Philippine Airlines

Self-admittedly, I am a complete and total wuss when it comes to plane travel. I freak out and completely overreact at the slightest bump once we are airborne and assume that we are about to go down in a dramatic and fiery manner. 

However, that doesn't mean I haven’t been through flights that people without a deadly fear of flying also considered terrifying. I’ve been on more planes in my life than I can easily recall without perusing old emails containing flight details and asking my parents about trips I took during my youth. The point is, I’ve been on a lot of planes and I’ve experienced a lot of turbulence. None of the aforementioned turbulence could have prepared me for what I experienced during my flight from Tokyo to Manila last week.

I enjoyed Philippine Air the first time I flew with them to Japan about six months ago now. They served a piping hot meal even on a short flight, they showed a HILARIOUS safety video, and provided excellent customer service throughout the entire trip. So, I was content with having chosen them a second time to fly from Tokyo to Bangkok with a layover in Manila. My face lit up like a Christmas tree when they informed me at the airport that I was allowed to check not only one but FOUR bags for free with them (I only had two to check, but still). Even as a Mileage Plus member with United, I am still only allowed to check one bag for international flights without having to pay an insane fee.

Perhaps, however, their lenient baggage allowance on my flight was one of the contributing factors leading to the most terrifying voyage of my entire life. I honestly think that the plane was immensely overweight and caused it to have such problems in the sky. Also a possible factor was the fact that we were seated in the very back of the plane. As in, row 75 of about 80. Even when we were on the ground, there were some terrifying noises coming from the bottom of the plane. As we took off, my hands almost immediately began shaking, and essentially didn't stop until we landed. I was utterly convinced that the plane was going to go down after the first horrifying bout of turbulence. 

For once in my life while recounting a plane ride, I am NOT exaggerating. At one point after takeoff, the plane dipped so far down that it felt like, as my boyfriend described it, the pilot dropped the joystick for a moment. I began trembling and crying, and couldn't even begin to comprehend that we still had four hours of flight time remaining.

I knew that the descent would be bad, but I could never have imagined just how bad. The drops, dips, and violent shaking of the plane made our previous ride on Space Mountain a few days prior seem like a relaxing Sunday cruise. A baby began screaming at the top of his lungs for the last bumpy hour of the flight, adequately reflecting my own emotions. All of the passengers on the plane gasped multiple times as the plane bounced up and down violently.

Needless to day, I honestly considered staying in the Philippines for the remainder of my life to avoid ever getting on another plane.

I do LOVE the airport in Manila. It is so ridiculously unofficial, and therefore wonderfully amusing. Upon arrival, since we were transferring to another flight, we were asked to enter the “transfer room” and have a seat on the “transfer couch” while two agents shoveling down chocolate cake took a quick glance at our boarding passes. Once they finished their cake and did nothing else, they asked us to follow them down a few hallways and to our gate. Thankfully, the flight to Bangkok from Manila was nice and smooth!