It was 2022, near the tail end of the pandemic. People were more eager to travel as health restrictions were gradually easing. The tourism industry was recovering. We took this opportunity to fulfill our "revenge travel" plans; this vacation to Boracay — which I describe as "paradise" — was one of it.
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| An AirAsia plane at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 4 in June 2022 — back when they used to operate at this terminal. |
AirAsia is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline with subsidiaries in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia. Founded in 1993 and commencing operations in 1996, it was purchased by It has been hailed by Skytrax as the world's best low-cost airline for more than a decade running since 2009. We booked our flights with this airline to Boracay, a popular tourist hotspot known for its white sand beaches.
Booking process
My mom booked online using the AirAsia website. I traveled with her and paid $33 (1,833 pesos) per passenger, excluding add-ons.
It is the passenger's preference to separately purchase individual add-ons for AirAsia flights, or to book using a bundled package. The following are the bundled packages AirAsia offers:
- Value Pack - comes with 20 kilograms of free baggage allowance, a choice of a pre-selected seat, and a meal. See this link for more information.
- Premium Flex - same perks as above but includes flexible plans like rebooking to a maximum of 2 times, along with other benefits. See this link for more information.
Departing flight: Saturday, June 25, 2022
We rode a Grab to Ninoy Aquino International Airport on a sunny Saturday morning. At the time we took this flight, AirAsia operated its flights at Terminal 4, its longtime home since 2013. A year after we took this round trip, it transferred operations to Terminal 2 in July 2023, but there are reportedly plans by the New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation (NNIC), the operator of NAIA since 2024, to move AirAsia back to Terminal 4 as terminal renovations conclude in February 2025.
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| Terminal 4's crampy space resulted in long lines for AirAsia flights — this was back when AirAsia served the oldest of the four terminal buildings in Manila. |
Arriving at 8:10am, check-in was very rough. The SUPER LONG lines at the crampy terminal made us wait for AN HOUR! T4 is very small to accommodate passengers, and AirAsia's Cebu and Caticlan flights reportedly made up around 40 percent of its daily passenger volume in 2022. Luckily, it transferred its flights to the aforementioned destinations to Terminal 3 in December 2022, before ultimately transferring all its domestic flights to Terminal 2.
The security check to the pre-departure area was very long. Honestly, that was the WORST CHECK-IN EXPERIENCE ever.
Flight information
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| Our plane from the back: a 2007-built Airbus A320-214 which took us to Boracay! |
Our aircraft for this flight is a 2007-built Airbus A320-214, registered as RP-C8979. Originally delivered in March 2007 to Aeroflot, it was transferred to Philippines AirAsia in 2017. This A320 is equipped with 180 seats in an all-economy configuration, like all of AirAsia's A320ceos.
At 10:20 a.m., we boarded our plane. The boarding process was quite slow as a long line formed. Passengers boarded from the front and rear door to expedite boarding. Passengers seated from Rows 1 to 15 boarded at the front, while those seated from Row 16 onwards boarded at the back.
I was seated at window seat 20A, choosing it because of its nice view behind the wing. By the way, we pre-selected our seats for only $3.5 (189 pesos). The seats are 17 inches wide and have a pitch of 28-29 inches.
We then pushed back at 10:33 and took off at 10:51.
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| My $3.2 breakfast meal: Beef Tapa with Scrambled Egg |
Upon reaching cruising altitude, flight attendants began serving in-flight meals. I pre-ordered their Beef Tapa with Scrambled Egg for $3.2 (180 pesos) as my late breakfast, which tasted good. In my analysis, AirAsia is the only carrier offering hot meals on short domestic flights like this; Cebu Pacific and PAL only offer light snacks.
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| This is what you get when you're seated at row 20: a nice view behind the wing. |
Just as I was about to finish my meal, the pilots announced that they would start descending. This short 305-kilometer short hop was already coming to an end. Luckily, I finished my meal before the crew started collecting trash in preparation for landing.
Godofredo P. Ramos Airport is a small domestic airport located in Barangay Caticlan, Malay, Aklan, near the northwestern tip of Panay Island. It is the closest airport to Boracay. Once restricted to turboprops, in 2016, the runway was extended (and by extension, the airport) to accommodate Airbus A320 planes. Meanwhile, Kalibo International Airport, located 68 kilometers away from Caticlan, handles international tourist traffic to the resort island.
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| Our plane at Godofredo P. Ramos Airport with another AirAsia plane in the background. Taken shortly after landing. |
We landed at 11:26 a.m., a minute behind schedule, and within three minutes, our plane parked at the tarmac. The two-door rule I explained earlier in this blog was not implemented this time, as the disembarkation process for arriving A320 planes in Caticlan is that the front door will be used, and passengers would walk across the tarmac to a small arrivals terminal.
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| The small arrivals terminal of Caticlan Airport. |
What's unique about this temporary terminal is that there is NO CONVEYOR BELT at all! Your checked baggage is just brought to you through specialized small trucks. This is a temporary arrangement though, as San Miguel Corporation, the operator of the airport, plans to open a modern terminal in 2026.
There are transfer services between the airport and your hotel, which is the convenient way of avoiding the hassle of commuting. We availed a transfer service with Island Star Express. From the airport, we rode a minibus to Caticlan Jetty Port, where we rode a short ferry service to Cagban Jetty Port at the southern tip of Boracay. We then rode a second van which brought us to our hotel, La Carmela de Boracay. We then spent the weekend there with multiple activities, including an island-hopping tour the day after our departing flight.
Return flight: Monday, June 27, 2022
From our hotel, Island Star Express took us back to the ferry port before riding another ferry back to the mainland. Another bus from the same company took us back to the airport.
Check-in was quite quick because there were less passengers at the counters. After passing security checks, I did a plane spotting activity at the second floor of the departure terminal while waiting for boarding.
Caticlan's layout is something unusual at other airports: the departure and arrival terminals are far away (the arrival terminal is located on the new apron). The present-day departures terminal is the old terminal of MPH, and the tarmac in front of it was the old tarmac. A new tarmac was built far away, where the arrival terminal is also built. This scheme is temporary, as the permanent terminal is expected to be completed in 2026.
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| A panorama shot of the second floor of the pre-departure area of Caticlan Airport. |
It soon rained, causing some flights to get delayed. A boarding announcement on our flight was first made at 3:17 p.m. The standard departing procedure in Caticlan is that you ride a bus which would transport you to the plane. In fact, the buses drive along the runway! This gave me a unique airport experience that I never had in my lifetime. This scheme, again, is temporary.
Flight information
When we reached the tarmac, I did not see the red plane we expected to board in. It became apparent that our flight would be delayed. When I checked Flightradar24, it was true. The rain further intensified, making me doubt if we could still return home. Our plane arrived at 3:56 p.m., and we boarded it at 4:30.
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| Boarding process of our return flight going home...on a rainy afternoon. |
Our aircraft for this flight is a 2013-built Airbus A320-216, registered as RP-C8948. Originally delivered to AirAsia Japan, it was transferred to AirAsia (Malaysia) in November 2013. Philippines AirAsia received it in 2019.
I was seated at window seat 21F. Again, the seats are 17 inches wide and have a pitch of 28-29 inches.
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| Interior of our plane: some overhead bins have advertisements. |
We soon pushed back at 4:36 and took off at 4:51. Passengers could still order food during the flight, but we decided not to do so. I rested for the rest of the flight, at which at one point, I panicked when a somewhat strong turbulence hit us at 5:15.
Soon after, we started our descent to Manila. We landed at 5:39 p.m., thirty-nine minutes behind schedule. We then made our way to Terminal 4, where we alighted at 6:05 p.m.
After a short delay at the baggage claim, we claimed our suitcase and rode an airport taxi home.
Verdict: My take on AirAsia
Timing and frequency
At the time I took this flight (June 2022), AirAsia offered up to 34 flights a week in the Manila-Caticlan route, considered as one of the busiest domestic routes in the Philippines. Its schedule is very flexible that you can choose late morning flights, like we did for the departing flight, and end your vacation before dusk, like what we did for the return flight. Due to Boracay's increasing (but steady) popularity, as of December 2024, it operates up to 8 daily flights, corresponding to 56 weekly flights.
Overall service
AirAsia offers very good prices and good flights for budget-conscious travelers like me. Although our flights were short and quick hops, I enjoyed it. AirAsia and Cebu Pacific offer flexible schedules of flights to Boracay at bargain prices!
Positive indicators
- Clean aircraft
- Comfortable seats
- Friendly, nice-looking, and hospitable flight attendants
- Delicious meals
Points for improvement
- AirAsia should move to a bigger terminal (they already did in July 2023) because T4 is very small for a large airline like AirAsia
- To ensure sustained customer satisfaction, AirAsia must minimize delays, like what we encountered in the return flight.
Ratings for both flights
I rate each aspect of the flight in a scale of 1 to 10. These are my ratings for both flights.
- Check-in - 6.0/10
- Punctuality - 7.7/10
- Seat - 9.7/10
- Meal (for departing flight only) - 9.6/10
- Crew - 9.9/10
- Price - 9.8/10
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