Cebu To Clark, Going Panglao

In just 6 days, here I was, flying from Cebu to Clark again, as transit passenger again, though not going to Boracay this time. I was on my way to Panglao Island, Bohol. Hectic? Nah, not really. I'm enjoying it!

As they say... if you love what you do for work, it does not feel like work at all. True!

But, why did I fly to about 700kms northwest, when I was just going to about 84kms southeast? Ah eh, I already mentioned in a previous story, that those circumstances happen when you know what to do!

In fact, for this trip, I had not just 1 but 2 same-day flight transfers, and it was all worth the while!
TAC-CEB PR2237 0935H/1020H 06D P3,654
CEB-CRK 5J0606 1150H/1350H 01A P2,569
CRK-TAG PR2871 1500H/1620H 53A P2,386 See that? I flew Tacloban to Cebu to Clark to Panglao (3 flights) for a total cost of only PHP8,609 which already included prime seat reservations for each flight! That price is comparable to any other means. And if you're meticulous, you would have noticed, the most expensive of my 3 flights was the nearest!

Of course, because I am an economist, the price comparisons I did already factored-in my satisfaction levels [how much more you're willing to spend in order to enjoy the comfort & convenience you desire]!

Just what were these considerations? Well, many options like:

1) hop on a van from Tacloban to Bato, hop on a RORO/fastcraft from Bato to Ubay, hop on a van/bus from Ubay to Tagbilaran, hop on a jeep/tricycle/bus from Tagbilaran to Panglao; or

2) fly Tacloban to Cebu, taxi/Grab from Mactan Airport to Cebu Pier, fastcraft to Tagbilaran, jeep/trike from port to Panglao; or

3) hop on a van from Tacloban to Ormoc, take the fastcraft Ormoc to Cebu, then fastcraft from Cebu to Tagbilaran, then jeep/trike from Tagbilaran Port to Panglao; or

4) fly Tacloban to Cebu, fly Cebu to Tagbilaran (via small air carriers: AirSwift or AirJuan), etc., etc., etc.! Manila was (of course) out of the question since flights are pricier to and fro!

In the end, my best choice was the 3-flight-itinerary as displayed above. Aw, don't take my word for it. You should also try computing prices of your available options on the days you intend to travel. Do it!

Anyway...

So I said in the previous entry that my flight from Tacloban arrived in Cebu early, that I had more than 1 hour of transit time. But I was flying to Clark on Cebu Pacific this time. That meant no Arroz Caldo at Mabuhay Lounge hehe! FYI, even if I'm allowed (qualified) to do so, I don't enter that lounge when I'm not flying with PAL. It is just a matter of principle. I instead had this at the MCIA pre-departure area...

It has been some time now, since I last tasted this Cebuano pride! And hey, that skin was still crispy! I know it comes from the freezer nowadays (you can see it right at their store), but they just have a way of making the "panit" crispy when served. Whatever that technique is, they are good at it. Impressive!

Make the long story short, my 1.5 hour transit time in Cebu was up, and boarding was called. Yehey!

It looked like there were lots of us in the picture, right? Ah, just like my earlier CEB-CRK flights on PAL, the plane was not even half-full. Maybe this route isn't yet popular, or maybe, I was just "lucky again"!

Let's "lakbay aral" once more...
All passengers aboard but the flight wasn't pushing back yet, so I took a photo of the scene outside.

Of course that's another Cebu Pacific aircraft, parked at the gate beside ours, but for the benefit of my readers who like learning transport-related ek-ek-ek.., let us describe the surroundings of that plane!

I think it would be best if we use the same photo above with identifying marks (numbers) like this:

At location 1 - left edge of photo (below the plane), you should see 7 men squatting on the pavement. Well that is not a role, nor something that they have to do for the aircraft. Those are probably loaders who just finished loading baggage and cargo to that plane. They are resting under the shade/shadow.

Pahinga muna pag me time!

In front of them (2), there's an inclined thing with a canopy. Airline people in the Philippines generally call it a "conveyor truck". Sometimes it is called just a "conveyor", especially when there's no truck, as it has a very old version na tinutulak lang, and some of them still exist in our country! Yes, meron pa!

Anyway, it is called an Aircraft Conveyor Belt Loader by the airline industry at ayan nasa gilid ang closeup example. Some have roofs, some have none.

Such machines are used to load or unload baggage or cargo that are not in those big airline containers (that we'll discuss a little later). A motor makes the conveyor belt run, so humans don't need to carry anything up or down. That part of the plane (aft-most of the belly) is called a bulk compartment.

In bulk compartments, luggage, cargo and whatever else are just loaded beside and/or on top of each other (sinasalansan lang - ano ba kasi ang English ng sinasalansan?), secured and segregated by huge mesh nets. That's why conveyor belts are needed to move things in and/or out of bulk compartments.

To the right of that conveyor loader (3) is a bigger equipment. That's called a Baggage/Cargo High Loader. It is used to load/unload baggage and cargo containers to/from the plane's main belly compartments. That humungous thing is a highly complex machine that can carry very heavy weights, and it requires rigorous training and certification to operate. Yep, parang license.

You can look at the two examples at right. Those are heavy, not to mention "delicate" and "expensive" things being loaded to the belly of the airplane.

Just a little erroneous click of a switch or flick of a lever, and it could mean catastrophe, not only for the baggage, cargoes or other nearby equipment, but also for the airplane, the staff around and eventually your whole flight!

Next time you fly, try watching that high loader do its work, it's such an interesting big machine!

Still on that picture above, let's move to the front end of the plane at location 4. That thing where the red-colored number 4 is located, is a tandem of an ASU (the big one) and a GPU (the smaller machine behind it). We talked about that in Taipei, right? But fortunately for us, here they appeared 'together'!

ASUs and GPUs in our country are still of the 'legacy' (old) types, where diesel is used to power up the engines. And they're not yet 'combi' - meaning they are still 2 separate machines. At modern airports, aside from they already have 'combi's, they now use earth-friendly energy like electricity or batteries.

Oh, one more thing, in many airports around the world, their GPUs aren't anymore of the mobile type (sometimes called portable) that use vehicles or humans to be moved around. Their GPUs are already available from the tarmac itself (yes, underground), from walls, or from aerobridges of their airports.

I say, malayo pa (yata) tayo sa ganyan ka-high-tech. But pasasaan ba, magkakaroon din tayo nyan!

Back to the picture, Location 5 is a Tow Truck or Tug. That's another powerful machine that looks like a rectangular block, capable of pushing or pulling airplanes around the tarmac and unto the taxiway.

The old ones (still actively used worldwide) need a 'tow bar' to connect the tug and the nosewheel of the airplane. The new ones don't need tow bars as they like insert themselves to grip the nosewheel!

Aliw manood ng mga iyan, especially at close range. Mind you, you also need certification and license to be able to drive any of those. I'm not sure, but I think I heard that at PAL, you have to be an aircraft engineer to be even allowed just to train to drive that thing! Mga bulakbol/drop-outs, it's not for you!

At Location 6, those are the front (upper) ends of two conveyor belts like that thing at location 2.

At Location 7, ah you all know that. Ano nga tawag natin sa dalawang yan? Ford Fiera? They're used by airline or airport authorities (na nagtitipid!!), to transport personnel, light equipment, spare parts, or documents in and around the tarmac. Many airline bosses or the authorities use SUVs/pickup trucks!

At Location 8 are two Baggage/Cargo Tow Tugs or Tow Tractors. They are different from that one at 5, as what they tow around are not airplanes but the trains of container dollies which are at Location 9.

A "dolly" is like an empty wheeled cart with rollers for a floor and no walls. They carry containers that can be loaded to an airplane, and they can be towed alone or as a train - which makes them look like cute little trains running around a tarmac - that children (and some adults like me!) so love to watch!

At Location 10 are Pushcarts. But we have talked about them sometime ago, right? Note that the train of 4 pushcarts are all loaded and covered, about to be towed by away by a tug. That is why a guard is noting down their 'identities'. I'd say those are cargoes that came from the bulk section of that plane.

At Location 11 is a train of 3 dollies, one is empty and two of which are loaded with containers, which are incidentally called "igloos"! They are technically named ULDs or Unit Loading Devices, the full size of which is called an "igloo" (because it looks like an inverted igloo) and the half-size is a "container"!

ULDs can also be "pallets" - they're like big cookie sheets, where most of the time cargoes are loaded. A very good example above is that picture of the sports car being loaded. It rests/rides on a "pallet"!

Location 12 are another set of pushcarts and Location 13 are another train of dollies!

Okay, end of "lakbay aral" muna for the mean time pansamantagal hehehe hahaha!

It is always interesting to see the myriad of things that surround an aircraft, don't you think so? I do!

Anyway, our plane pushed-back a little late than the 1150H ETD. We were still taxiing at 1211H.

But at 1216H, we were already positioned at Runway 04, ready for takeoff. Yey!

In 2 minutes, we were above Mactan Cebu International Airport's runway. Okay Clark, here we come!

Then we were above the ships & shipyards of Lacion & Liloan. Oh, I heard those are to be phased-out.

Did you or do you know anything about that? Well I heard on the grapevine, it is purportedly part of a plan by some leaders, especially at Consolacion, to 'widen' their land area via a "reclamation project".

When that happens, dockyards and 'offshore mooring' areas will necessarily have to move elsewhere. There are mixed reactions to the plan as of now. Some folks (including a number of ship and shipyard owners) agree, while others do not. Let's see what will happen to that area in the near (or far) future!

Onwards, I saw the area of Catarman, Liloan again. Foreground is Amara. The old lighthouse is there.

I've had a lot of memorable visits to this little town that is slowly modernizing (I hope not too much). The beaches (public or otherwise) are respectably clean and wonderful enough for weekend getaways whether alone or in groups. This is also where I get my favorite "masi", and home to Titay's Rosquillos!

Onwards more, my flight veered westwards crossing Cebu island, probably to go straight up above the Metro Manila area, and eventually into Angeles Pampanga, where Clark Airport is situated. I saw this:

No mistaking, those are Molocaboc Islands (yes plural) Sagay City there. There is Molocaboc Daku and Molocaboc Diot. I haven't been there yet, but I like it that the place teems with lush mangrove forests.

Where the mangroves are, is where most of our aquatic treasures start to thrive. Let's save them.

Onwards with the flight going on a northwest direction, I then saw this cute little white island...

That is Baliguian Island [ba-li-gi-an], far off the coast of Concepcion, Iloilo. It looks very small viewed from the skies, but that is still about 500 meters at its longest, and about 300 meters at its widest. Of course I am guessing. But as you can see, it's circled by a fine white beach, and it even has a sandbar!

I have read somewhere sometime ago, that the island has a 20-meter-tall lighthouse, circa the 1900s, although it has been modernized by the coast guard, and still very much in use as a navigational aid.

Alright, from there on, the skies were cloudy, I could not see land, until we reached "lahar country"!

But I remembered I already covered this approach to Clark's Runway02 in a previous story. I even shot a video of that landing, right? So I didn't bother this time, other than these 2 photos (above & below).

Not very long from now, I imagine this place could boom and bloom into something like another BGC, Libis or Cebu IT Park or even better! I hear so many great private and public future plans for this area.

Anyway, so my flight arrived at Clark International Airport, and parked just near the terminal building.

And as before (until this airport is fully finished), we needed to ride a bus for that very short distance.

Well, it is actually far if you walk under the sun or rain. And people are getting used to these buses!

Especially that some buses (provided by the airport authorities) are getting better. Look at this:

They are clean, comfy and smelling fresh. Then again, an aerobridge would still be better than a bus!

So the bus arrived at the building, and as usual, we were emptied to that small door at left.

And we walked our way to baggage claim through this "claustrophobic" "dungeonlike" hallway...

It is properly lighted, has airconditioning, and we know it is just a temporary thing, so okay na lang!

I was out at arrival curbside in 4 minutes, and being in transit, I walked towards departure check-in.

Oh, I had more than 1 hour of transit time, and I saw some 'notable matters', so I stayed outside a bit.

Notable scenes like that group of passengers disembarking from Tarlac Provincial Government's bus. I could imagine the convenience that this airport offers them now. No need to go all the way to Manila, in order to fly to our other islands - or even abroad. That would probably be many travel hours saved.

I wondered though, are the public buses also allowed to empty it's pasengers right by the door of the departure check-in area - just like what that Tarlac bus is doing? If so, that would be truly convenient.

Okay, I still had a little more time, so I strayed to the public's area across this airport. Tingin lang uli!

Hmmn... that picture should tell the architect, they made a boo-boo on their "ground design" hahaha! Bakit naman cobblestones? Wala kayong awa sa mga Made In Mainland na maleta! Naisip nyo ba yan?

O sya sya... please take note of that design flaw, if/when you make na your 'real airport' vicinity plan.

And this is getting lengthy a story!

So, let me cut it here, and let's continue my 'Clark to Tagbilaran leg' story in the next blog entry.