Philippine Airlines' new flagship, the Airbus A350-1000, is flying long-haul routes including the Manila–San Francisco nonstop — and a recent 11hr55min trip on that route shows an airline offering one of the better business class value plays out there, as long as you manage expectations.

The hardware is genuinely impressive. The 42-seat business cabin (1-2-1 layout across 11 rows) features Collins Aerospace Elevation seats — essentially an evolution of the popular Super Diamond reverse herringbone. You get 44 inches of pitch, 21 inches of width, and a 78-inch flat bed. Solo travellers should grab a window; couples get a centre pair with a privacy shield that folds away. Each seat has a wireless charging pad, decent storage, USB-A and USB-C, a manually closing door, and a crisp 20-inch 4K screen. There are no air nozzles and no centre overhead bins, but the cabin feels airy and refreshingly colourful compared to the grey-on-grey norm.

The soft product is where things wobble. Wi-Fi — theoretically high-speed Viasat — simply didn't work on the flight, a known issue on at least one or two of the airline's A350s. Service was polite but uninspired, dinner was plated onboard and pleasant rather than memorable (the halibut main was the pick), and the champagne pour wasn't anything special. On the upside, bedding was genuinely good — plush pillow, blanket, mattress pad — plus an amenity kit with L'Occitane products, and Bluetooth audio pairing, which conveniently sidesteps the mediocre supplied headphones.

The ground experience at Manila Terminal 1 is the biggest drag. The Mabuhay Lounge is reportedly poor enough that it's better to skip it, the gate areas are cramped and chaotic at peak times, and boarding is a drawn-out affair heavy on wheelchair pre-boarding. Budget extra patience before you even reach the aircraft.

So who should care? Anyone flying across the Pacific on a budget. The reviewed ticket — Osaka to Manila to San Francisco in business — cost $1,746.63, or 116,442 Chase points when offset at 1.5 cents each. That's a fraction of what US or Asian rivals charge for a lie-flat seat on an 11-plus-hour flight. If the price is right and you can tolerate iffy Wi-Fi and a rough airport, this is one of the better deals in business class right now. Just book a window seat, don't count on connectivity, and treat the Manila lounge as one to skip.