Pal Boeing 777
Take your flight deck seat on a Cathay Pacific Airways flight from Auckland, New Zealand to Singapore and see how this 21st century airliner is operated and flown. PLUS, experience a ride in the Cathay Pacific full motion simulator to learn more about the flight systems and emergency operations!
- The Philippine Airlines 777-300ER is configured differently. There are indeed rows of 4 int eh economy class. However, I would pick 71A, 71C, 72A and 72C or 71H, 71K, 72H and 72K. Or maybe the same seats but on rows 70 and 71. And I can confirm that the 777 is a nice plane.
- Visit Philippine Airlines 777 For airlines that want to win on the world stage and grow now, the 777 family offers flagship status and more growth potential than the competition, providing a clear path to a successful future.
- The Boeing 777's unique combination of superior range, outstanding fuel efficiency and passenger-preferred comfort has created long-range success for carriers around the world. And the 777-300ER now gives operators a perfect opportunity to extend that success.
Meanwhile, PAL intends to resume thrice a week Cebu – Los Angeles service beginning 2 May 2020 every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The airline last operated this route two years ago using Airbus A340-300 but temporarily stopped service on May 2017 due to operational requirements. Nov 18, 2009 Philippine Airlines, the national flag carrier, conducted its first flight March 15, 1941, and has been operating longer than any other airline in Asia. PAL is a long-time Boeing customer and currently operates five Boeing 747-400s. The Boeing 777-300ER is 19 percent lighter than its closest competitor, greatly reducing its fuel requirement.
- 109 minute DVD
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Auckland – Singapore
- Detailed tour and explanation of the B777 Flightdeck
In this programme you will join Captain Graeme Thomson, Cathay Pacific Airways fleet manager B777, for an insight into this 21st century airliner.
To start with, you’ll join Graeme in the cockpit about 1 hour out of Auckland, New Zealand where you will witness a rare display: an approach in the landing configuration, followed by a Go-Around, a high speed low level (approx. 500 feet) fly past followed by a landing. We then take off from Auckland, destination: Singapore.
As the aircraft cruises to its destination we’ll take you behind the scenes and into the B777 simulator in Hong Kong. This gives Graeme the opportunity to give you a guided tour of the all new LCD equipped flight deck where you’ll learn about Fly-by-Wire (FBW), Electronic Check List, Cursor Control Device (CCD) and Multi Functional Display (MFD). We also show you Thrust Asymmetry Compensation (TAC) including a failure of an engine on take-off and how TAC helps the pilot.
Finally we’ll then rejoin the B777 for the landing at Singapore. This is a ‘must-see’ for anyone interested in this 21st century jet.
It has been around 8 years since Philippine Airlines obtained its very first Boeing 777-300ER which marked the beginning of the carrier’s modernization where widebodies were concerned. While most airlines were already looking at fully flat seats and challenging what was then being offered in First Class and tailoring those for Business Class, the 777-300ER marked PAL’s first foray into the angle-flat seats. While by no means at the cutting edge; at the very least, it marked a slow transition out of the bulky and archaic recliner seats that the airline offered for the entirety of its Business Class products up until that point in time.
I have always wanted to try Philippine Airlines’ interpretation of the B777-300ER, having had great memories of the aircraft with Emirates and Qatar Airways. On a recent flight from Manila to Tokyo (Haneda), I finally had that chance.
I was in MNL for an early morning transfer for my flight to HND – having taken the same airline from SIN earlier that day. My layover was around 4 hours so I stayed at the Mabuhay Lounge at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, the only airport lounge in that terminal, while waiting for the flight (review of the lounge to come in a separate post).
As fate would have it, the aircraft being utilized for my flight that morning to Haneda was RP-C7777. This is the very first B777-300ER that Philippine Airlines got and was delivered back in 2009. I still remembered the excitement within the Filipino aviation community when this plane was delivered. It was supposed to be used for the airlines’ expansion into the United States which at that time was hindered by sanctions within the American regulatory body. The US sanctions were lifted only a couple of years later so these 777-300ER’s initially served some Australian routes and even Hong Kong. Today, these birds are serving its originally purpose – mainly for flights to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York and some Asian destinations such as Tokyo.
Business Class in the 777-300ER consists of 42 seats within two cabins and a 2-3-2 configuration. There are 28 seats in the forward cabin and 14 seats in the rear. I personally prefer the intimacy of smaller cabins and chose 6H in the rear Business Class cabin as my seat for the flight. Upon seeing my boarding pass, the crew realized that I was the only passenger in the mini cabin that day. A few crew members came by and encouraged me to change my seat to an empty one in the main Business Class cabin. I didn’t budge.
front cabin for business class
The Business Class seats have a seat pitch of 78 inches, width of 20 inches and recline of 165 degrees which is not too shabby. The layout of the seats vis-a-vis the screen reminds me a bit of Turkish Airlines‘ B777-300ER except that the latter has true flat-bed seats plus a couple more storage space.
welcome drinks
I was offered welcome drinks upon taking my seat, a selection of fresh orange juice and lemonade. I was a bit disappointed they didn’t have the mango smoothie, my all-time favorite drink on a plane which I remembered from their past flights. Seeing that I was alone in the mini-cabin, the crew member suggested I help myself to two glasses of the welcome drink to which I gladly obliged.
Afterwards, another flight attendant came by to hand me the menu. I know that Philippine Airlines serves Japanese food for its flights to and from Japan and I was looking forward to try that.
drinks menu
The drinks list was also pretty decent, with Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve champagne, similar to what Singapore Airlines uses for Business Class flights.
Seat controls were pretty easy to figure out and under the center armrest there is a flap which can be opened to reveal power outlets as well as USB ports.
As of this writing, the Boeing 777-300ER is the only aircraft type of Philippine Airlines that comes with personal entertainment screens (even in Economy Class). PAL had embarked on a semi-budget carrier binge in the early 2010’s and some of the newer aircraft like the A321 or even the A330’s that were acquired earlier in the decade don’t come with any personal entertainment screens even in Business Class and they’ve resorted to a mobile-oriented entertainment system transmitted over Wifi instead. But I digress.
entertainment controller
In the 777-300ER, you can switch channels and programmes by using the controller or by using the touchscreen. The controller in my seat didn’t work unfortunately so I had to use the touchscreen which wasn’t a big deal. While you won’t expect thousands of programmes to choose from, the entertainment selection was pretty decent with dozens of new releases as well as an eclectic song library.
Shortly after the plane took off, the crew started serving the meals. I chose the Japanese set and my lunch came in three courses.
First was a canape which is integrated with the Western meal option. It’s not particularly Japanese looking but hey, I’m not complaining.
Pal Boeing 777 Er Cabin
japanese meal
Next came a bento box served to me with a variety of Japanese appetizers and dessert surrounding the main – Braised pork belly served with radish, carrots, chicharo and sukiyaki rice. Needless to say, it was delicious. One thing I have always loved about Philippine Airlines is the food which is good regardless of class.
philippine airlines b777-300er business class seat full recline
After lunch, it was time to use the oversized pillows and get some shut-eye. As mentioned previously, the seats are angle-flat and I set it out for the full recline. For a day time flight, the angle-flat seat was quite comfortable though I imagine the recline could require one to be of a certain minimum height in order not to keep slipping to the lower areas of the seat. If there’s any complaint, I wish they had better blankets though. I notice they use the same kind for both Business and Economy Class.
I woke up a few minutes before the pilot made the announcement that the plane was going to land. I flipped through my phone and found Wifi to be available during this flight. Philippine Airlines offers 15mb of internet for free. Beyond that, it’s chargeable in terms of data usage. Speed was not particularly fast but it was sufficient to check out some websites and even the occasional Instagram feed.
More Pal Boeing 777 Images
Also check out my review of Philippine Airlines A330 Business Class
Pal Boeing 777-300
Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the Business Class product on Philippine Airlines’ Boeing 777-3ooER. Food was excellent without the need to show over-the-top ingredients. Service was great and genuine. The seats are average but sufficient for a mid-priced premium product. While this is still Philippine Airlines’ flagship Business Class offering for now, I am excited to try one of the new A330s later in the year.