s pre-departure area. Hello to the A320 aircraft & to Mayon Volcano! 🙂

Cebu Pacific Air is the country’s largest low-cost carrier flying to over 60 destinations within the Philippines, across Asia Pacific & the Middle East. This private airline is fully-owned by JG Summit Holdings, led by the Gokongweis. It has a wholly-owned subsidiary called Cebgo which flies to smaller airports in the country. The airline operates a fleet of 70+ planes consisting of Airbus & ATR aircraft & has new-generation aircraft orders in place.

Cebu Pacific Air is known for providing the lowest fares in the Philippine airline sector. They are famous for their ₱1-base fare promotions to all of its routes, being offered a few times a year. They also hold special & regular fare promotions that enable a lot of Filipinos travel to destinations at affordable fares. The airline is one of the founding members of Value Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of low-cost carriers. It also has a loyalty program known as GetGo.

Airfare

Believe it or not, I only paid ₱596.32 ($11.50) for this flight from Legazpi to Manila. The airline had a ₱11.11-base fare sale last 11 November 2018 & offered flights from Legazpi this cheap. The fare only includes 7 kilograms of carry-on baggage. Check in baggage, in-flight snacks & seat selection are offered for additional cost; basically how modern low-cost carriers work. I was only travelling light, so I didn’t need to avail of these additional services. Imagine only paying that much. The fare was cheaper than the usual bus fare from Legazpi to Manila.

Flight

I initially booked a flight for 30 July 2019. The airline changed my original flight schedule & offered change booking, full refund, travel fund storage or rerouting options. I took advantage of this flight change & booked the night flight day before.

The flight was operated by a 6-year old Airbus A320-214 aircraft delivered to the company in December 2012. It operates an all-economy class 3-3 configuration & has 180 on-board seats in total. The flight took about 42 minutes, from the scheduled 1 hour & 20 minutes flying time. It departed Legazpi Airport on time & arrived Manila Airport 30+ minutes ahead of schedule.

Check In, Baggage & Boarding

Cebu Pacific Air provides counter, online & mobile check in for all their flights. Legazpi Airport has a relatively small but efficient check in facility. I already checked in online & have my boarding pass on my phone so I didn’t have to go through the usual counter check in. Passengers also don’t need to print their boarding passes – less paper used plus a good move for the environment.

Here’s a screenshot of my mobile boarding pass; didn’t go through manual check in. I removed the QR code for security purposes. The staff also asked for a government issued ID during boarding 🙂

The airline offers prepaid baggage for all their flights. Passengers have the option to include baggage at the time of booking or in the manage booking section up to 4 hours before the flight. Baggage fees vary per weight allocation & prices change as the day of the flight approaches. If you want to get reasonable baggage fees, include the baggage allocation while booking the flight or add it at least 15 minutes before the day of the flight.

Here are the check in baggage fees from Cebu Pacific Air’s official website as today, 11 August 2019.

The boarding process was alright – the flight started boarding around 20 minutes into the scheduled departure. The passengers rushed up to the gate when the ground staff announced boarding. I waited for the majority of the people to board & decided to board last. The ground staff checked my mobile boarding pass together with a valid identification card to confirm my identity.

Seat, In-flight Meal & Entertainment

Cebu Pacific Air offers in-flight services for additional fees. The airline automatically assigns seats to its passengers days before the flight. If the passenger wants to be seated in front or in exit seats, he / she must pay for the seat. The seats have a 28-inch pitch & a basic recline. The seats don’t have the best legroom but it’s okay for short flights. Each passenger has a seat pocket in front; the seat pocket contains the aircraft safety card & in-flight magazine.

Here’s the amount of legroom that you get when you fly on a Cebu Pacific Air Airbus A320 aircraft.

Preferred seats can also be booked through the website.. Here are the rates as of 11 August 2019.

The airline doesn’t offer free in-flight meal & has no on-board entertainment. Snacks are available for pre-order in the website up to 24 hours before the flight & are also available for purchase on-board. The airline also offers items or souvenirs (blankets, eye shades, neck pillow, etc.) for sale. The full snack menu & brochure of items for sale can also be found in the in-flight Smile Magazine.

No in-flight entertainment or whatsoever. You only get a plain seat with a tray table with an ad.

Here are the meal prices as of 11 August 2019 – meal includes a free drink if you pre-book it online.

I did not avail of any add-on for this flight. It was a short flight back to Manila & I didn’t have many things with me. Basically everything beyond the free 7 kilogram carry-on baggage allowance is offered for additional fees. This is how low-cost carriers operate. They make money out of everything they can charge so they can offer fares at the lowest possible cost.

Lavatory

The flight only took 42 minutes – too short for me to use the lavatory. It didn’t take long when the seat belt sign was switched on again & when we started our descent to Manila. Perhaps, next time on a longer flight?

Cabin Crew Service

Cebu Pacific Air’s cabin crew were nice & very welcoming. They make sure that they greet all passengers upon entering & before leaving the plane. Safety instructions were shown manually by the cabin crew. They performed all necessary security checks before we departed for Manila. While on air, they walked down the aisle & sold snacks & goods to the passengers with smiles on their faces. I’ve been flying with the airline for years now & I can say that they’ve maintained their service through time. The in-flight cabin crew service was great – beyond what I expected from a low-cost airline.

Verdict

My experience with Cebu Pacific Air on 5J 328 last 29 July 2019 was awesome. The cheap ticket was a steal given my only aim was to fly back to Manila. The services were very basic – 7 kilograms free carry-on baggage & a typical low-cost airline seat pitch. Every other add-on (baggage, seat preference & in-flight snack) came with additional fees. Glad I didn’t have to avail of those additional services.

Will I fly them again? OF COURSE! Cebu Pacific Air offers a handful of flights between Manila & Legazpi every day. Having a range of convenient flight schedules to choose from (especially night flights) gives us locals more time to spend with our families in our hometown. I’ve been flying with them between Manila & Legazpi for years now & I don’t mind doing the same thing in the next few years. Thanks to this airline for offering cheap flights to & making hometown within reach.

In case you’re interested with more information about this Legazpi to Manila flight, check out the full details below:

Airline: Cebu Pacific Air
Flight Date: 29 July 2019
Flight Number: 5J 328
Route: Legazpi (LGP) – Manila (MNL)
Duration: 42 minutes
Seat Number: 9B
Aircraft: Airbus A320-214
Aircraft Registration: RP-C3272
Age: 6 Years
Year Delivered: 2012

One last photo of the Cebu Pacific Air Airbus A320-214 that flew me from Legazpi to Manila. 🙂 🙂

Are you a Cebu Pacific Air frequent flyer? If yes, what is your favorite destination flown by the airline? Can you share the cheapest ticket you got from them? Believe it or not, I got a Manila-Narita-Fukuoka-Manila ticket with them worth ₱1,613.19. I used this ticket last February when I went to Tokyo, Nagano, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara & Fukuoka with my family. What are your ₱1-fare stories with Cebu Pacific Air?

Feel free to share yours in the comment section below. You can also tell me via email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. I’ll respond as soon as I can. Don’t forget to follow me & please please please also help me in promoting my social media channels – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Thank you for joining me in this Flight Report! Looks like the next flight report will be about Cebu Pacific Air again but for an international destination. Any guesses where I’m going next?

PS. Photos were taken using my HTC U11.

Flight Report: EVA AIR BR 277 – Taipei to Manila – Taiwan’s 5-Star Airline For An Affordable Fare

Last month, I ran a poll on my Facebook page & asked you, my readers, if you are interested in reading flight / trip reports in this platform. 101 out of the 107 respondents said they want to see this type of content here. A few weeks later, here I am, sharing with you the very first flight report on this website.

Coincidentally, this is also my website’s 100th post – YES!! I believe the best way to celebrate this milestone is to introduce this new section called Flight Report. This blog section will always include information about the fare & the flight. It will also tackle experiences about the check in & boarding procedures, seat quality, in-flight service & a lot more.

My family & I flew to Taipei, Taiwan (I know – wait for the newest Taipei posts in the coming weeks) about a month ago for a 4-day father’s day weekend trip. I’ve been to Taipei twice, one in 2015 with my high school friends & the other in 2017 with my colleagues / office friends. My mom insisted that we go to Taiwan (again for me) to have another family trip since our last was Singapore in 2015. Third time’s a charm & the trip happened. We flew with Evergreen Airways, commonly known as EVA Air, for both Manila to Taipei & Taipei to Manila legs.

EVA Air

EVA Air is a privately-owned & international full-service airline based in Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan. It commenced operations in 1991 & since then has been flying to multiple destinations in Asia Pacific, North America & Europe. It is also Taiwan’s second largest airline, next to the flag carrier, China Airlines. The airline is Taiwan’s 5-star carrier certified by Skytrax, an international airline & airport review company.

Let me share with you my thoughts about our EVA Air BR 277 flight last month. EVA Air runs 3 daily flights between Manila & Taipei. The flight I am about to tell you was our Taipei to Manila afternoon flight. Apologies, I wasn’t able to get as much detail as I can during our Manila to Taipei flight because of its early morning departure. I was asleep most of the time on board that Airbus A321-200 flight to Taipei.

Airfare

My family & I booked our tickets about 4 months before our intended trip. Each economy return ticket cost USD 127.32 or about PHP 6,600+ in our currency. You might think this is expensive; but it’s not. My previous tickets to Taipei cost me PHP 2,700+ return, but only provided an airline seat & carry-on baggage. It didn’t include check in baggage, food or whatsoever; the schedules were inconvenient. Our ticket to & from Taipei included in-flight meals & entertainment, 30-kilograms check in baggage per way & free seat selection. If you try to add these services to my previous tickets, it’ll be pretty much the same cost.

Details of our Manila – Taipei – Manila ticket. Each passenger only paid **USD 127.32 round-trip**.

The fare we paid for was such a great deal for a return flight to Taipei on a 5-star airline. It was worth every single peso.

Flight

BR 277 from Taipei to Manila took 1 hour & 55 minutes in the air. The plane left Taoyuan Airport a little late but managed to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on schedule. The flight used a 3.5-year old Airbus A330-300 delivered to EVA Air in 2015. The plane has 2 passenger classes – business class & economy class. Business class seats were at 2-2-2 configuration while the economy class followed a 2-4-2 seat configuration.

Check-In & Boarding

EVA Air’s Economy Class Check-in Counters at Taipei-Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 2.

Check-in & boarding was alright. We were travelling with a kid so we were always a priority during check-in & boarding. The ground staff assisted us to a special check-in counter while we boarded the plane first among the economy class passengers. I can’t say the experience was amazing or bad because I didn’t get to experience the usual process.

Seat, In-flight Meal & Entertainment

EVA Air offers a great range of in-flight services. First, seat selection is free of charge upon booking / online check-in. Take note that our fare is the lowest possible fare the airline can offer & with that, the seat selection feature is still free. The seat pitch of EVA Air’s Airbus 330-300 is 33 inches; pretty decent for me. The leg room was generous enough for it to be apt for a long haul flight. The seat was comfortable; it also featured an adjustable headrest. The seat pocket contained the necessary safety card, in-flight magazine & Duty Free brochure.

Such a generous leg room on EVA Air’s Airbus A300-300 aircraft.. Or maybe I’m not that tall? LOL

Second, in-flight meal was okay. It didn’t have the best taste, but it was decent enough to fill our stomach. And oh, they offered a full rice / pasta meal with salad & fruits on a 2-hour flight. Passengers can also choose the type of meal (low calorie, halal, vegetarian, etc.) they prefer up to 24 hours before the flight.

EVA Air provided a full rice meal with salad & dessert on a 2-hour flight from Taipei to Manila. 🙂

Third, each seat has a small touch screen monitor & an old-style remote. The in-flight entertainment had an acceptable range of movies & programs to watch. It also had a number of albums you can listen to. I wish they had more choices though. Every passenger is provided with a pair of earphones sealed in a plastic container. Each seat is also equipped with a USB port. The in-flight entertainment in my seat didn’t work for the most part of the flight. The flight attendant tried to reset it but it still didn’t function. It’s not a major issue since the flight didn’t last long.

Fourth, the cabin crew provided pillows & blankets to passengers who requested for it. Again, it is a short flight so add-ons like these are not expected, but props to EVA for having them on board (even if the supply is limited & it is only available upon request). EVA Air’s in-flight amenities on our BR 277 flight were excellent. I’m not going to complain. We got way more than what we paid for.

Lavatory

The flight only lasted for less than 2 hours. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to go to the lavatory. Perhaps, I’ll check it out in my next EVA Air flight.

Cabin Crew

EVA Air’s cabin crew were alright. I only had a few encounters with them & with those times, not everyone was wearing a smile. There were one or two who were super nice & accommodating. I generally felt they’re like robots going around distributing food & getting food trays afterwards. I can’t blame them if they had to speed up their service but I think I’m just used to the hospitality of Southeast Asian airlines. It’s not the best & also not the worst, I’ve experienced worse in another airline.

Verdict

Overall, my experience with EVA Air on BR 277 from Taipei to Manila was great – extremely affordable fare for a full-service 5-star certified airline, with on-time flight departure & arrival, quick & special check-in & boarding process (thanks to my baby cousin), amazing in-flight amenities & so-so cabin crew service. I’m not going to judge the cabin crew on that flight & generalize that all EVA cabin crew are the same; perhaps that batch wasn’t having a great day.

Will I fly EVA Air again? YES, of course! They always offer extremely cheap fares to Australia, North America & Europe. I’d love to try their long haul product in the future, especially on their newest Boeing 787 Dreamliner. If you want to know more about our flight & the aircraft used, here are the complete details of it:

A glimpse of EVA Air’s new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I’d love to fly this new aircraft in the future!! 🙂

Airline: EVA Air
Flight Date: 18 June 2019
Flight Number: BR 277
Route: Taipei Taoyuan – Manila
Duration: 1:55 hours
Aircraft: Airbus 330-300
Aircraft Registration: B-16336
Aircraft Serial Number: 1690
Age: 3.5 Years
Year Delivered: 2015
Engine: 2 x GE CF6-80E1A4

Have you flown with EVA Air in the past? Was it on a short haul or long haul route? How was your experience? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below. Do you have any questions about my experience or EVA in general? You can send it to me via e-mail to contact@thewkndtravel.com. I’ll respond as soon as I can. Don’t forget to follow me & please please please also help me in promoting my social media channels – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

One last look at the aircraft that flew us back to Manila last June ’19 – an EVA Air Airbus A330-300

Thank you very much for joining me in this very first flight report. I hope you are excited for the upcoming ones!

PS. Photos were taken using my HTC U11.