Archive for October 6th, 2007

Calling All Filipino Plane Spotters Out There… This Is Your Chance

Posted by "Travel blogging? Is that thing still around?" on Saturday, October 6th, 2007 @ 11:56 pm in Personal - Philippines.


The country’s premiere international airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and low-cost carrier hub Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Pampanga are both preparing their facilities for the 3-day visit of the Airbus A380 MSN009 test aircraft. The world’s largest passenger aircraft is expected to touchdown on Philippine soil for the first time before 3:00 pm on October 11 at NAIA and will depart the following morning for DMIA.

The aircraft started its 3-week journey across the Americas, the Middle East and Asia Pacific last week. The test aims to demonstrate that it can be used under normal airline operating conditions and accumulate 150 hours of “typical airline” continuous operation using the new engine. The A380 which will land in Manila will be coming from Melbourne, Australia. After its DMIA stop it will proceed to Dubai and eventually to its home in Toulouse, France.

As of the moment no airport in the country is capable to handle the giant aircraft. Nevertheless, the A380 can support the weight and width of the aircraft. Its launch customer is Singapore Airlines which is intended for the “kangaroo” Australia-Singapore-London route. Given the financial condition of Philippine Airlines and market demand for long haul routes in the country, its is still unconceivable for the A380 to make Manila one of its home. But if given a chance in the future, the fuel efficient airliner will be a perfect touch to the Manila-mainland U.S. or Manila-Europe routes.

According to the official Airbus website, the test aircraft is being powered by Engine Alliance GP7000 engines manufactured by General Electric and Pratt and Whitney. The A380 boasts of a greener, cleaner and quieter alternative than its main competitor, the Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

This is a perfect opportunity for aircraft spotters here in the country to take pictures of the most technologically advanced aircraft today. I can’t wait to brush shoulders with all of you this Friday in Clark, Pampanga.

photograph source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8313254@N08/496320750/

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Sun Burned!

Posted by on Saturday, October 6th, 2007 @ 10:19 am in Miscellaneous.

Okay… this is just more of a rant for me than it actually is a “blog entry” but since it’s here… let’s just chalk it up as another post.

Sun_cellular_logoI used to have a Sun Cellular line a few years back… thinking, “Hey!  This 24/7 Call and Text Unlimited Promo is one great way for the family to keep in touch without actually spending a whole lot!”… WRONG!  The frustration and anger I went through due to hours of disconnections and calls not getting through from one party to another took it’s toll…!

Fast-Forward to present.  Since my wife is being sent by her office to Baguio (for a MONTH) to train personnel there, I figured Sun Cellular must’ve at least improved their services by now, right?  Right?!  So, me and the wifey decided to get prepaid simcards from Sun to help us “bridge the gap” so to speak while she’s up north.

173Well, seems like Sun Cellular hasn’t changed a bit… text messages give you error displays such as “Message not sent this time” or “Message sending failed”… especially during rush hour (late afternoon)… calling one another is just a frustrating and equally tiresome!  You’d think these Gokongweis would try to at least stay on the heels of Globe and Smart and try to be similarly competitive… but no matter how competitive you are in terms of call rates (FREE, in fact!)… it doesn’t make any sense if you cannot actually call, let alone text the other party.

And if it DOES go through… we still have the problem of message delays.  And I’m not just talking about 5 minute delays especially during the afternoon… some of your messages take forever to come in.  10, 20, 30 minutes… even more!

200094708117_1The 24/7 Call and Text Unlimited promo was a good idea… WAS.  I had friends here and there scurrying to purchase prepaid and postpaid Sun sims and using it as a secondary lines…!  Sun could’ve sustained the hype by improving their signal and strengthening their infrastructure.  Their excuse then was that since Sun was still new to the game, they still had to put up more cellsites in and around Manila and eventually a substantial amount of coverage all over the Philippines.

2-3 years after, you still get the sucky signal in Metro Manila which you’d expect to be “at par” already with their more successful and reliable counterparts.

So, in conclusion… after trying Sun Cell years back, going into exodus from their service, and coming back again… I only have this to say… “Up yours!  Shove your services and promos up where the SUN don’t shine!”.  Pun intended you, losers!

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Sun Burned!

Posted by A Day In The Life... on Saturday, October 6th, 2007 @ 10:19 am in Miscellaneous.

Okay… this is just more of a rant for me than it actually is a “blog entry” but since it’s here… let’s just chalk it up as another post.

Sun_cellular_logoI used to have a Sun Cellular line a few years back… thinking, “Hey!  This 24/7 Call and Text Unlimited Promo is one great way for the family to keep in touch without actually spending a whole lot!”… WRONG!  The frustration and anger I went through due to hours of disconnections and calls not getting through from one party to another took it’s toll…!

Fast-Forward to present.  Since my wife is being sent by her office to Baguio (for a MONTH) to train personnel there, I figured Sun Cellular must’ve at least improved their services by now, right?  Right?!  So, me and the wifey decided to get prepaid simcards from Sun to help us “bridge the gap” so to speak while she’s up north.

173Well, seems like Sun Cellular hasn’t changed a bit… text messages give you error displays such as “Message not sent this time” or “Message sending failed”… especially during rush hour (late afternoon)… calling one another is just a frustrating and equally tiresome!  You’d think these Gokongweis would try to at least stay on the heels of Globe and Smart and try to be similarly competitive… but no matter how competitive you are in terms of call rates (FREE, in fact!)… it doesn’t make any sense if you cannot actually call, let alone text the other party.

And if it DOES go through… we still have the problem of message delays.  And I’m not just talking about 5 minute delays especially during the afternoon… some of your messages take forever to come in.  10, 20, 30 minutes… even more!

200094708117_1The 24/7 Call and Text Unlimited promo was a good idea… WAS.  I had friends here and there scurrying to purchase prepaid and postpaid Sun sims and using it as a secondary lines…!  Sun could’ve sustained the hype by improving their signal and strengthening their infrastructure.  Their excuse then was that since Sun was still new to the game, they still had to put up more cellsites in and around Manila and eventually a substantial amount of coverage all over the Philippines.

2-3 years after, you still get the sucky signal in Metro Manila which you’d expect to be “at par” already with their more successful and reliable counterparts.

So, in conclusion… after trying Sun Cell years back, going into exodus from their service, and coming back again… I only have this to say… “Up yours!  Shove your services and promos up where the SUN don’t shine!”.  Pun intended you, losers!

No Comments »