02B61: In-Flight Disappointment

 Metro Manila Community Quarantine - Day 857

My first full day in Singapore was a pretty busy one, as is often the case. Since I'm only in town for a week, we made sure to squeeze in a number of in-person meetings, so it's going to be a rather hectic week. But hey, it comes with the territory, and it's just nice to be back here, even if for a relatively shorter trip versus previous ones.

Maybe things are starting to really get back to normal if I find myself back here every few months for work and other things. 

The flight in was far from ideal, however. I rarely get to fly business and I typically look forward to how the travel experience ends up being quite different. But wow Philippine Airlines, that was far from the sort of experience I'd expect from a country's flagship airline. The main issue is that it seems they've decided that planes no longer need in-flight entertainment and that it's sufficient to make passengers download their myPAL Player app for content instead. This would have worked as a bonus option for engaging with content from the airline. But as the only way to enjoy content during the flight - it's just stupid.

And it's not like the plane offers provisions for people to mount their devices to be used as screens. People with tablet cases with stands may be able to use their meal tray for this purpose, but you lose that option when the time comes to actually eat your in-flight meal. It's just plain stupid - and it was even sillier to get a detailed post-flight survey that had a whole section dedicated to getting my feedback on the "in-flight entertainment". So of course, I made sure to share my feedback in detail.

I doubt things will be all that different during my flight back to Manila, but it still felt good to say something about the whole thing. This was obviously done as a cost-cutting measure as it means no longer worrying about additional upkeep and maintenance costs related to those screens, headphones, and other related items. But man, it really feels like quite a step backward. In the old days, they at least had that one big screen per section that people could choose to watch if they really got bored. A flight with no such easy provisions was just...weird.

This may be my last PAL flight for a while, if I can help it.