A WEEK after flying Pope Francis to Tacloban and then back to Rome, the flight crew and service staff of pioneering flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) are still flying high.
At a recent news conference, PAL President Jaime J. Bautista was almost at a loss for words as a surge of emotions overwhelmed him, trying to describe his encounters with the Pope. “I really don’t know what to say,” he says, his voice breaking. “I felt very happy and blessed,” he said.
The time spent with the Pope was especially significant for Bautista, as His Holiness also kissed his two favorite grandchildren—Sef and Elle. The kids, along with their grandmother – Bautista’s gorgeous wife Jojie – were at the receiving line to greet the Pope as he arrived from Tacloban, his trip cut short by Typhoon Amang.
The pope, of course, was effusive in thanking his pilots for bringing him safely back to Manila, and, then, to Rome.
Needless to say, Pope Francis was in good hands. The crew that flew him home was the same group of competent veteran pilots and flight attendants, who are usually called to service when President Aquino goes on his presidential trips abroad.
Capt. Manuel Antonio L. Tamayo, PAL’s vice president for flight operations and chief pilot of the Manila-Rome leg of Shepherd One, told the BusinessMirror they had a “much better flight than our flight to Tacloban,” with less turbulence than what was earlier predicted. “We were expecting to have bad weather upon departure but—lo and behold!—It was sunny!”
He added that, a month prior to the Pope’s arrival, PAL provided the Vatican three possible flight plans. “The route they chose was via China and Hong Kong. This was shorter because they wanted him to be there [in Rome] earlier than usual.”
Deputy chief pilot Capt. Ruel Isaac said, when the Pope entered the cockpit, “we freaked out, because we didn’t expect him to come in. Of course, we had to kiss his hand, two guys also kneeled. He asked me, ‘Are we going to have a good flight?’ And then we promised, ‘Yes, sir!’ because the typhoon was gone.”
Isaac related that protocol was so strict around Pope Francis that even photos were not allowed. “You’d have to go through the butlers. When someone whips out a camera, nakatingin, then they would shake their heads ‘no’.” The crew was able to have their photos taken eventually with the Pontiff. “Syempre, in-ambush na namin,” Isaac confessed.
Flight steward Francis Aduna thought the Pope was “down to earth. Whatever small things we gave him, he will always say, ‘Thank you.’”
He added that, before the flight to Rome, he thought he would break down and cry upon seeing the Pope, but he summoned all the willpower to maintain his composure and did his job. “He was just like the rest of the passengers. He stayed in his seat, then afterward, he would get up, then go around. He never insisted on anything. If we offer him something, he would get it, then he would finish it.”
Even the dinuguan (pork cutlets stewed in lemon grass and ginger-flavored blood sauce), PAL’s flight attendants happily noted. The dish was served with buttered puto (steamed rice cake). Chef Wilfredo Quilatan created the dinuguan and, personally, prepared many of the dishes loaded for the papal flight, with help from his sous chefs, according to Ma. Criselda A. Rayos, manager of Food Planning and Standards of PAL’s catering operations.
The Pope, apparently, also enjoyed the arroz caldo (ginger-flavored rice porridge with chicken garnished with spring onions, salted egg and dried anchovies) served him for merienda (mid-afternoon snack) on the long 14-hour flight back to Rome.
Rayos said she was emboldened to serve these two distinctly Filipino dishes because arroz caldo is “PAL’s signature dish already popular on the flight and the lounges,” while the dinuguan is a “must load on presidential flights, regardless of the meal service. The presidential party make it their standard selection during the meal over and above the regular menu.”
Rayos added that she submitted the complete menus for the papal flight as early as November 2014, and the Vatican did not make any request to alter or change it. “Maybe it’s because my menu framework already provides for four choices of entrees or main dishes,” she stressed.
“I put together dishes contributed by PAL Master Chef Consultant Fernando Aracama and previous successful dishes from former PAL chefs, like Rafael Valerio and Ian Mckenzie.”
While the Pope is partial to seafood, he did eat for lunch the Angus Rib-eye steak done Bistek Filipino style, with water as an apertif. For dinner, he had the Sauteed Jumbo Scallop in Garlic Ginger Sauce and a Minute Maid as beverage.
His Holiness, who reportedly has a sweet tooth, definitely took a liking for Carmen’s Best Ice Cream, an artisanal ice cream and gelato line using fresh milk from its own dairy farm. He reportedly polished off a cup each of the popular ice cream (available in Brown Butter Almond Brittle and Malted Milk flavors) during both meals. He, likewise, ate two packets of Cebu’s Mango Best—dried mangoes dipped in Belgian chocolate—after lunch and dinner.
The only thing the Pope left untouched on his meal trays? Butter. (Aha!)
Image credits: Kevin dela Cruz, Stella Arnaldo
1 comment
Mango dipped in Belgian Chocolate. Yes! a true treat from Cebu.