From PAL to JAL

I'm a creature of habit. Once I get the hang of something, I tend to stick to that for an extended period of time. One of my "habits" is flying Cathay Pacific whenever I go out of HK. Aside from having really good schedules, they have nice planes, a great entertainment system, an awesome lounge, and of course, I've got friends who work with CX.

When I was planning my Chinese New Year vacation, my original carrier of choice was CX. Unfortunately, ALL their flights to Manila were fully booked, and the ones to Japan were ridiculously expensive. So for this trip, I broke the habit and decided to fly with two different airlines that would take me to my two vacation destinations.



It's been more than a year since I last flew Philippine Airlines. Everyone knows that PAL is notoriously late. (PAL = Plane Always Late) But most of the PAL flights I took were either on time or left ahead of schedule. (My estimate is 7 out of 10 flights were on time.) My flight from HK to Manila wasn't an exception. The scheduled departure was 9:25 pm, and we were already on our way as early as 9:20. In this case, I was the one who was late. I'm glad that the runner in me was able to sprint to the gate in time.

It's also the first time in a long time that I rode in a single aisle plane. After getting used to CX, this plane was tiny! Good thing the air service made up for that: the stewardesses were so chatty and nice, plus they served a flavorful meal. There was no in flight magazine, though. Makes me wonder if there really wasn't any or if the last passenger just ran off with the copy. (I wouldn't blame him, though. Mabuhay is an excellent magazine.)

Then yesterday, I took a Japan Airlines trip going to Tokyo. This is the first time I was going to travel via JAL so it was interesting to see what kind of planes and services they had.



I checked their website and they said that most of their 747s have personal TV sets in all seat classes. Ergo, I was expecting a CX type of entertainment system. Unfortunately, "most" didn't include the plane I took. Aside from the fact that it didn't have personal TV sets, they didn't have an in flight movie! They only had some Japanese news programs on air, and the music selection wasn't that good either. Thank goodness I brought the iPod that Mark gave me.

On the upside, I love, love, LOVE their safety instruction video. Instead of using real people, they used anime style characters to demonstrate the "safety equipment and procedures of this aircraft." True to Japanese form, the video was quirky and funny, and my eyes were glued on the screen the entire time. (This is good, considering that I usually sleep through the safety video.)

The air service was also surprisingly nice. The flight attendants were very "Japanese," meaning they were unbelievably polite and would bow to every passenger who would ask them for something. They spoke in the usual hushed tone, which was a welcome change to the often loud flight attendants I've been accustomed to. I also liked the food they served because it had a touch of Japan - the food setting was very organized and zen, plus the meal had a distinct Japanese flavor. (And yes, they had Ochanomizu!)

Another thing that I found amazing is how the flight time from MNL to NRT only took us 3 hours and 20 minutes. Usually, it's a 4 - 4 hour and a half trip when I take PAL or NWA. Mark says that it's because the Japanese pilots can speak to the air traffic controllers easily, making the trip easier. On the other hand, my theory is that the Japanese pilots know the Japan airspace, ergo they know the shortcuts. Harhar.

Good thing I have a PAL Mabuhay Miles membership card and that JAL is a member of the One World Alliance. I think these two airlines will soon be a part of my habit, too.