PR508 Singapore to Manila    Flight time: 3h 50min

PR110 Manila to Guam    Flight time: 3h 30min

This is my first time flying with Philippine Airlines. When we reached the airport around two hours before the flight time, there was a long queue at the checkin counter, even for web checkin customers. Not wanting to waste time, we went to have lunch first before coming back to drop off our baggage. At 1.30pm, the queue had dwindled and there were empty counters waiting for us to drop off our bags before the 45 minutes cut off time. We had no issue and got our boarding passes.

Boarding passes were issued and our bags were checked all the way to Guam. Since we were traveling to the USA, we had a 40kg generous allowance, which we did not utilise fully. 

The map showing the route from Singapore to Guam, but of course not showing the transit in Manila. 

Reached our gate half an hour before the boarding time and there was still a line at the security screening.

Here is our plane, waiting for us to board.

Philippine Airlines flies between Singapore and Manila 4 times daily. The plane used for the SIN-MNL sector (Airbus A333) was a much newer one, with personal entertainment. Seating layout is 2-4-2, we managed to get the window seat and the two of us at the aisle, making it easier to go out to use the washroom. 

Mabuhay is the local greeting in Philippines for ‘hello’. There are so many beautiful places in the Philippines such as Bicol on this screen, waiting for me to discover. 

The plane is ready for takeoff. The weather was quite gloomy at Changi Airport.

The inflight meal was served half an hour after take off. This month’s issue of the mabuhay inflight magazine featured Camiguin, the clear, blue waters look so tempting for diving. I had the beef pasta and since I was still feeling full from lunch with my parents, I only ate the meat which was quite tender and did not touch the pasta. Salted caramel ice cream in a cup was also served after the meal.

By the time we touched down and taxied to the correct terminal in Manila, it was already dark. We landed at 6.30pm but only managed to deplane around 7pm as there was no connecting bridge available and our plane had to park remotely, before a shuttle bus brought us to the terminal.We had a 4h layover in Manila but decided not to go out of the terminal to avoid the hassle of going through security screening again. Moreover, I heard of horror stories about Manila International airport where the four terminals are so spaced out and at least one hour needs to be allocated for transfer between the terminals. A free shuttle bus is provided for passengers with connecting flights on PR as well as some other full-service airlines.

We ended up in Terminal 2 of NAIA which is also the departure of our next flight. This terminal is so old and crappy.  There were not many food options and shops to peruse. The terminal was simplistic and boring. 

Flight calls made for passengers traveling to San Francisco. Most flights to US were leaving around this hour. 

Finally, it was time to board our second flight. Surprisingly, it was quite a full flight as well. Guam is probably a popular destination for Filipinos who like to go there for outlet shopping. As the counter staff were not familiar with the Singapore passport, they had to check on their phones if we required a pre-arranged visa. In actual fact, we have a visa waiver programme with the US and Guam which falls under a US territory. 

View of the runway from our plane. As you can see, this plane is much older than the first one. It is an Airbus 321 with a 3-3 arrangement. There was no personal entertainment screen now and since it was a red-eye flight, I decided to catch some sleep.

The same type of food was served again and since I am not a supper person, I did not take the main course. Mango ice cream and dried mango were also served as snacks, of which I had the ice cream happily.

As the plane was about to land, the staff handed out the Guam customs declaration form. It was 5am when we landed and the sky was still dark at Guam airport. There were not many planes parked at the terminal, except for a few United Airlines planes.

We were greeted with “Hafa Adai” which is the local greeting in Guam for ‘hello’. It was a long way from Singapore to Guam and we were tired after the flight. We cleared immigration before proceeding to meet our friend who let us stay at his place. This was our first impression of Guam, it feels pretty much American. The airport itself is small but somehow the facilities here seem to be better than that at Manila Airport.

Read more about Guam in my posts, to learn more about the places to visit in Guam and also the various types of food to try while in Guam!