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The Big Juan in the evening: Tokyo-Manila on Cebu Pacific (flight review)

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Happy Friday the 13th! For those frequent viewers of my blog and my YouTube videos, you may remember when I published my June 2023 flight review on Cebu Pacific to Japan last November 2024 and other Cebu Pacific blogs in this site. Here we are again, onboard the Philippines' leading low-cost airline back home after my mom's sojourn autumn trip to Tokyo.

Notes:

  • This is a personal blog on our travel experience and is neither promoted nor endorsed by Cebu Pacific.
  • See this link for the previous trip report on Jetstar.
  • The author of this blog did not board this flight. Rather, my mom represented me due to my school classes.
  • Exchange rates between currencies are as of December 2024: 1 Philippine peso = 0.0172 USD and 2.58 JPY.

Booking process

Planning for my mom's short autumn trip to Japan involved two airlines: Jetstar, and Cebu Pacific, in which the former was used for the departing flight and the former for the return flight. Booked two months in advance, the Cebu Pacific flight cost $146.62 (8,504 pesos; 21,260 JPY) without add-ons, versus Jetstar's $100 (5,818 pesos, 2,327 JPY) with an add-on of two carry-on baggage.

Cebu Pacific has three booking options ranged from the cheapest to the most expensive: Go Basic, Go Easy, and Go Flexi. While passengers have a free 7-kilogram carry-on baggage allowance in all options, Go Basic only comes with a random seat with provisions for purchasing add-ons (checked baggage, pre-selected seats, inflight meals) later at a regular price. Go Easy, meanwhile, comes with a 20-kilogram free baggage allowance and a preferred seat, while Go Flexi has the same perks as Go Easy but allows for free cancellation when your plans change. For more information, visit this page.

She chose the Go Basic option, but pre-purchased a 20-kilogram baggage allowance for $20 (1,152 pesos, 2,880 JPY) immediately after initial booking. In early November, when nearly all standard window seats were pre-occupied by many guests pre-selecting them, she pre-selected a "Standard Plus" seat for only $12 (680 pesos), more than the standard seat price of $4.7 (275 pesos).

Main review: Monday, December 2, 2024

From central Tokyo, my mom rode the Skyliner limited express train from Ueno Station to Narita International Airport (NRT). NRT is one of two airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area; the other is the much closer Haneda (HND). NRT is served by low-cost carriers including Jeju Air, Thai AirAsia X, Philippines AirAsia, and Cebu Pacific. CEB and fellow compatriot airline Philippine Airlines operates at Terminal 2, the same terminal where Japan Airlines operate.

Cebu Pacific's check-in counters at Terminal 2 of Narita Airport.

Arriving at the airport at 14:24 (five hours before departure) the counters opened at 16:45. Long lines formed at the regular lane, but this process was finished within eight minutes.

Flight information

Flight: 5J 5057
Route: Tokyo (Narita T2) - Manila (Ninoy Aquino T3)
Scheduled departure time: 19:45 (GMT+9 [Dec. 2])
Actual departure time: 20:25 (GMT+9 [Dec. 2])
Scheduled arrival time: 00:05 (GMT+8 [Dec. 3])
Actual arrival time: 00:03 (GMT+8 [Dec. 3])
Aircraft: Airbus A330-941
Registration: RP-C3908
Date of delivery: July 25, 2024

Route map

Boarding commenced at 19:00 at Gate 92. Long lines formed outside the gate, but the process was smooth and orderly enough. The aircraft used for this flight is a young Airbus A330-941, registered RP-C3908. It joined the Cebu Pacific fleet in July 2024 as the ninth of sixteen A330neos it ordered back in 2019. It arrived as flight 5J 5056 at 18:33 that day.

The Recaro SL3710 seat of CEB's A330neo.

Cebu’s A330neos have 459 Recaro SL3710 economy seats configured in a 3-3-3 configuration. Each seat is 16.8 inches wide and has a pitch of 30-31 inches. Of course, as this is a low-cost carrier, you won’t see any in-flight entertainment system onboard. Seated at 20J for this evening flight.

At 19:47, pushback commenced. A long taxi followed until the plane took off at 20:25. Soon after, the plane cruised at an altitude of 40,000 feet.

Cebu Pacific's new inflight meals are now being sold. You may want to try this on your next flight for only $6 (350 pesos)!

Cebu Pacific offers a variety of food choices onboard, including breads, hot meals and drinks, and light snacks. It does offer merchandise as well! Most hot meals are exclusive for pre-ordering online, but what's interesting is that there are four new dishes CEB will offer for ordering inflight.

The Nissin cup noodles my mom bought inside the plane for only $1.72. 

My mom instead bought Nissin cup noodles for only 100 pesos; the noodles and her other snacks she bought at the airport served as her dinner.

Four hours later, the plane started its descent to Manila. It landed at 00:03 of December 3 and taxied to Terminal 3 — CEB's main hub for its flights. She disembarked at 00:18 and took almost an hour to claim her checked baggage (immigration was quick at the time).

Verdict

Timing and frequency

Cebu Pacific flies twice daily to Tokyo from Manila. This flight (5J 5057) is the second daily flight it offers in this route, after the midday departure of its first flight (5J 5055). It is a perfect choice for those wanting to maximize your day.

Overall service

This flight was a pretty decent flight, but I would like to emphasize the following points:

Positive indicators

  • Decent seat
  • USB ports are good for those charging their phones inflight
  • Delicious light snacks and good food choices

Points for improvement

  • Fast-track boarding process
  • Make the new CEB meal choices available for pre-purchase online to avoid hassle of paying in cash
  • Lower prices of Cebu Pacific hot meals to make them more affordable

Ratings

I rate each aspect of the flight in a scale of 1 to 10.

  • Check-in - 8.5/10
  • Punctuality - 8.8/10
  • Seat - 9.5/10
  • Light meal - 9.5/10
  • Crew - 9.4/10
  • Price - 9.1/10
Overall, I and my mom give this flight a 9.1 out of 10 points. With that being said, I recommend Cebu Pacific for your flights to Tokyo (and other destinations in Japan).

Watch my trip report on YouTube:

For more updates, visit my blog site and subscribe to my YouTube channel, Enzo's Travel Journals!

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