Cebu Pacific is an airline that draws ire from many travellers who have travelled to, from or through the Philippines. Is that reputation warranted though? A quick search on YouTube and you’ll find results like ‘world’s worst aircraft’ and ‘world’s most cramped flight’ - neither of which are glowing endorsements.

This is a review of my 0345 flight from Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 to I Gusti Ngurah Rai (Bali Denpasar) Airport, Indonesia.

Worst check-in experience. Ever.

We arrived exceptionally early at NAIA Terminal 3, around 5pm having dropped off our hire car an hour before. The airport was heaving with people travelling domestically and abroad with Cebu Pacific splitting the check-in desk between these two types of travellers.

To start with, I am generally used to flying either in premium cabins or with status - meaning I can use Business or First check-in desks. I do also have my fair share of flying with Ryanair…so I have experience across the board.

Easily, this experience of check-in was long, slow and hot. From arriving at the queue to check-in, we waited over two hours to drop off our bags and receiving our boarding passes. In this section, for much of this time only three of the desks were manned - a poor showing from the airline.

I accept it’s going to take longer to check-in due to the lack of ‘speedy’ check-in options but this is really unacceptable. With Cebu Pacific advising passengers to arrive three hours before departure, a queue this long plus departure security and border checkpoint lines could easily result in passengers not making their flight.

Once we did get to the desk, the service from the ‘Juans’ of Cebu Pacific was normal. We did need to return to the desk to pick up our boarding passes as my partner needed to pay departure tax that is levied on Philippine citizens.

NAIA Terminal 3 is a subpar airport

Compared to the stunning new terminal at Cebu International Airport, NAIA is a mess and a real letdown for the country. As the first and last impression of the country to many travellers, it leaves a salty taste in your mouth - and not from the masarap flavour of adobo.

Departure border checks are slow and worse than other ASEAN nations. Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam all feel quicker than what travellers are subjected to when departing from the Philippines. This is without considering the strenuous departure checks that Philippine citizens are subjected to - one example here.

The terminal itself is lit up like a hospital with bright white lighting that is far from relaxing and an uninspiring selection of shops. There is, however, a decent selection of lounges available with Priority Pass as well as those by Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

We checked out these Priority Pass lounge options while waiting for our flight, which ended up feeling like a never-ending time to pass.

An extremely late, or super early, flight

Whatever way you look at it, the flight departure time from Manila to Bali is brutal. At the time of booking, this flight was the only option on Cebu Pacific - although an evening departure was added after.

Boarding was messy. Fellow passengers were not listening to the announcements and just rushing to get to the gate. It made the experience feel worse than it needed to with foreigners seemingly the main culprits of not listening.

We got a brief view of the Airbus A321neo aircraft that would take us to the island of Bali.

The airline engaged in #BoardingNotBoarding by buffering passengers in the jet bridge before departure.

Not quite sure what the airline means when they call this an ‘eco plane’ - I couldn’t tell that the airline had done anything to the aircraft beyond it being relatively new.

Stepping on-board and we were in Row 1. Fundamentally, these seats are the same as the rest of the aircraft with no recline, slimline design and bum-numbing padding - this is exactly the same as fellow low-cost airlines like Ryanair and Scoot. The main difference for the front row is additional legroom and fixed armrests. I paid extra for this seat purely after a previous similar flight length on Air Asia where I regretted not having the extra space.

Legroom was sufficient for me at 188cm tall. A tray table flaps out of the armrest and it wasn’t the sturdiest to lean on.

Our flight was slightly delayed on its departure from NAIA. At this point, I was really regretting opting for Cebu Pacific because of the lack of sleep and middle of the night departure from Manila.

Surprisingly, the airline had a full seatback pocket including a safety card, buy-on-board menu card, magazine and airsickness bag. Very few airlines have brought back their magazines post-pandemic, seeing one on Cebu Pacific is quite unexpected. Buy-on-board prices, in Philippine Pesos, are decently priced at around USD 1 for a soft drink, USD 2.50 for San Miguel Beer or USD 1.75 for instant noodles.

The airline flies to a wide variety of destinations to the Philippines, including as far afield as Dubai using their Airbus A330 aircraft.

After a brief period waiting to depart, we pulled back from the stand ready to takeoff.

Feeling extremely tired, I fell asleep soon after takeoff - and slept for the next three hours. I wouldn’t say it was the best sleep but it was serviceable and gave me enough energy until we arrived at the hotel in Bali. After waking up, it was clear that this flight to Bali was not particularly full - either the evening departure is the more popular option or a route like this just isn’t popular.

Soon enough, we began our descent into Bali - Denpasar Airport with some lovely views on the way. The airport was extremely quiet at this hour which made immigration very easy to pass through especially as we had prepaid for our entry online.

Would I fly Cebu Pacific again?

Hard question. The flight itself was fine and just like any other low-cost airline experience. Even the same flight aboard Philippine Airlines would not offer much more than this, thanks to a lack of in-flight entertainment. My experience wasn’t helped by the ungodly departure time from Manila.

The price was the main thing that attracted me to Cebu Pacific. Booked several months out and even once you add baggage, Cebu Pacific can be significantly cheaper than other nonstop competitors.

My issue with the experience was the check-in process at Manila which was unacceptably slow, even for Economy class. Is Cebu Pacific awful? No. Is there anything to commend it for? Not particularly.