Airline review: Cebu Pacific Air economy class

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This was published 9 years ago

Airline review: Cebu Pacific Air economy class

An upbeat, fun way to fly cheaply.

By John Borthwick
Cebu Pacific's cabin crew are cheerful, prompt and plentiful.

Cebu Pacific's cabin crew are cheerful, prompt and plentiful.Credit: AFP

THE ROUTE

Sydney to Manila.

THE PLANE

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Airbus A330-300.

THE LOYALTY SCHEME

Ceb Club, which offers promotional discounts and streamlined booking.

CLASS

This is a one-class economy carrier. I'm in bulkhead seat 3G.

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DURATION

Seven hours, 55 minutes.

FREQUENCY

Cebu Pacific Air flies from Sydney to Manila on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

THE SEAT

There are 436 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, with pitches of 30 to 32 inches (76-81 centimetres and marginal recline. No screens or power-points.

BAGGAGE

Hand carry, of one piece (to seven kilograms), is free. Checked baggage (to 20 kilograms) costs $35, with further rate increments thereafter.

ENTERTAINMENT

With no seat screen, bring your own device (laptop, tablet, etc) and ear-phones, and purchase CEB Air internet access (priced from $5 for one hour to $12 for entire flight), then choose your entertainment mode. The movies are a limited, mostly Hollywood and Filipino selection, while the music range is wider. The "Bookshelf" menu features Philippine celeb gossip but no apparent news or books. Or just entertain yourself by emailing and browsing. The portal is clumsy though eventually workable. As there are no power-points, be sure your device is fully charged.

COMFORT

The aircraft is new and the cabin is clean and unscuffed, with a calm blue-grey decor. The overall ambience is relaxing and, in all, about as comfortable as budget carrier economy class gets. You can purchase a Sleep Kit, with neck pillow and eyeshade, but no earplugs.

SERVICE

Pre-boarding services include 72-hour web check-in, E-ticketing and purchased seat selection. On board, the cabin crew (in canary yellow livery) are cheerful, prompt and plentiful — I count 10of them.

FOOD

Hot meals cost $12.50; I try the chicken adobo early and much later the spicy beef calderata, both with rice. They are tasty and come with a chocolate cake dessertand complimentary water. A range of snacks, soft drinks, beer and wine is also sold.

ONE MORE THING

The Centre for Aviation (CAPA) recently awarded Cebu Pacific Air its gong for 2014 Asia-Pacific Low-Cost Carrier of the Year, which seems well-deserved by this service that is both cheerful and more generous than the stringencies of some LCCs.

THE VERDICT

With the lowest year-round fares from Sydney to Manila, starting at $354 (including taxes — although the extras will add up), this new service is already popular. Cebu Pacific aspires to be more fun and upbeat than a standard, austere budget carrier – and succeeds – although its in-flight "Fun Games" guessing competition wears thin after one or two sectors. See cebupacificair.com.

Tested by John Borthwick, who flew courtesy of Cebu Pacific Air.

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