For the third time, I traveled to Japan, but for the second consecutive time, I flew with our flag carrier, Philippine Airlines. It has been almost a year since I last flew with them to Nagoya in July 2024. Have they improved their service? Let's find out in this flight to Narita.
Philippine Airlines is the flag carrier of the Philippines and also Asia's first and oldest airline (its long history dates back to 1941 and continues to shrine through until today!).
Note: This is a personal blog on our travel experience and is neither promoted nor endorsed by Philippine Airlines.
Booking process
I traveled to Japan as part of my school's first-ever study tour to the Land of the Rising Sun. The flights were arranged by a travel agency paid at an undisclosed price. There were thirty students (including me) and three teachers who accompanied us for an eight-day trip across four prefectures: Tokyo, Ibaraki, Kyoto, and Osaka.
PAL has five fare classes in economy class: supersaver, saver, value, flex, and premium. Our flight came with a perk common on full-service carriers: free baggage allowance (FBA), aside from complimentary meals. PAL's website states that economy class passengers for Japan are entitled to a maximum of two (2) pieces of checked baggage with an allowance of up to 23 kilograms per piece. I only brought one checked suitcase, while my carry-on baggage consisted of only my backpack. Furthermore, in May 2025, PAL made changes on the free baggage allowances for its Japan destinations, which removed the FBA for passengers who availed the supersaver fares for its Nagoya flights, while other destinations (Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka) still have the usual FBA. See this link to know more.
Our travel agency opted for the supersaver option, which is the cheapest among the five fare classes.
Travel requirements
Aside from your passport and travel itinerary, you would also need to fulfill the following requirements to Japan:
Philippines
- eTravel - used for departing Filipino citizens and ALL arriving international passengers. Mobile users can download the eGovPH app, while you can visit the sign-in portal here. For Filipinos, this should be filled up TWICE: for your departing flight and for your arriving flight. You can fill this up within 72 hours from the dates of your flights.
- Travel Tax - as explained earlier, economy class passengers should pay this levy of 1,620 pesos either online (for Philippine-based airlines) or at TIEZA counters at airports.
Japan
- Valid Travel Visa - for the purpose of my Philippine viewers, a visa is required to enter Japan. Visit this site for more details.
- Visit Japan Web - acts like an online arrival card. Arriving tourists are required to create an account in this portal and accomplish the immigration and customs forms before arriving in Japan. You can fill up the arrival form here.
Main review: Wednesday, May 28, 2025
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| Exterior of NAIA Terminal 1. The road layout has been replaced from the previous diagonal to a parallel setup following a fatal car crash which killed two, including a four-year-old girl. |
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| Terminal 1 departure hall |
I first boarded a bus which brought us from our school to Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1. Since 2023, Philippine Airlines operates its international flights at T1, after airport authorities rationalized the terminal assignments of airlines. It previously operated at the nearby Terminal 2, which was subsequently converted for all-domestic use.
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| PAL's check-in counters had almost no lines unlike the ones at other carriers. |
I checked in one suitcase and only brought a backpack with me as my hand-carry baggage. The process was seamless and fast.
Flight information
Route map
At the time, Philippine Airlines flies to Tokyo four times daily, which are evenly split between two daily flights to Haneda and Narita. It uses the Airbus A321-200 for these flights, which seats 199 passengers in two classes: 12 in business and 187 in economy.
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| Since San Miguel Corporation's takeover in September 2024, one of its major tasks was to have newer seats across the three operational terminals. |
We then walked to Gate 4. Confused on the supposed gate change (an Oman Air flight took over the original slot for our PAL flight), they asked the ground agents on this matter. I then told my companions that the gate really changed as I saw a "PR 428" sign at Gate 2 while we walked to the eastern end of T1—where Gate 4 is located. At 05:46, RP-C9929, a 2016-built Airbus A321-231, taxied to Gate 2 after it landed as flight PR 536 from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. That was the final nail in the coffin, and we soon retreated to Gate 2.
Boarding and take-off
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| The passengers board for their flight to Japan! |
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| Interior of RP-C9929 at the economy class cabin. |
Boarding commenced at 06:37, six minutes ahead of schedule. I was seated at 66A. Just after 07:00, the doors were closed early as the plane was filled up with passengers. The crew then did the traditional Mabuhay greeting at 07:02, followed by the manual safety demonstration, where the crew demonstrates the aircraft’s safety features in front of the passengers. This is rather unusual in today’s standards of a full-service carrier, since nearly all planes of FSCs have in-flight entertainment and the demonstration is instead embedded in a video.
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| The plane flying over South Luzon Expressway |
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| Our plane flying near the Cordillera Central Mountain Range |
The pushback commenced at 07:05. After waiting for several planes to land and take off, we took off at 07:23, seven minutes ahead of schedule, increasing the chances of an earlier arrival in Japan. During the flight, there were around two to three occurrences of turbulence.
Breakfast service
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| The only breakfast meal served at this flight was a Japanese beef stew. |
The breakfast service soon started after takeoff. However, while some passengers were provided with choices, we were the unlucky ones. A flight attendant said that they ran out of other meals. Our breakfast set consisted of a Japanese beef stew meal with broccoli, a fruit salad with seasoning, some tofu, and pineapples. The dessert was a Strawberry Panna Cota. I then asked for an orange juice, which I exchanged with water after fully drinking the former.
Wireless in-flight entertainment
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| Interior of PAL's A321ceo while in-flight. Most passengers had their window shades closed so that they can rest during the flight. It was actually an instruction from the flight attendants to close the shades. |
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| PAL has added a sticker since 2025 on some of its non-IFE planes for passengers to access wireless entertainment on their devices for free. |
And you may be thinking why this doesn’t have an in-seat screen, in contrast to its other aircraft and other full-service carriers. These planes were ordered in 2012 by its former owner, San Miguel Corporation (Lucio Tan’s LT Group is the current owner since 2014). These planes were delivered outright without IFEs, causing mixed-to-negative reviews among travelers, comparing the A321s like a low-cost carrier. PAL has announced a refurbishment program in 2024 to have those installed with in-screen IFEs, like the ones on their newer A321neos. But since February 2025, PAL started providing a wireless IFE system on its A321ceos that passengers can access from their mobile devices as an interim measure before the seats itself are refurbished.
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| My phone with PAL's wireless entertainment system |
Despite the introduction of wireless IFEs on the A321ceos and select A330s, I have mixed feelings about it. While it is a big improvement over last year's absence, it has its own problems. Having to look down on your phone just to watch your favorite movie is inconvenient for some, as you might not be able to relax with this setup, compared to those with in-seat IFEs. The good news is, PAL will refurbish these planes, but you’ll need to wait until 2027, when all 18 A321ceos are fitted with such.
Arrival at Narita
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| Our plane flying over the eastern seaside of Japan |
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| Aerial view of Narita's Terminal 2 |
A few hours later, we were descending to Japan earlier than expected. The pilots announced at 11:36 that they began the initial descent. We landed at Narita International Airport at 12:03, 67 minutes ahead of schedule. This was my earliest arrival of an international flight since I began recording my punctuality on flights in 2018. PAL operates its Narita flights at Terminal 2.
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| With flight attendants Paul and Ria. Taken with permission. |
I had a picture with flight attendants Paul and Ria before disembarking. Ria happened to be one of the relatives of my classmate who joined this study tour.
After completing the arrival formalities and baggage claim, we rode our bus to our hotel in Tokyo.
Verdict
Timing and frequency
As mentioned earlier, Philippine Airlines flies two times daily to Tokyo-Narita from Manila. The morning flight arrives at past noon, making it perfect for those arriving to catch up for hotel check-ins. On the return side, the midday departure and late-afternoon arrival of the first return flight (PR 427) is convenient enough for those wishing to rest and wind down from their vacations to prepare for the next working week or day. Unlike Cebu Pacific, it does not operate a second flight in the evening, which is instead done at the morning (PR 431, usually at around 09:30), which is the return flight of PR 432, which departs Manila in the afternoon and arrives in the late evening.
Overall service
Overall, Philippine Airlines offers a decent full-service flight, but its entertainment offerings are inconsistent throughout its fleet. While passengers on its long-haul flights enjoy the usual wired in-flight entertainment (IFE), its regional passengers do not. But this will eventually become untrue for the regional passengers, as they would soon enjoy onboard entertainment as PAL refurbishes the A321ceos soon.
PAL once had the moniker "Plane Always Late", but just recently, it has been named as one of the most punctual airlines in the Asia-Pacific according to data from Cirium, with more than 86 percent of its flights arriving on time (as of April 2025). This has been always (most of the time) the case for this route, and it was evident with the very early departure of this flight, which resulted in an extremely early arrival. You can count on Philippine Airlines for their reliability, comfort, and Buong Pusong Alaga service.
Positive indicators
- Decent seat and legroom
- Delicious breakfast meal
- Lavatory is clean with additional amenities that are not usually found on low-cost carriers
- Friendly, lovely, and courteous flight attendants
- Consistent punctuality in this route
Points for improvement
- PAL should produce sufficient amounts of BOTH meal choices in each service so that the passengers can still have choices to consider.
- Although PAL's temporary wireless IFE is a good development on its A321ceos (and some bi-class A330s), the conventional in-seat IFE should be installed sooner so that they can offer a consistent product portfolio.
Ratings
I rate each aspect of the flight in a scale of 1 to 10.
- Check-in - 9.5/10
- In-flight entertainment - 8.0/10
- Punctuality - 10/10
- Seat - 8.5/10
- Breakfast meal - 9.2/10
- Crew - 10/10
- Price (around an average of 16,000 to 25,000 pesos/pax) - 8.0/10
Overall, ETJ rates this round-trip journey a 9.0 out of 10 points.
Watch my trip report here:
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