heehee how unbelievably cheesy. anyway....
as we all know, Philippine Airlines or PAL is the flag carrier of the Philippines and is "fondly" called Plane Always Late because of delays. sure i've had my share of delayed flights but more often than not, the flight arrived on time. and delays or no delays, PAL for me still stands for Philippine Airlines. no more, no less. i may be biased here because i have been flying PAL since i was a kid... okay, okay, my father worked in PAL (for 38 years as a flight purser until he retired in 2004), hence the reason why i always travel free, but always with the fear of getting bumped off a flight. that's the downside of getting free travel passes so the best time for my family to travel would be during the off-peak season which of course, is impossible most of the time. you wouldn't believe the heart-thumping moments we've had when the flight was full but we were hoping to still get on it. usually we barely got on the flight. it's a good thing that i can now pay for my own discounted ticket that will give me the assurance that i'd be able to get on the flight. and oh, if you have flown with PAL, don't you think the planes' landings are always smooth? i remember passengers clapping once the plane touched down the runway. oh yes, the adventures i've had while flying. there are too many to mention so i won't add much for now except for this one...
my older bro sent me an email last month that contains a lot of links to classic Philippine tv commercials. one link stood out which is the 1987 tvc of Philippine Airlines--shining through. *dreamy sigh* watching the commercial invoked a lot of good memories and even hopes that someday the Philippines will be able to shed its not-so-nice image abroad. the chorus which goes "the beauty of the Philippines (shining through)..." at the part where a kid was pouring seawater from a seashell just about hits the sweet spot. yes, the Philippines is certainly beautiful. hopefully we get to let the world to see that our country is more than what reaches them. really, commercials like PAL's "shining through" are rare these days.
as we all know, Philippine Airlines or PAL is the flag carrier of the Philippines and is "fondly" called Plane Always Late because of delays. sure i've had my share of delayed flights but more often than not, the flight arrived on time. and delays or no delays, PAL for me still stands for Philippine Airlines. no more, no less. i may be biased here because i have been flying PAL since i was a kid... okay, okay, my father worked in PAL (for 38 years as a flight purser until he retired in 2004), hence the reason why i always travel free, but always with the fear of getting bumped off a flight. that's the downside of getting free travel passes so the best time for my family to travel would be during the off-peak season which of course, is impossible most of the time. you wouldn't believe the heart-thumping moments we've had when the flight was full but we were hoping to still get on it. usually we barely got on the flight. it's a good thing that i can now pay for my own discounted ticket that will give me the assurance that i'd be able to get on the flight. and oh, if you have flown with PAL, don't you think the planes' landings are always smooth? i remember passengers clapping once the plane touched down the runway. oh yes, the adventures i've had while flying. there are too many to mention so i won't add much for now except for this one...
my older bro sent me an email last month that contains a lot of links to classic Philippine tv commercials. one link stood out which is the 1987 tvc of Philippine Airlines--shining through. *dreamy sigh* watching the commercial invoked a lot of good memories and even hopes that someday the Philippines will be able to shed its not-so-nice image abroad. the chorus which goes "the beauty of the Philippines (shining through)..." at the part where a kid was pouring seawater from a seashell just about hits the sweet spot. yes, the Philippines is certainly beautiful. hopefully we get to let the world to see that our country is more than what reaches them. really, commercials like PAL's "shining through" are rare these days.
oh-kay, here is the video of the tvc for some nostalgia-tripping, dreamy-sighing and what-have-you. =) sappy person that i am, this had me teary-eyed. ;-P
Oi, sarap naman ng buhay mo, okay lang for the little hassles like getting bumped off a flight, free naman ang plane ticket eh. :-D
ReplyDeleteHave flown on the national carrier quite a lot of times and I agree that the landings are almost always smooth. I say almost because there was that unforgettable incident more than a decade ago during a flight home from Davao. After going through a turbulent (parang nasa jeepney according to one passenger) flight that included a harrowing mid-air dip because of air pocket, we were almost jolted out of our seatbelts during a hard landing. I tell you, I could have kissed the hard concrete after we landed at the old domestic airport...
Oh and regarding that PAL ad, yes I remember that. It was used by the airline a year after the edsa revolution, a time when there was so much hope for the country...
ReplyDeletejetsetter ka pala?
ReplyDeleteneo colors pa yata ang kumanta? pero mukhang hindi noong chorus na e :)
ReplyDeletehmmn parang medyo naalala ko yan ha.. basta dun sa linyang shining through ..aha! kaya pala malaya kang makapamasyal kung saan saan ha :)
ang swerte mo grabe! the best PAL landing i had was from a kalibo trip, we didn't feel the "ruggedness" of the wheels touching the runway, ang galing nung piloto, nasa runway na pala kami di namin alam, palakpakan tuloy!
ReplyDeletei remember that tvc, at malen, neo colours ba ang kumanta? hindi ba si ivy violan? :D
sarap naman nun!
ReplyDeleteanyways i also wished na maging pro active and dept of tourism in promoting our country, sayang ganda pa naman ng pinas!
snglguy: when i was younger i didn't care kasi di ko pa naman alam ang sitwasyon hehe. glad to know you got back safely from that flight. =)
ReplyDelete... me pag-asa pa naman para sa bansa natin hindi ba? hayyy buhay nga naman. =)
krisjasper: hi! pag feel lang ng tatay kong isama kami sa flights nya hehe. kidding aside, usually we go out of the country every 2 years, sa domestic naman depende. thanks for dropping by! =)
manilenya: parang si louie ocampo ata kumanta eh.. nakita ko sa pinost ni bluepanjeet sa youtube.
zherwin: ooh yeah, lalo na't maigsi ang runway sa mga ibang airport dito sa pinas, kailangan talaga ibayong pag-iingat! =)
pusa: hi! i've visited your photo blog at super ganda ng mga kuha mo sa maynila. kung hindi masyadong pro-active ang DOT, well, we have ourselves and our blogs to promote our country, hindi ba? ^^ keep on posting! =)
ngek...once lang ata ako nakasakay sa PAL. That was back in 2003 when we went to HK...I can no longer remember kung anong klaseng landing yung landing namin basta naglanding kami hahaha
ReplyDeleteSa domestic naman,hindi ako nagpa PAL kasi mahal hehe alam mo naman timawa ang lola mo hehehe
Regarding the TVC...alam mo dapat ganito yung mga commercials natin eh, you know advocacy advertising kesa sa mga walang kuwentang commercial jan tungkol sa buhok, kilikili at kutis.
Nwei lucky child ka pala hehe imagine free flights..wow! dugong bughaw! hahaha
Philippines is indeed beautiful and to me it's will always be shining brightly with beauty, talaga!
ReplyDelete(:
By the way ate, the question you asked in my post --- I don't know why they inflict that on themselves but I do know that when they pierced their cheeks or hook hooks behind their backs they are in semi-trance. They don't feel the pain even though they are aware of what is piercing through their cheeks. And after the procession is over, they will take off the metal rod and the wounds will heal within two days. I'm not lying, it's real and this is the only thing I'll say, "you have to see it with your own eyes in order to believe it". Very miraculous actually.
i like the feeling while the plane takes off.. and when it is about to touch down..
ReplyDeleteTeka nga. Bakit nga ba parang wala na akong nakikitang TV ads ng PAL?
ReplyDeleteDo you get to fly international for free too? That would really be cool!
ReplyDeleteWell malaki na ang improvement ng PAL ngayon. Lumipat na rin sila ng airport from Domestic to Centennial. Yung Mabuhay package nila the best, while waiting for your flight meron silang Mabuhay lounge where you can stay, eat, read, drink and you can repeat them all. Kumukupit pa ako ng mga sweet and candies sa loob ng eroplano.
ReplyDeletePero, mas type ko 'yung ads w/ music ni Jose Mari Chan, but it was late '70s or early '80s pa siguro yun.
verns: haayyyyy korek ka jan! alam mo bang naka ilang gamit nako ng mga shampoo walang nagbago sa buhok koh?! hehehehe. kaya nga sana magkaron ng quality commercials nga ulet =)
ReplyDeletekyels: i'm so glad you think of the philippines that way. wish there were more people like you. ^^ and about your post, i do think i have to see it. =)
krisjasper: i do like the feeling too, and it's more intensified when you're sitting at the window by the wing. that's my fave seat. =)
aryo: honga eh, siguro the last time i saw a PAL commercial was... last year or two years ago...?
ReplyDeleteabaniko: yep, both domestic and international. i would like to pay 50% for my international ticket pero siempre mahal parin. sa domestic nalang ako magbabayad =)
ysrael: di ko pa nakita yung mga ads ni jose mari chan or di ko na maalala but i'm sure that also looks great. yeah, ok na ok sa mabuhay lounge! food to your heart's content nyahahahaha =)
parang may nakita ata ako sa news lately na PAL accident. tama ba?
ReplyDeletehi miss carlotta, first time ko po dito. ( syempre pa tweetums muna).Hahaha!
ReplyDeleteNever tried PAL, but I'm sure its great and the vid was wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThe closes I get is SAL I guess, when I went from Norway to Singapore and then Perth in Australia. They had excellent service, but I'm sure PAL is even better :-)
I feel that way about flying into NY.. JFK. I have never flown there without issues. Beyond just delayed flight issues. Like missed flight, stay the night kind of issues.
ReplyDeleteAnd the video pulled on a few tears for me too!
johnbeanonymous: i don't know, don't watch the news. thanks for dropping by =)
ReplyDeletecoldman: hindi ako kumportable na tinatawag na miss anyway, salamat sa pagdalaw =)
rennyba: yup, it's good, though i can't say that its service is better than the other airlines. have to try flying other airlines too. =) glad to know you think the vid is great =)
ReplyDeleterochelle: yipes, i experienced that too, once. good thing i was traveling with my dad, tho. =) about the vid, it does render some tears, doesn't it? *sigh* =)
hi,
ReplyDeletehay, i have had lots of bad experience with PAL....food sucks big-time, only time food was good was during this flight from Shanghai to Manila where Lucio Tan was on the same flight.
and PAL has a bad habit of departing late, then making up for it by flying faster (and burning more aviation fuel, and polluting the environment more) just to meet the expected arrival time.
and it has a very bad habit of not announcing why a flight is delayed. All you know is that the departure time has gone, and you're all still not boarding..
imho, only things going for this airline are its magazine and its terminal (which it didn't even pay a single centavo for, thanks to the gov't).
Hmm, okay lang ba maki-ride on sa discount for international flights? Hehehe :-D
ReplyDeletegrumpyurbanslacker: sadly, all you've mentioned are soooo true. i think the airline has never been the same after it closed in 1998 and reopened a few months after. hehe and about the food, siguro naging immune nako dun nyahaha. =)
ReplyDeletesnglguy: hihihi, kung meron kang kamag-anak na taga-PAL o ibang airline pwede ^^;;
Oh, to fly for free...*sigh*
ReplyDeleteWhoa! 50% discount is substantial. You're one lucky girl!
ReplyDeletegypsy: it does have its perks =)
ReplyDeleteabaniko: heheh ok na ok na nga yun hindi ba? at least hindi nako maba-bump off =)
plane always late pa rin sa akin yan hehe
ReplyDeletemay friend din ako taga-PAL at kung saan -saan din nakakrating kahit international flights, mayaman din kasi
sa bowling tournament kalaban ng officemates ko, malakas daw PAL, e sabi ko magaling nga late naman. and true enough late nga mga player sng PAL ng kalaban nila :P
about smooth landings, try going to Butuan, Bancasi airport runway's just too spooky. last week a PAL plane overstepped, many people injured
tutubi: anong name nung friend mo baka kakilala ng papa ko =) so totoo pala yung accident na sinabi ni johnbeanonymous di ko lang alam kasi di ako naonood ng news lol
ReplyDeletealam mo ba mga runway ng ibang airport dito sa pinas maigsi so hindi ako magtataka. sa roxas city din ganun e. kung sino man ang mga airport officials eh sana maimprove nila ang condition ng mga provincial airports. incidentally will be going to roxas city this nov 1st nakuuuu, hope we have a safe landing! =)
i like the video, seen it probably a hundred times.
ReplyDelete"the beauty of the Philippines.... shining through...."
"tara na biyahe tayo...."
geez, i am singing while typing hehehe. nice post.
lawstude: hehe they can really make you sing ano? =) i also like biyahe tayo.. no, love it. thanks! =)
ReplyDeletePAL girl ka pala. hehe I know what it's like to have an unsure seat. Tapos huli ka pa mag che-checkin para ma check kung me available seats pa.
ReplyDeleteI somehow remember that commercial nung mga kabataan ko. And was always in awe when I see it, pati ngayon
ferdz: grabe anoh? parang nanlalamig ka at puso mo dug-dug-dug-dug kasi di mo alam kung makakasakay ka eh kelangan mong makaalis hehe =)
ReplyDeleteyup, same effect rin yang commercial na yan sakin. =)
The free ticket is definitely worth the risk. :) I usually fly PAL when I go home to Manila from Cambodia... less hassle in the airport. :)
ReplyDeleteYour dad was a purser? That is so cool!
oo nga pala...hindi lang tayo mga Pinoys giving nicknames to our airlines. Foreigners i know also have their own nicknames, even for those airlines with long names, such as:
ReplyDeleteALITALIA (Italian airline) - Always Late In Takeoff And Late in Arrival
LUFTHANSA (German airline) - Let Us F**k THE HOSTESS As No Steward's Around
hehe :D
toe: yep, pero may age limit ang free ticket, hanggang 24 years old lang. i'm over 24, so have to pay 25%. for my trip now i paid 50% para me sure seat ako =)
ReplyDeletegrumpyurbanslacker: wahahahahaha THAT is interesting. ;-)