The M.

My first flight was disappointing when I requested a vegetarian meal and flew 14.5 hours to Manila with PAL, and they did not have a vegetarian meal for me or anywhere on the plane at all. This is now the absolute least of my concerns.

While in Bali for YTT, I learned that my uncle unexpectedly and tragically passed away. He may not be my FATHER, but my father is already dealing with physical and mental concerns after a great deal of grief, including the loss of his other brother just about a month ago. My uncle committed suicide. I called the airline crying and frantic to get some support with getting home to my grieving family and to try to help with arrangements, attend the funeral, etc. My return flight is not scheduled for 10 days from the date I learned of this and contacted PAL (arriving 12 days later).

PAL has absolutely humiliated me and continuously refused to listen to me or assist me in any way. I have been passed from agent to agent, department to department, repeating my story. I have provided over 15+ documents due to being asked to "PROVE" my uncle is in fact my uncle, and my father is in fact my father, and my uncle did in fact die, as they seem to assume all passengers are liars and want them to jump through hoops before anyone attempts to provide any support or compassion.

In the U.S., it is common knowledge that death certificates are not made immediately available. It takes 48-72 hours for a death certificate to be created, and once it is requested, it takes at least 1-2 weeks to receive due. Not to mention, I am in Bali. Not the U.S. I am certainly not going to ask anyone to take a photo of his limp and lifeless body to satisfy PAL's morbid and impossible demands. Likewise, you can't just call the police department on a Friday night and demand an instant police report. I am waiting still to hear back from anyone in the MPD despite several calls and emails, but it is just now Monday morning in the U.S as there is a -13 hour time difference and business hours do not include weekends... and the investigation is ongoing. Not to mention the situation is different. He doesn't have surviving parents, children, or a spouse. He wasn't hospitalized due to illness. This is sick to require of PAL customers in the first place, plus they know very well that it is impossible to obtain this sort of documentation before 1-2 weeks. The death JUST OCCURED. I have been going back and forth with several heartless agents for 4 days now while grieving away from my family. They have the nerve to rephrase my concerns as if I am "inconvenienced by being asked to take action on my part." The only support anyone has offered so far is to charge me for a brand new flight this week which I could have just booked myself this week if I were rich, for $3000+. "Logan" and "Raj," supposedly supervisors forced me to waste hours on the phone and hours collecting and uploading documentation for them to send my request to their "higher support team," only for "Raj" to call me back hours later and leave me one voice message stating my documentation of my uncle's unexpected suicide was insufficient for them. No further attemps to contact me whatsoever.

PAL is the worst airline I've ever encountered. They have made less than the minimal effort to support a reasonable request from a grieving customer (I've already spent over $3000 on flights with them, which I've saved up for for years) and have only managed so far to humiliate me. I would never recommend this airline to anyone for any reason. They have no customer service or basic human compassion, let alone honesty or work ethic.