Air Asia, Flight Review, Flying around the Philippines
After our short shuttle ride from the Microtel back into town (and crying a little bit as we passed the Best Western) we arrived at the Puerto Princesa airport.
Once again just after drop off there is a security check where you have to show your passport/boarding passes, but once he saw our USA passports, he just waived us through.
The arrivals lobby had a section for any last minute purchases and just to the left of it are all the airline checkin counters.
PPS is serviced by Air Asia, Philippine Airlines, and Cebu, and Air Juan, a private charter airline. Next time, I think I want to try them out!
We paid for a larger luggage allowance and extra leg room on the flight, since Air Asia has one of the shortest seat pitches in Asia. A paltry 29-30 inches. For a big 6-foot-2 guy like me, that wasn’t going to cut it.
The waiting area was very reminiscient of the one in Manila, except this one had a children’s play area as well.
Thirsty? Hungry? Try the Hot Hugz Café!
Boarding was quick and just a short 30 second walk to the plane.
We took our seats in row 1A-C and noticed something interesting in the galley. Can you see it? Look closely.
There are Air Asia carts, TWA carts, Zest Air, and Iberia boxes! Talk about recycling!
They also double as luggage storage for the crew.
One of the more interesting duty free options in my opinion, however, was the OOPS! Kits for men and women. For women, a modest option of feminine hygiene products, beauty products and a sewing kit. For men, a bottle opener, and some Tic Tacs, you know, so you can freshen up before you go grabbing things. #Politics
A quick 45 minutes later we were landing in Manila and traferring to our flight to Kalibo. Boracay island has two airports, one is Caticlan (a quick 10 minutes from the island but with limited service) and the other is to Kalibo (a 2 hour shuttle ride but more options for fliying in and out). We chose Kalibo both for price and convenice, as the total cost for the ticket to Boracay one-way was around $52.
This second plane was sponosored by Hennan Resorts, and everywhere you looked, there were advertisments for the resort chain.
Thank goodness for the extra leg room. Check out how tight those seats are in coach!
Also notice the one-way mirror. Once airborne, you can only see your reflection, but the flight attendants sitting on the other side can see you and everything that’s happening in the cabin. Sneaky!
Air Asia is a cheap, quick, and perfectly acceptable option to go island hopping in the Philippines. They offer low fares, even last minute, to a dozen destinations all throughout the country. Don’t think that because they’re a low cost carrier that it’s not a good option, this isn’t Spirit Airlines ☺ Take a flight with Air Asia and be pleasnrtly surprised.
