Check out this promo that I just received today Flights to the Philippines from GBP639 return I know it's not the most brilliant deal but maybe will help some folks who prefer CP as the carrier and enjoy the HK route to Manila, Cebu or Clark. Look at the small print to see the validity of fares Good luck
Thanks for that, been looking around for a flight later this year. Overall, prices seemed to have levelled out a bit - and increasingly, I'm finding airlines own websites have good deals. Living in Mid-Wales, we are somewhat stuck for choice of airports - mostly MAN or BHX. The London airports are just so far away and expensive to get to.
Funnily enough I've just been sitting for 2 hours looking for flights out to Cebu. I do like the C/P airlines, and they were coming in at £2950 for 2 adults and 2 young kids from Edinburgh. I think I found a better deal using KLM to Hong Kong then Philair to Cebu. That came in at £2,290. Obviously there's the stopover in HK, but I'm sure for the saving it will be worth it. Any comments on using PHILAIR ???
If you mean Philippine Airlines, the flag carrier, they are probably the best airline in the country and I would have no problem flying with them on any route in the region. Until they complete replacing their 747s, some of which are pretty aged, with 777s I'd might be tempted to look elsewhere for flights to the US though. If you think of Philippines Airlines as being the equivalent of British Airways, then AirPhilsExpress is BMI Baby, Zest is Easyjet and Cebu Pacific is RyanAir. If you like KLM then why not fly to Manila? I know it's now a 17 hour journey time (was 12) and there's a 90 minute stopover in Taipei but it's still the fastest (and often the cheapest) route between Europe and the Philippines. You'd be able to check-in your bags at Edinburgh and not have to worry about them until Manila.
It's also worth noting that Cebu Pacific have now introduced a twice weekly service from both Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, starting Dec 2012. So this increases your flight options ..... perhaps seperate Malaysian Air return Ldn to KL, then a Cebu Pacific return Kl - Cebu might be a cheaper alternative. (I'd also recommend KL for a few days lay-over) BBJ
Looking at the bottom of the page in the link I posted it shows a fare of £579 to HK For those folks looking to say a few quid with onward cheap flights still could be interesting.
I've done this in the past, bought a flight UK - HKG, then bought a separate flight with 5J (airline speak for Cebu Pacific) HK to Tacloban via Manila. Only downside to this is that as your using different airlines, you need to retrieve baggage and clear passport and customs at HK, then check-in again. (Unless 5J have codeshare now?) It can be a much cheaper route, and back in 2006, I flew with Oasis HK (remember them?), LGW - HK for just £170 return, then 5J HK to Manila for only £55 return.
He he, I remember Oasis. We did that route with them 3 or 4 times and luckily never had any problems with them. Some other folks told us that only had a couple of planes doing LGW to HK and any delays or technical issues often resulted in a day or two delay. Good service and nice planes (bought from Japan I think) One of the reasons I'd rather not use muliple-carriers is just down to the increased risks of all sorts of stuff. Not least of which is ensuring sufficient connection times, especially as you need to pass immigration and enter departures and check-in all over again. Besides which, to me, it's just not worth the few quid saving in exchange for the risks and hassle. On a couple of occasions we had some major issues and poor service with Cebu Pacific. Not surprised Oasis went to the wall
Its actually the hassle of the Manila airport that we were trying to avoid. Having to grab the bags then go to another terminal by taxi was just too much for my stress levels last time. Maybe would be a bit less now that we don't need a pushchair for the youngest. Its certainly handy to just get on the plane at Edinburgh with British airways and via LHR then HK and down into Cebu without touching your luggage (Cathay ). I'm swithering whether to go for this route again, but strangely this time there is a 11 hour stopover at LHR if you opt for the cheapest price,..for an extra £110 per person you can get a 2 hour change-over in LHR..... I will check out the other options for the KL route as suggested above. Jonny
Thanks, Micawberfor that excellent tip off. I have just booked LHR - HK on CX252 (dep LHR 11.25) three days stay in HK (work) then HK-MNL on CX907 dep 07.55 then MNL- LHR on CX 904 (dep 06.25!) and CX 257 (dep HK 09.50 arr LHR 15.00) for £632.19, which I think is very reasonable. The Un-Godly hours are part of the reason for the cheapness, of course. I used to work for CX's parent company; CX have a philosphy called "the intelligent mis-use of aeroplanes" which sinply means using big planes where other airlines use small ones, on short hops, and another one called "our planes are all tarts" meaning "they never sleep at home". The idea is that the best place for an airframe to be is at thirty-odd thousand feet, in sub-zero temperatures, in dry air, with all the stresses on the structure "the right way round". This does mean that they have to fly positioning legs at odd hours of the day, which gives the cheapskate traveller like me a sporting chance, if travelling at an unfashionable time of year. Wherever possible I try to book direct with the airline or with my local independent travel agent, where I know the staff and could walk in and abuse them if something ever went wrong. I am never comfortable with bucket shops.
My last trip to Pinas was November and that was with Singapore airlines. Great flight, great service and not too bad price. Still I prefer CP Why? Well I seem to be able to get great prices, great connections, extra baggage allowances and, especially attractive for me, unlimited snacks and drinks from the galley Seriously though, I have to agree that the opportunity for a stopover in HK is always a bonus for us.
I always enjoy the HK-MNL leg with CX, because CX realised decades ago that any attempt to be serious about the baggage allowance in a plane full of returning domestic helpers and merchant seamen was a guaranteed non-starter; they just weigh it carefully and smile. I once saw a little old lady get away with 92kg! This is another bit of "intelligent mis-use of aeroplanes" they do know the take off weight, but as that 747 or A330 waddles down the runway it is not carrying more fuel than needs to!
I got my booking done yesterday,...tried many configurations through different airports and carriers. Even trying to book direct with the airlines themselves doesn't work out cheaper sometimes. In the end I decided to try a phone call to Crystal travel, which I wouldn't normally do, and they were able to save me £400 on my flights to HK, as well as getting me a 1 1/2 hour stopover in Paris compared to 5 hours booking direct. This flight and price was not visible on ANY of the web pages ! I didn't particularly like Air France the last time they flew my family to Hong kong,...there was no Vodka available for my enjoyment on the flight, only beer and wine....but as my friends tell me ,..."who decides on a good airline by the availability of vodka !!??" Price for 2 adults and 2 kids with Air France direct was £2500 from Edinburgh to HK,.....Crystal Travel's price was £2100 ! (and better flight times/stopovers). Happy now, Cebu here I come, Jonny
We had a stopover in HKG the other day. Stayed at the Regal Oriental hotel which was a £22 taxi ride of about 45 mins duration . Got the N23 bus from close to the hotel back to the airport for about £5 for the four of us at 0600 the following morning. Nice bus and almost as quick as the taxi... Good hotel too and only a few quid for a taxi to Mong Kok where a lot of shops are, camera shops and electronics etc. The flight and hotel for two adults and two babies was £2,000 but we got £200 off from Budget Air due to them issuing etickets before payment with me umming and aaahing and looking elsewhere.....So the Cathay flights would have been £2,200
Just had a look on Etihad's website, and found a flight for £607 for 3 weeks in June, Manchester to Manila. Anyone have experience with Etihad? They seem to be going for massive growth having put in a big order for new aircraft recently.
Yes, I flew Etihad from Manchester to Manila, return, last year. They were good. Flight was good. My only complaint was that they wanted ID at the point of departure, which presented difficulties for me at check in. Other than that, good.
