It had always been a dream of mine to experience riding an inaugural flight. Never did I realize that such entry on my bucketlist would finally be ticked-off! Thanks to AirAsia Philippines who invited me to be part of their maiden flight from Manila to Dumaguete last April 8, 2022!
Well first of all, this is not my first time to Dumaguete. I forgot the last time I was there! However, this one seemed special because I would be able to see a water canon salute from inside the aircraft and more! I was thrilled to what there may be on board! A short program? A toast? Well, I was just excited!
Flying from NAIA terminal 4
After a long long time, I was able to get to fly from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 4. The walk was short because basically, this terminal is small! You would actually associate it with a typical provincial airport, even smaller if compared to others.
After a few hours of waiting (yes, I arrived 2 hours prior because I wanted a window seat), we were finally /onboard AirAsia’s Airbus A320-216WL (for that winglet or Sharklet according to Airbus).
The flight was full. We also had on board AirAsia Philippines executives such as chief executive officer Ricky Isla, chief finance officer Rey Berja, communications head Steve Dailisan, and so much more! Since this is a special flight, on board were a lot of people from the media!
We took-off on time and we were headed for Dumaguete.
Midflight, we had a little program. CEO Ricky Isla gave a short welcome speech to all passengers to commemorate this milestone for AirAsia Philippines. We were also served snacks on board! All throughout, everything was smooth but filled with excitement for the touchdown at Dumaguete!
Touchdown Dumaguete
After less than an hour, we finally arrived at Dumaguete! Upon touching down, lead cabin crew Rie did the landing spiel, after which everyone started clapping! Finally, AirAsia touched down in Dumaguete! Of course, the flight would not be complete without a water canon salute!
Indeed, being in the airport early paid-off as I was able to grab a window seat amidst a full flight and witness a water canon salute from the passenger window! Gave me goosebumps!
Upon getting down, we were greeted by people dancing and a lot of spotters taking videos! Hello PPSG!
Of course, the AirAsia A-team, a group of AirAsia cabin crew influencers, were there to greet us! So nice that some of them are avid followers of mine!
After the doors were opened, I was all smiles, knowing that a bucket list of mine has finally been ticked as ‘done’!
The lovely thing with AirAsia was how they took care of us throughout the trip, from the airport until the end of the program! Everything was well organized and the people are very professional! Of course, I have always loved the happy disposition of AirAsia flight attendants themselves! For some reason, I get along with many of them easy!
Now, you might be wondering why I did not say so much about the experience. Well that’s because I vlogged the whole flight for you, where you yourself can experience this maiden flight itself!
Enjoy this video below!
AirAsia flies between Manila and Dumaguete four times weekly! You may book your flights via their Super App or through their website http://www.airasia.com.
It was indeed such a memorable AirAsia flight from Manila to Dumaguete! Excited to be on more flights like this!
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
