Airline Review: Philippine Airlines regional Business Class

The Philippine Airlines regional Business Class is a quite nice way to fly regionally in Asia. While not industry leading, I found the experience to be very enjoyable. Read why in our extensive airline review.

It’s worth noting that my experience in the Philippine Airlines regional Business Class is influenced by one of the most odd departure times I’ve ever had.

• Airplane: Airbus A321
• Cabin Class: Business Class
• Daytime: Night
• Food: Dinner
• Seat Pitch: 38 Inch (94 Centimeter)
• Seat Width: 21 Inch (53 Centimeter)

To be precise, the flight departed at 2 am and arrived in Manila at around 6 am. A terrible timing, especially for a flight of just three hours length. Nevertheless, the Philippine Airlines Business Class was at least a decent place to hang out for the night, definitely more comfortable than Economy Class.

Seating in the Philippine Airlines regional Business Class

The Philippine Airlines regional Business Class comes with a 2-2 configuration and thus offers way more seat width and pitch than Economy Class, something many airlines in Europe could learn a lot from.

The interior of the jet wasn’t exactly modern, but the twelve Business Class seats looked quite comfortable. Philippine Airlines basically still has old cloth seats with lots of padding.

That allows you to lounge in the seat very comfortably. Plus, there was a nice pillow waiting on the seat.

The legroom at 37 inch isn’t bad either. Between the seats, there’s a very big armrest, but no privacy partition whatsoever. Additionally, the seats in the Philippine Airlines Business Class don’t recline all that much. You can get a little more comfortable for sleeping, but the seats on regional flights are far from lie-flat.

That’s also true for the long haul Airbus A340, which I’ve reviewed earlier. All in all, the regional seats are fair enough for the length of the routes the Airbus A321 operates on as they are quite comfortable and come with a good padding.

Catering in the Philippine Airlines regional Business Class

Something I found truly odd on my flight was the catering concept. Once again, the flight departed well after midnight. Nevertheless, a full dinner service was offered after departure. Business Class was quite full, so it took a while overall. Quite annoying on a three-hour redeye. That aside, the dinner service in the Philippine Airlines regional Business Class was actually great.

Before departure, I was offered a welcome drink, while after there was another round of drinks complemented by nuts. After that, the starter (salmon and gindara) was served on one tray together with the dessert (a strawberry cake).

Shortly after, I was offered a choice from the bread basket. For the main, there were three options, including Beef Tenderloin, which I had. Sadly, I was too tired to take a picture. Yet, all food was very good. The meal was finished off with ice cream by Haegan Dazs.

One thing worth noting about the Philippine Airlines regional Business Class is that there was no vegetarian option, neither as a starter nor as a main. At the same time, the drink options were quite good as well, including three wines each and Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve champagne.

Entertainment in the Philippine Airlines regional Business Class

Earlier in this review, I’ve mentioned that the cabin of the Philippine Airlines regional Business Class is rather old. That’s something you can also see when it comes to the entertainment. While all seats have a private screen, this one is actually very small and comes with a low resolution.

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The entertainment options aren’t great either with just a couple of movies, tv series and music. It’s okay for such a short flight, but nothing to write home about. Additionally, you should know that the entertainment system in the long haul Business Class of Philippine Airlines isn’t much better.

Sadly, I was neither offered a newspaper nor magazines. The headphones provided were rather cheap as well. All in all, okay, but not especially great either.

Overall impression of the Philippine Airlines regional Business Class

The Philippine Airlines regional Business Class is a decent way to travel in Asia. The cabin is quite old, but the seats are comfortable and great for lounging, not so much for sleeping. The catering is on a very high level, but a little too much for redeye flights, in my opinion. While there is an entertainment system, the selection and additional entertainment options are weak. All in all, I’d recommend Philippine Airlines for regional Business Class, but wouldn’t go out of my way to fly them.

Book your Philippine Airlines flight now:

• Expedia
• OneTravel

 

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