I stare at my computer screen looking for flights to go from Manila to Iloilo City. My sister-in-law, Beekay, and I have been staying at a rental condo here in Manila for quite some time, and we’re eager to get back home. “How do you want to fly to Iloilo? Do you want Cebu Pacific, AirAsia, or Philippine Airlines (PAL)?”, I asked. “Get Cebu Pacific. It’s a local airline and uses Terminal 3.”, she replied. She is right. Terminal 3 is the newest and largest of the terminals in Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport. On the 4th floor is the shopping area and food court. Perfect place to eat and loiter, which we will be doing.
“Done! I got the front seats because it has extra legroom.”, I told her. I stand at 170 cm or 5”7’ which is not that tall. But I find the regular seats in Cebu Pacific too tight and uncomfortable. I’m willing to pay a higher price for the space with add-on “CEB Seat Selector” (392 pesos for front seats). The other add-ons I was considering were “CebPrepaid Baggage”, “CEB Meals" (around 300 pesos depending on which meal chosen), “CEB TravelSure” (340 pesos), and “CEB Flexi” (559 pesos). I usually get the “CEBPrepaid Baggage” online because it’s slightly expensive paying in the counter. I find the baggage fees frustrating because the international flights allow 22 kg or 50 lbs. while domestic flights allow only 20 kg or 44 lbs. I was not aware of this the first time. I had to pay extra luggage fees at 250 pesos per kilo over. I don’t get the “CEB Meals” and “CEB Travelsure”. It’s a direct flight, and the flight takes less than an hour. The chances my luggage gets lost, and I get hungry during the flight are low. The “CEB Flexi” allows me to cancel for a refund and allows me to change my dates. This is the add-on that can save me if I miss my flight due to traffic.
Quezon City, where we are staying, is not far from Manila airport. On a normal day, it takes 1-hour from our rental condo to the airport. Un-normal days happen too often in Manila with its unpredictable traffic. My cousin, days earlier, took more than 3-hours to get the airport and missed her flight. She essentially had to buy a new ticket lacking flight insurance on the initial one. We won’t be making that mistake. We decided we will leave 4-hours before our flight and loiter in terminal 3’s shopping area.
I looked around the rental before we leave to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind. “Ok. I’m ready to go. How do you want to go to the airport? Grab or Taxi?”, I asked. “Let’s use Grab. I’ll order a ride when we are downstairs.” Grab is Asia’s equivalent to Uber. Very convenient. It’s slightly more expensive than a regular taxi but I’ve yet to get scammed in a Grab. We are willing to pay a little more for peace of mind. It cost between 300 to 700 pesos, more so during rush hour, to get the airport using Grab. We got lucky with traffic. In about an hour we are there.
We arrive at Terminal 3 Cebu Pacific domestic area. We lined up to the entrance and show the security guard our flight information. The second thing we had to do was go to the automated check-in kiosk. After, we head out to the ticketing line to get our ticket and check-in our luggage. “Here is your ticket Sir!”, the counter clerk said. “Salamat”, I replied. With that, we headed to the escalator not far from the check-in up the mezzanine and take a right to the food court. “What are you craving?”, I asked Beekay. “Let’s just get appetizers. Only 1-hour flight to Iloilo City, not a far flight. We can eat there.” We bought some snacks at the convenience store Mini-Stop and sat at the main food court area. Manila Airport has free wifi that has improved vastly over the years. I was getting over 150+ Mbps download and 100+ Mbps upload. Makes watching YouTube and reading the news less frustrating. Before I knew it, 2-hour has passed. We went back downstairs, passed security check, and headed to our gate.
We took the escalator down to gate 131. I’m surprised to see the area full of people with many sitting on the floor by the wall. I stand by gate 131 and listen intently. Cebu Pacific often changes their boarding gate. We know from experience to listen carefully to the announcement, or we will miss the gate change. One time, I was playing a mobile game, my name was called, and I was within minutes to missing my flight. Today, the gate changed only one gate over. It wasn’t that bad. We boarded a full shuttle bus from the gate to the airplane. It’s a short 5-minute drive. We sat comfortably in the front seats taking advantage of the extra legroom.
The cabin doors close. I listen to the stewardesses go through the safety instructions. Being a short flight, there is no in-flight meal or drinks, unless you paid for it ahead of time online. I tried to read my book to pass the time only to fall asleep. I awoke to the pilot announcing that we are landing.
Iloilo airport is small in comparison to Manila airport, in a good way. It is less hectic and straightforward. The walk to get our luggage is short. There are only two conveyor belts in the whole airport. It’s hard to miss. Within 15 minutes of landing, we have our luggage, and we head out. “Do you want anything at the stores for pasalubong (traditional homecoming gift to friends and family)?”, she asked. “Let’s just get some chocolates.”, I replied. There are two stores just outside the exit of the airport. A local Mabuhay gift shop and an Emperador liquor store. We went into the gift store and got some chocolates. “What do you think of these.”, she asked. “That’s good enough. Let’s go.” Then finally, we got into a taxi and looked for something to eat. As of 2019, there is no Grab in Iloilo, yet. But the airport is not far from the city proper. Another good thing about Iloilo. I’m glad to be home.
Useful Links:
Manila Airport:
Cebu Pacific:
Cebu Pacific Add-Ons:
Grab:
Comments