Cebu Pacific Manila-Siem Reap (& vice versa)

cebu pacific plane

It was my first time to try Cebu Pacific outside of their Hong Kong-Macau flights and had a good experience (disclaimer: this is NOT a sponsored post, LOL). I just had to be in this flight because am trying to make a list of all the exotic places I want to visit in Asia and Siem Reap (home of the Angkor Wat) is one of them.

Cebu Pacific is the only local airline right now flying straight to Siem Reap and for the savvy traveler, this is definitely faster than taking the overland route from Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City. Travel time is two hours 45 minutes. The flights were full both ways and I did notice a considerable number of foreigners, even on the way back. Most of them were just transiting in NAIA 3 on the way to other Philippine destinations like Cebu, Palawan, Boracay and Bohol. This is definitely good news for Philippine tourism, and at least our tourists are able to pass through NAIA Terminal 3 instead of the old and faded Terminal 1.

NAIA 3

For their Manila-Siem Reap flight, Cebu Pacific uses the standard Airbus A320 with a seating capacity of 179. Turbulence factor was 2/10 but it wasn’t even bad enough to make the pilot turn on the “fasten your seatbelt sign” (maybe am just the queasy one!)

My only complaint really is getting myself to try their food & beverage onboard as none of the selections appeal to me at the moment. And seriously, P350 for a single serving of kaldereta?? At that price, 5J would do well to team up with a reputable food service provider like Via Mare or the LJC Group.

Cebu Pacific’s web check in was rather pointless as you’d still have to face the long lines (no special web check in counters I saw). Mostly with this system, they’re just trying to save money by letting you print your own boarding pass, eh heh. Their advice that you can arrive in the airport 45 minutes before departure when you’re checked in online is also misleading. Do so at your own risk (the risk of being left by the airplane!)

More NAIA 3 pics:

European delegation at the baggage carousel -

NAIA Terminal 3

Whatever happened to creativity? This tarp is just plain and drab. Without even a smiling face in there, it’s not inviting anybody to have more fun in the Philippines.

NAIA Terminal 3

People from DTI put up a poster of The Passenger Bill of Rights. Don’t forget :)

NAIA 3

Up next: my Siem Reap experience ;)