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[QUOTE=Natty Bumpo;1435937]By the way, what's the name of the town and the hotel? It doesn't really matter since it could have happened anywhere in the Philippines, but I'd like to know anyway.[/QUOTE]I'm still at this hotel. Will turn the info loose later when I'm no longer on this island (will post the pics fromthe ridiculously fabulous several nights I spent in the first town.
The Manila airport. For all the upgrades, new terminal, etc, some things remain the same. My int'l flight was due in at 8pm, but was delayed and arrived 9pm. Finally thru customs and walk outside at 9:30 to the taxis, and was overwhelmed at the number of people. The yellow taxi line was humongous, snaking all over the place. Some unofficial touts to Malate for me were all p1300. I get in the shorter fixed-price line (about a dozen parties in front of me). Not a single yellow taxi, nor white fixed-price van pulled thru for 10 solid minutes. At this rate, I'd be in line for 3 hours. It was tempting to get out of line and walk upstairs to the Arrivals, but I would lose my spot. A few yellows pull in, but nothing else. Neither line moves. I'm starting to wilt in the heat after 20 hours of flying.
Finally the yellows start pulling in by the bunchload. The yellow line moves a smidge. A bunch of folk in my line jump ship to the yellow taxi line, leaving just two parties in front of me. Sure as filipine rain, two white vans pull up and grab the next two parties. Another pulls up 2 minutes later. About p450.
30 minutes standing in line. If they can fix the terminals inside, why is it this hard to get a taxi at 9:30pm? Is there no bus service leaving the airport? Fortunately there was little traffic, and I was at the hotel in Malate 20 minutes later.
The hotel taxi would have been 600. I save p150 by waiting in line 30 minutes. Never again. For the life of me, I've been at 4 major airports in the last 2 months, and had no trouble getting a taxi or walk-up shuttle from any other than Manila.
Next gripe is Cebu-Pacific.
[QUOTE=Westcoast1; 1435922]So good here. And bad stuff too.
The saving grace: two of my previous f*ck-mates are coming later today from further out in the province for a naked bed-festival photo-shoot. They love camera play. I've made good dogs bust their leash.
[/QUOTE] nice and hilarious. But are you three going to "disturb" the third bed then?
Ahiii. Ahiiii.
i flew today on pal, from davao to manila, in the middle of the day, arriving at the fabled airport about 2 pm. it's a trip i take 2-3 times a month, so you would think there would be no surprises left. the flight was fine, with boarding slightly delayed due to the hundreds of folks crowded around tvs to watch game six of the nba playoffs. these guys ceded nothing in their fervor to americans and were screaming in support. mostly for the spurs.
the fun began once we landed (on time) in manila. according to the pilot, no more gates were available, which is strange since i saw several that were empty. so, we were told, we would be bussed to the terminal. i don't think i've been in an airport that uses buses since i left africa, which started me thinking that i'm not aware of a single major improvement to any public infrastructure, that's been made since i arrived here more than ten years ago, though there are always lots of highly touted "plans" to do something. during the interminable wait between landing, parking, and the arrival of the bus, i remembered yet again that in less time than it took this country to build a new terminal, financed by a german company and then stolen from the builder, thailand built an entire airport, access roads and a high speed rail link. the terminal here still isn't fully operational.
in line with the above, i read that the new airport serving cdo, but located 45 km from the city was opened with great fanfare by the president. it appears however that the ifr avionics haven't been installed and will not be until sometime in 2014, which probably means 2020. therefore the airport can only operate on vfr, which means only during daylight. airport officials assured the public however that they have installed a highly visible wind sock so no worries. i guess if it was good enough for orville and wilber wright, it's good enough for cdo.
all of which is i guess a great indication that this place is firmly secured to its third world status and will continue to get passed by the rest of asean.
[QUOTE=GoodEnough; 1436046]I don't think I've been in an airport that uses buses since I left Africa.
In line with the above, I read that the new airport serving CDO, but located 45 km from the city was opened with great fanfare by the president. It appears however that the IFR avionics haven't been installed and will not be until sometime in 2014, which probably means 2020. Therefore the airport can only operate on VFR, which means only during daylight. Airport officials assured the public however that they have installed a highly visible wind sock so no worries. I guess if it was good enough for Orville and Wilber Wright, it's good enough for CDO.[/QUOTE]Gee, GE (excuse the alliteration) but I seem to be catching air terminal buses all the time. Maybe it's because I frequently fly the budget airlines. I was on a terminal bus at Cebu airport yesterday, and this last year have been on buses between the terminal and plane at Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong, and lengthy tarmac walking at Davao!
Regarding the new new so-called "International" airport at Cagayan de Oro I have just posted a full report in the "Other Areas" section.
Cheers.
KongKing
[QUOTE=Westcoast1;1436040]The Manila airport. The hotel taxi would have been 600. I save p150 by waiting in line 30 minutes. Never again. For the life of me, I've been at 4 major airports in the last 2 months, and had no trouble getting a taxi or walk-up shuttle from any other than Manila.Next gripe is Cebu-Pacific.[/QUOTE]Luckily all my trips to FE are on company expenses (apart the leisure mongering in BKK that I can't bill to the company, LOL, but sometime hotel is!) so I often decide for hotel car pick up. More expensive for sure. But hassle free. No need to change money, no need to discuss prices, getting ripped off, no need to distinguish the taxi mafia members from those not use the meter (any difference? No! Ahahha) , no cueing up.
I know. Can't be for all. But soemtime I can stay in a country without even bothering to change a single dime.
the right hand not knowing what the left hand does. well cebu-pacific might be two different effed-up companies.
i am departing manila for the province on an early-afternoon cp flight. the flight is scheduled for 12:20pm. thinking its good to arrive an hour early, that would be 11:20am. but, its the manila airport, and manila traffic, maybe 90 minutes is better; 10:50am arrival. i purposely kicked out the previous evening's hussy the night before for a good night's sleep. i rise before 6am and go for my morning constitutional walk thru koreatown in malate. back at the hotel, shower and take in the hotel's nice breakfast buffet. back to the room and pack. 8am. do some trabaho. 9pm. bored, i check out and head to the airport. traffic is unusually heavy. originally the driver asked for 350 pesos, i insisted on the meter. sitting locked in traffic (i could have been counting my blessings, but i wasn't) , i half-jokingly told him that i'd give him the 350 if he got me to the airport by 9:30.
like a man possessed with an electric dick (similar to me) , the driver woke right up and yanked the wheel hard right and cut off everyone to get to the shoulder of the road, and took the on-ramp to a freeway (skyway?). unusually light traffic there, we zipped right along (why hadn't previous drivers done this?). there was a p20 toll. damn, the driver skirted the airport vehicle security by simply pulling around other waiting taxis. there we were, sitting in front of the domestic departure terminal by 9:30.
wait in the long line outside with my luggage, get thru the xray screening by 9:45. accidentally drop my passport; a security guy grabs it and flags me down to return it. nice guy, i chatted him up for 5 minutes. its now 9:50, and i'm contemplating hitting the head to take a leak. now? or check in first and hit the head at the gate? i'll check in now. get in line as directed by cp personnel, to check in. its 9:50am. and i got to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134][CodeWord134][/url]. its 2. 5 hours prior to flight time. its 2 hours prior to boarding. to repeat: its 9:50am, and i got to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134][CodeWord134][/url]. urination desire level: modest. in line in front of me are about 8 parties (couples, family, or individuals) waiting to check in.
10am, and nobody in my line has moved. the clerk is checking in the same older pinoy couple as when i arrived. i've been watching the other lines, and they either aren't moving, or are taking 10 minutes to check in one person. tempting to change lines. others are now behind me in my lines, and all of the lines are getting longer. jesus de christo i got to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134][CodeWord134][/url]. urination desire level: modest-strong. tempting to go [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134][CodeWord134][/url], but that puts me back in a longer line later. dammit. 10:08, and the older couple in the front of the line finally walk off, and we all move up one. i'm getting steaming mad, watching all those lines of people not move. i grab my cell phone and start timing the clerks checking people in. next in line behind the old folks was a young foreigner, carrying only his packpack. thirteen minutes to check him in. f*ck next was a family of four! urination desire level: not good.
by 11am, there were only 3 parties in front of me. a while later i'm next in line. just then they let some other guy cut the line and get in front of me. ok, he's really old, lets be civil. just then, some cp kid walks around with a sign, saying this was a final call for my flight. a bunch of us hold up itineraries. he collects them and disappears. shit. watching the clerks check in the customers is like watching corn grow. nothing (nothing) could be more cumbersome and slow. the clerks must be extremely vacuous to think this process is not extremely inefficient.
its noon now. urination desire level: i'm doing the potty dance, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. the old man is finished with the clerk and led away. its my turn! yes, its an easy check-in. paperwork in order, one bag to check, one to carry-on. on the outside i'm saying 'yes ma'am. no ma'am. ' on the inside i'm boiling mad at the process. it takes precisely 10 minutes to check me in at the counter. at 12:10 as i finish checking in, the plane's been boarding for 20 minutes, and leaves in 10 minutes. i step to the side and ask to see a manager. 'why sir? ' i look back at the throng, many of which are about to miss their plane, and tell the kid i've been waiting for over 2 hours in line. 'manager in cr sir. ' later kid. move as fast as possible thru security screening, put shoes on, make it to the gate to find the flight delayed. i ask the reason for the delay: 'sir we still have passenger checking in. ' of course!
just as i'm looking around for the pisser to drop my yellow load, the cp lady says to me: 'boarding starts now sir. fall in line here. ' omg. i'm first in line. nice. but i got to [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord134][CodeWord134][/url] dammit. so i fall in line. insult to my injury, we have to be bussed like cattle to the aircraft. even after the bus is full, and the doors closed, the bus sits still for 4 more minutes. finally reach the plane, board, toss my carry-on in the overhead bin, and beeline to the head.
90 people have a flight delayed because: the airline's check-in system is extremely inefficient. of course! now i know how to break those terrorists at gitmo. put them on any cp flight out of manila. welcome to pinas!
Speaking of urination, I almost wet myself laughing at Westcoast's recapitulation of his Cebu Pathetic flight. He's highlighted some of the many reasons (including a recurrent inability to find the runway on landing) that I avoid the airline like the plague, and take it only when forced by circumstance. Fortunately, that's not often. After the debacle at Davao airport, where the pilots left the plane before any of the passengers, and evidently one pilot was either drunk or high, I was ardently hoping that the poor excuse for an airline would be grounded. But of course it's owned by one of the richest guys in the country and so, after a few days of outraged headlines, the entire incident has evidently been forgotten.
One thing WC didn't mention is that all of the Cebu Pathetic gate agents look like they're about 14 years old, and have about the same level of gravitas and expertise as your average adolescent. Now, just imagine, given the company's ineptitude and indifference toward any form of acceptable service, how meticulous the maintenance must be.
GE
[QUOTE=KongKing; 1436089]Gee, GE (excuse the alliteration) but I seem to be catching air terminal buses all the time. Maybe it's because I frequently fly the budget airlines. I was on a terminal bus at Cebu airport yesterday, and this last year have been on buses between the terminal and plane at Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong, and lengthy tarmac walking at Davao!
Cheers.
KongKing[/QUOTE]Hi KK. I've spent a fair amount of time in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong and don't recall ever taking a bus or being asked to take a hike on the tarmac. But then again, I'm old and my memory sometimes isn't as accurate as it once was, or at least as accurate as I think it once was. I read your review of the new CDO airport, and partly based on that have declined an invitation to visit CDO next week. The thought of an hour's ride over bad road to CDO and then back to the airport, doesn't appeal to me, and the fact that there's no capacity for instrument flying actually frightens me. So, I'll give it a miss.
GE
[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1436842]Speaking of urination, I almost wet myself laughing at Westcoast's recapitulation of his Cebu Pathetic flight. He's highlighted some of the many reasons (including a recurrent inability to find the runway on landing) that I avoid the airline like the plague, and take it only when forced by circumstance. Fortunately, that's not often. After the debacle at Davao airport, where the pilots left the plane before any of the passengers, and evidently one pilot was either drunk or high, I was ardently hoping that the poor excuse for an airline would be grounded. But of course it's owned by one of the richest guys in the country and so, after a few days of outraged headlines, the entire incident has evidently been forgotten.[/QUOTE]I may beg to disagree, on the pilots not using slides etc, as, most of the times slides cause more injury than normal disambarkation, if the pilots deem the latter to be safer.
Grounding it will only make struggling Philippines Airlines powerful and raise prices, and for the other LCCs as competition, don't fret much. Others are not going to boost capacity as much as PR will benefit.
[QUOTE]One thing WC didn't mention is that all of the Cebu Pathetic gate agents look like they're about 14 years old, and have about the same level of gravitas and expertise as your average adolescent. Now, just imagine, given the company's ineptitude and indifference toward any form of acceptable service, how meticulous the maintenance must be.
GE[/QUOTE]The Cebu Pac's staff can sing and dance, and that, plus the keen interest to dress up in fancy dress qualifies them for a job I guess!
I would disagree on the Maintenance component again, being involved a bit in the Air Industry. Yes, the Senators and all are sudden aviation experts.
If 5Js engineers were so screwed up, why are they in such demand when they move to greener pastures?
For inefficieny and all, yes, I agree 5J is at the extreme low end.
For safety, no sir, I don't agree on that score.
BTW, hope you didn't know this. The Airbus A319 and A320 of Cebu Pac is maintained by a JV of SIA Engineering Ltd and Cebu Pacific.
[QUOTE=GoodEnough; 1436842]One thing WC didn't mention is that all of the Cebu Pathetic gate agents look like they're about 14 years old, and have about the same level of gravitas and expertise as your average adolescent. Now, just imagine, given the company's ineptitude and indifference toward any form of acceptable service, how meticulous the maintenance must be.
GE[/QUOTE]I'm totally with you there. They once did the "sir we need to check your bag " routine at the gate. I advised it had been checked and weighed three times and approved as a hand carry item." But sir you don't have the sticker on it " " No young man I don't." " But you must have " " no young man I don't have to have, its here in my pocket ready so you can see it " " But it must be on all bags my supervisor says so ". Ok young man, go find the said supervisor and tell him I the passenger am opting to keep it in my pocket " Sir hes not here, so what will I do now".
The airline run by kids. Makes a good new and appropriate slogan
[QUOTE=Westcoast1;1436836]I ask the reason for the delay: 'Sir we still have passenger checking in. ' Of course![/QUOTE]Very funny recant of events; both the hotel incidents too, was ROFLMFAO; looking forward to more and of course to your pics too. Be sure to add the "P P" dance scene (complete with thought bubbles) in the sitcom suggested by Natty (great idea BTW).
Good comments GE and WC.
I use CP all the time as I tried PAL before and was so disappointed, and as GE knows I have a limited patience / queue level. Although it improves when in the Philippines and when am thinking of what is waiting for me at my arrival LOL.
My view of CP is far less negative than you as I rarely face the issues, but I agree the staff need better training but would this help? The way GE describes his discussion is the way I have found, no logical thinking or forward thinking (that is so annoying I agree)
I always check in online WC takes 2 mins, I cut an paste the boarding pass onto a MS Word doc if no printer around and ask the hotel to print when I leave. Or if I forget I tell the web check counter I forget an they forgive me
So I use the web check in as faster as I have been in the same position as WC in a non moving queue etc, in my case the flight was going to board and I was stuck until someone shouted out to go to the front and check in. Hence I now always web check in and it has saved me a heap of queues.
As for the service, this does vary but am OK as I take short flights (and cheap ones) and I think of what is waiting for me so I keep calm. One time I was annoyed was in HK when a departing passenger needed a wheelchair (no big deal you think) and CP staff brought the wrong wheelchair. That is it was too wide for the aisle (even thought they knew the type of aircraft). This caused a 90 min departure delay late at night. That was sheer stupidity and I sort of said that to the ground crew in my usual polite manner.
But the crew are usually cute an that makes up for the tight seats (in my case) and boredom on the plane itself.
[QUOTE=GoodEnough; 1436843]Hi KK. I've spent a fair amount of time in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong and don't recall ever taking a bus or being asked to take a hike on the tarmac. But then again, I'm old and my memory sometimes isn't as accurate as it once was, or at least as accurate as I think it once was. I read your review of the new CDO airport, and partly based on that have declined an invitation to visit CDO next week. The thought of an hour's ride over bad road to CDO and then back to the airport, doesn't appeal to me, and the fact that there's no capacity for instrument flying actually frightens me. So, I'll give it a miss.
GE[/QUOTE]I am used to the bus system in the Middle East especially in Saudi Arabia where small provincial airports have an air bridge and some larger 'international' ones do not!
In the Philippines CP varies and there was a time when arriving at Manila and Cebu it was only bus which is very annoying, something to do with maintenance. So am OK with buses as am used to them but I always prefer the air bridge.
As for CDO, KK nice FR. The Dammam airport in Saudi was relocated much like CDO but 85kms away and now many use the causeway to Bahrain to fly overseas as tickets much cheaper (as Dammam ahs hugely inflated landing fees). Bused there by the airlines themselves.
What are the best mongering places in the Philippines besides Manila and Angeles City?
Thanks!