Question Philippine Airlines vs Cebu Pacific Domestic Flights

[Fires]

We flew PAL recently (July) and they were really good. No issues. Pre pay the extra baggage in advance as some have said and it was quite affordable. They were very strict at check in with any extra weight.

On time and even early I would say.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Living and flying domestically in the Philippines for coming up on 10 years now, I would say all the airlines are equally terrible. They will all have consistent 1-3 hour delays, leave your baggage behind because they overbooked the flight, sit at the runway for 30+ minutes after landing because the gate isn't available, etc.

Pick whichever one has the most attractive times and prices for your trips. They will weigh your bags and are generally strict. I often have my ~30lb carry on with my camera gear which is way over the carry-on weight limit. If I can tell the girl at the check in desk it has expensive camera gear, they have to-date always let me carry it on.

For international flights I would avoid any PH carrier if at all possible. You may be okay if it's a direct flight like Manila->LA, but for any itinerary with layovers and flights operated by any other airlines, I have had some horrible experiences. If anything goes wrong and your PAL flight is delayed (which is probably 40-60% of the time), they will not help you at all, or you will wait hours to talk to one of their customer service reps in a line of 50 other people. By the time it's your turn it will be too late to get you on any other flight and they will end up booking you on a new itinerary days later, and won't pay for accomodations... Ask me how I know lol.

 

[Centrals]

Delay is inevitable for any airline but some of them are prone to it for some reasons.
Flight 5J 112 departed from MNL on time, around 15:30, but did not touch down at HK as scheduled(18:00)! Passengers who were waiting by gate 10 only knew flight 5J113 to MNLhas been delayed when they checked the status of the flight on the departure monitor. Apparently, flight(5J112) was diverted to Macau on the advice of HK airport traffic controller because of strong wind!! Interestingly, it was the only flight affected by the condition over that period of time. 5J113 was delayed by well over 3hrs.
Just before boarding, everyone was given a bottle of water and couple of small packets biscuit at he gate. And during the flight, cup noodle/sandwich was distributed.
PR119(YYZ/MNL) was delayed by 4hrs and C$25.00 of food voucher was given to every passenger.