Welcome to the Philippines Airbus A350-900

For our special presentation on our talkshow Straight from the Sky, we bring you for the first time in my 18 years of hosting this show Dr. Potenciano “Yong” Larrazabal III, who is now the President of the Cebu Doctors Hospital Group. It’s been a little over a year since my good friend Dr. Potenciano “Jun” Larrazabal left this world and I’ve always tried to get him on my show, but he always refused. We had neighboring lockers at the Cebu Country Club, but Jun always but politely refused.

But when I asked Dr. Bimbo Tequillo the brother of my son-in-law Atty. Jennoh Tequillo to approach Dr. Yong so we could feature the history and future of the Cebu Doctors Hospital, Dr. Yong immediately agreed and so this is why we are featuring him and Cebu Doctors tonight. Doctor Yong told me that he had 10 points prepared to be accomplished as soon as he took over the leadership of the Cebu Doctors Hospital and remarkably, he already finished six of these projects in less than a year as its head. Mind you, we also talked about his running, a sport that he has gotten so involved that he ran famous marathons all over the world.

So watch this very interesting show on Cebu Doctors Hospital with Dr. Yong Larrazabal on SkyCable’s channel 53 at 8 p.m. with replays on Wednesday and Saturday same time and channel. We also have replays on MyTV’s channel 30 at 9 p.m. Monday and at 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday.

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I just arrived from Toulouse, France, where Philippine Airlines officials led by President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Jaime Bautista accepted the delivery of the first of six Airbus A350-900 to the Philippines. We arrived last Sunday for the first-ever flight of the A350-900 piloted by Captain Butch Generoso. Before the flight, there was a Christian blessing of the plane with PAL executives, Airbus Industries officials, and priests probably coming from Toulouse.

While we were in Toulouse, we didn’t use the Toulouse Blagnac Airport because apparently Airbus Industries has their own airport terminal for their clients to use. What took us long was really the blessing of the aircraft as the priests did not only bless the undercarriage, but also went inside the aircraft to bless it. After all this was done, an hour later we started to board the plane for the 12-hour trip to Manila.

The first thing one would immediately notice is that brand-new car smell. Yes whenever you purchase a new car, there is that distinct brand-new car smell that surrounds you. When the plane flew, another distinct difference is the lower noise level of the Rolls-Royce Trent engine which is obviously lower than most aircraft.

Because we were billeted in the Business Class section another thing one can immediately notice is the noise-cancelling headphones that PAL is using. I did go to the Economy area and it was surprisingly great when it comes to leg room. Best of all, in the Business Class area, one would immediately notice the high ceiling of the A350-900.

Yes, this was a very short international trip for me together with the Manila media. But when we arrived in the United Kingdom last Tuesday, it turned out to be a great event in the UK as it was the 100th year of the Royal Air Force and the UK newspapers gave the RAF a top billing and a great tribute. Also when we got into Toulouse by Saturday it was Bastille Day, the biggest holiday of the French nation.

Finally one thing that Captain Generoso displayed for us was the light show feature inside the plane. The A350-900 has various lights to influence the passengers on their moods. If it’s Christmas, it would have Christmas lights and even a birthday mood.

We arrived at the NAIA at 2:15 and greeted by two fire trucks showering the plane with water --this is a usual aviation greeting here in the Philippines. So finally we rode the historic A35-900 on its first trip to the Philippines and surely it will be one of the reasons if PAL gets its 5-Star rating. Kudos to PAL President and CEO Dr. Jaime Bautista and his team.

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.