Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the only airline that flys from the LAX directly to Manila. If flying from LAX, flight time to Manila is 14 hours on average. Other airlines have connections and travel time are 18 hours or more. However, direct is always not best, especially if you are flying Philippine Airlines. They are just the absolute worst. And my experience is not a one-off. This has been a recurring issue for decades that can't be addressed because, well, they are the flag-carrier of the Philippines and there's no competition.
Our family of three booked a flight to Manila from LAX via Philippine Airlines, with paid and reserved seats on both legs. Flight to Manila was smooth, from the booking, check-in process until we left the airport. I was surprised because for years of flying LAX-MNL and back, I have always encountered an issue with Philippine Airlines. Issues ranging from defective seats, entertainment console, tray tables, lost baggages (with valuables, and only the baggage with the valuables gets lost every single time) etc. But this time, it was smooth. I was surprised.
But PAL soon enough showed its true colors. A few days before our return flight, I got an email saying that the aircraft got downgraded from a Boeing to a smaller Airbus. As a result, they are now overbooked and looking for volunteers to be put on a different flight. Because of this, our family lost paid seats. After calling customer service, I also found out that my wife and toddler got put on a different flight and on a different day. They got put on that flight without our approval. Without any consent.
To put them on the same flight as myself, we had to buy new seats. On top of what we already paid for previously. Ok, what's another $300 on top of our $3000 ticket right?
The night before our flight, I couldn't check-in my wife and toddler. App and website show they are waitlisted and we had to settle the issue on the counter.
Day of the flight, we arrived 4 hours early to check-in. In their system, my wife and toddler does not have a seat. The payment that we made is not reflecting in their system. They were actually in the process of putting my wife and toddler to another flight which is 3 days later. I fought it. I showed the receipt including the credit card transaction of our paid seats. Agent went inside the office and had to ask the manager to override the system. Great, we got in the flight together. We were able to go home.
But imagine if you're an elderly that does not have access to all these tools. Imagine if you are not tech-savy, or it's your first time traveling. Imagine if it's a one-way trip and all your funds are on this flight with no other means.
As I mentioned, this is not the first time that this happened to me. When I was single and younger, I was traveling to/from LAX-MNL and this happens quite often. I always pay and reserve a window seat but most of the time I get re-assigned and placed in the middle of the middle aisle. I've submitted complaints. I've filed grievances. All I get every time is a "We are sorry for your unpleasant experience.".