PAL's Boeing 777 to Melbourne: Restoring faith in air travel

With all the developments in aeronautical design and technology, you have to wonder why air travel is so  uncomfortable. Between the long, increasingly pointless security checks in airports; the airlines lamenting their financial losses even if every plane that takes off feels like it’s crammed to capacity; and natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions in Iceland exposing the lack of emergency preparedness in commercial aviation, you begin to long for the hassle-free convenience of, say, swimming to another continent. But that takes too long, and until scientists figure out how to teleport us from one place to another without the risk of fusing our DNA with stray houseflies, we’re going to keep flying.

The last time I was on a long-haul flight, I spent many hours wishing for the peace of unconsciousness. It never came. The seats in economy class seemed to have shrunken further; there was no way my regulation-size cabin baggage would fit under the seat in front of me.

I had to take out my water bottle and my book for the flight, and when I tried to put them in the seat pocket, there was not enough room for both. How cruel is that, being made to choose between dehydration and boredom?

The seat itself revealed an unpleasant surprise. When you hit the “Recline” button, it didn’t actually lean back. Instead, the bottom of the seat slid forward until my knees were nearly bumping against the seat in front of me. After a few hours in this slouching position, my spine felt like it had been jammed into my spleen. Since I couldn’t lean back, every time I was about to fall asleep I would pitch forward, and that would wake me up. Generally I will travel at the drop of a pin, but this experience was making me reconsider my love of flying.

Last week’s trip to Melbourne, Australia on Philippine Airlines’ brand-new, state-of-the-art flagship Boeing 777-300ER restored my faith in air travel. For starters, the Weber 5750 seats are actually comfortable. In economy or Fiesta Class, the seat is 18.5 inches wide or 17 inches between the armrests. You have more legroom with a pitch of 33 to 34 inches. The seat has a USB port so you can listen to your own music library a gooseneck reading lamp, and you can ask the cabin crew to bring you a laptop charging port if you need one.

But the real attraction of PAL’s B777 service are the seats in business or Mabuhay Class. Made by Recaro of Germany, the CL6510 seat has a pitch of 78 inches. A basketball player would not feel scrunched up in this chair inches wide.

Best of all, you can adjust the Recardo CL6510 to several positions, including a full, nearly flat 15-degree recline. Your seat turns into a bed! You can lie down, get a good night’s sleep, and arrive refreshed and clear-eyed at your destination.

In fact the only thing that will keep you from going to bed the minute you board the plane is PAL’s in-flight service. Video monitors are mounted on the seat in front of you, and audio and video are available on demand. The entertainment options are rather limited — is every airline on earth required to screen Up In The Air? Much as I liked it, I’m not inclined to see it a fourth time. The TV options are even more blah — no 30 Rock, no Simpsons, just Two and A Half Men. But you won’t really need something to watch when you have so much dining to do.

Some passengers try to get through their flight as painlessly as possible by having several cocktails or glasses of wine then passing out. Not a good idea — the liquor will knock you out for an hour or two, then you’re awake again and trying to fall asleep. Might as well enjoy the dinner.

On the Manila to Melbourne flight, the meal began with tapas — marinated octopus with dill egg, a rolled beef pastrami that was on the salty side — then moved on to an appetizer of crab with keta caviar and grilled scallop with tropical salsa. There were Filipino, Western, Chinese, and Asian options for the main course — I chose the grilled herb sea bass with mousseline sauce. Dessert was a fruit plate with a cream tart, then a cheese plate with Blue Pepato, Blush, and Chevre, then Arce Dairy ice cream. This is my definition of a good dinner: something with at least three desserts.

How are you going to fall asleep when you’re stuffed like that? With the Recaro seat that turns into a bed, easily. My one complaint about PAL’s B777 service to Melbourne and Sydney is that it’s over too soon. Seven hours? Couldn’t we take a detour through Chile so I could sleep longer?

* * *

Philippine Airlines flies five times weekly between Manila and Melbourne. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday, the Boeing 777 is used. On Wednesdays and Fridays it’s the wide-body Airbus A330. PAL also flies five times a week to Sydney and two times a week to Brisbane. Visit www.philippineairlines.com or call 855-8888 for bookings and information on their special promos.