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While in the Philippines I took a trip to Boracay (a future post), and traveled with South East Asian Airlines (www.flyseair.com).  South East Asian Airlines is a discount airline which makes direct flights between Manila and Caticlan, which is the closest airport to Boracay.  I knew it would be a prop plane, but I don’t think I expected that the plane would be SO small!  The plane itself for my flight to Boracay was a LET410 Turbolet.  From the SEAir website:

The LET410 Turbolet is a twin engined short-range transport aircraft manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer LET, mostly used for passenger transport. With more than 1,100 produced, it is the most popular 19-seat plane in history.

It provides first class comfort, while simultaneously servicing [paved] and unpaved airstrips. In the 19-seater class, no plane is better suited for short-haul.

The seats, while a little cramped, were quite comfortable.  It was definitely a different experience, however, having to be weighed (with my carryon) to ensure they could get the balance of the plane correct for the flight.

The other aspect of the trip which made me chuckle was the fact that the flight attendants safety spiel was the same as a full sized commercial airliner, and that I could reach out and touch the pilot from my first row seat.  That coupled with the fact that upon arrival, the pilot merely turned around in his seat to thank us for flying with SEAir, made this a quite enjoyable, while different, flight.

If you’re looking for cheap travel to Boracay, aside from a ferry, which I didn’t try, this is the way to go.