They really have done it, you cannot buy a flight that returns later than March 23 2012 on KLM I am really sad I loved that route, that airline, I have 100,000 miles with them that is 2 free flights when they have special deals, I used to have 500,000 miles with them, this is horrible, flight time on other carriers is much longer. Ok I can kludge together some flight to Hong Kong and then fly on with PAL or the likes but it could add an extra 24 hours to the journey, this really was the absolute best route to Manila total morons in the government over there, really angry and really upset and really sad
I return after then... Already paid for the flight, they'd better not dump me onto a Hong Kong bound return
They are going to have to honour your ticket Sean, I am not sure what is going on with their web booking system, I might call them tomorrow to see what the deal is. I cannot afford to be with my family this Christmas,first time in seven years so I was looking for the first flight available when I have more available annual leave, a few days ago one still got results for April, that's not the case now
For me the next best option would be Emirates, but Dubai although it is very pretty, is a lousy airport to spend a lot of time in Schiphol is nice I really like that airport and the travel pattern is just great, short UK - Amsterdam flight, then a long flight with a nice break in the airport before the flight and a quick exit at the Manila end. Manchester - Dubai -Manila is not so nice, much more expensive in UK taxi fares for a start (for me) and the second leg to Manila is cr*p on a cr*p airplane.
I think its going to be Emirates for us from now on as well out of brum. Is the leg from Dubai to manila really that bad? Its a pity about klm as I use them alot for work and they tend to be one of the easier arilines to get miles with. Oh well.
I did the Dubai - Manila route on Emirates twice, seat pitch was designed for midgets, aircon temperature was set at about 28 to 30 degrees C, food and service were nowhere near as good as Manchester to Dubai. It was a 777 out to Dubai then an A330 for the second leg, out of 4 flights, it was always the same on the Manila -Dubai leg. Plus because the return flight is late evening you have more chance of lousy weather in Manila and more chance of getting stuck on the ground, first time I ever came back we were stuck on the runway for two and a half hours because of an electric storm, they never even offered us water.
Haven't been with KLM for ages, so no impact for me. These past few years we have taken Cathay Pacific. Sometimes booked direct (if on promo) sometimes through an agent. We have always been happy with them and always had quick connections at HK (2 hours or less) Additionally we have invariably secured baggage allowance of 30kg each. We used Emirates a few times, but just don't like that Dubai transit at all, nor do we feel comfortable with some of the excessive connection times. One time we were over 7 hours. The foods and general service on Emirates is a little better than Cathay but overall we will stick to Cathay. Oh, a couple of times we took Singapore Airlines and would say they are quite far ahead of CP and Emirates in terms of just about everything. The main issue has been the difficulty in securing reasonable ticket prices at the times we want. Sorry for all the KLM fans (I know there's a lot) Kuya, I'm sure you'll be well looked after, but better to check with them exactly what the plan is.
Looks like I was panicking a bit early, it's LPL-MNL route that stops after March 23rd it is still possible to book MAN-MNL in April. I wonder if KLM are pulling out of Liverpool, that has been a great wee connection this last few years. Peter I am under no illusions that KLM are wonderful, I'm a fan mostly because it's a good route at a good price and the arrival and departure times make for really good use of the time off that I have available. You are right the Emirates Dubai transit is way too long and although it is very pretty it is not a great airport to be stuck in for 6 or 7 hours. If I had the money I would love to try the likes of Singapore Airlines, I just checked CP and for me it would be a three flight solution and I really don't fancy that prices are comparable to Emirates and KLM although a little dearer. I panicked as I had been checking out prices for my next visit and April is a possibility because of the Easter break extra days off, unfortunately Easter is always expensive compared to some other times of year, anyway given the rumours that KLM were pulling out of Manila to see the booking tool say no flights on these dates was a shock
Ah turns out I have misinterpreted, KLM are pulling out of Liverpool John Lennon completely from March 25 next year, ah well my taxi fares will be 30 quid higher but it's a lot better than a complete pull out from Manila. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/klm-flying-dutchman/1291486-klm-quit-ams-lpl.html
We used klm for the missus and sprog arrival but ive always just looked for the best deals ahead when ive gone turkish airlines was good to hong kong and i personaly like the hong kong route done it 3 times now easy to get to manila or cebu
Well this is good news I suppose, this is what they have decided on in order to stuff the Philippine government tax laws. As Kuya already reported his flight has been changed and it's not Hong Kong after all but Taipei that will be the stopover. Overall not too bad I suppose but an even longer flight and I guess an unpleasant and uncomfortable stay on the ground at Taipei. And of course the timing is not so convenient as I will lose a day of annual leave both recovering from the flight and simply because it gets back at a bad time of day.
Looking at this with a view to flying Cardiff to AMS, this seems to tie in quite nicely compared to the previous 6 hour wait. KL1064 gets into AMS at 7.50pm, 40 minutes connection time - isn't that a bit tight? Coming back, its a 3 hour wait, whereas before it was only 1 hour. So, overall, doesn't seem too bad (apart from the Taipei detour)
I think 40 min is pretty tight in amsterdam to be honest Rob, You'd probably make it with running through the airport but I doubt your bags would! In theory they should arrive the next day as ours did last time we flew out KLM.
I had one occasion where I only had a 1 hour 15 minute stopover at Schiphol, I got all of 25 minutes to relax before I had to be up and moving getting ready for the Manila leg, but you are right Dom 40 minutes is tight anywhere. Just tried to check out an itinerary for Rob and discovered that KLM's entire web system is stuffed really quite badly stuffed
I recall flying to Schipol once. The plane was late landing, everyone got off the plane but I was asked to wait for a wheelchair as they claimed that would be quicker for me! I waited about 40 minutes for that wheelchair and the flight should have already departed by the time I boarded the wheelchair! The man ran like crazy in that wheelchair and I kept my hands, fingers and the bag handles well away from those wheels! Luckily, I still made the flight!
Odd that but I do believe you, my friends wife requires a wheelchair and she travelled to the Phils with us a couple of years ago for her son's wedding, they treated her very well on KLM, priority boarding and the best non business seat in the plane and so on. Her party also got special treatment in NAIA and got through really quick, I got through before them but only by a minute or two, they at least had no queuing. Sounds scary Howerd, I have visions of you hanging on for dear life on those Schiphol travelators while he knocked other travellers out of the way
