Anyone had any experience on these flights from Manila to Heathrow? It seems to be the only airline flying direct and its reasonably cheap...
All I heard a while back is that they are flying to London via Taiwan as they have a dispute with China about using Chinese air space, just check on that as will obviously add extra time to the flight.
The only practical way to avoid China is to fly straight out over Vietnam then India then turn right a bit and head for London. It's KLM that fly via Taiwan as a policy decision made prior to the removal of the common carrier tax. You are right about the dispute with China over PAL using their airspace.
I would avoid Heathrow at all costs, whether as passenger or greeter and I'm not so sure I would want to fly PAL on what is an almost 15 hour flight as it has to avoid both Chinese and Ukrainian airspace. KLM is normally cheaper provided you fly on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday and has the added benefit of connecting with flights to almost all regional airports in the UK. I flew that route a couple of weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised by our arrival at Schipol an hour ahead of schedule. This enabled me to have a decent breakfast in one of the KLM lounges before continuing on to Cardiff. The only 'fly in the ointment' was that you have to de-plane upon arrival at Taipei and go on a route march through the terminal from arrivals back to the departure gate and pass through very stringent security checks en-route.
I live less than an hour from Heathrow, to fly into anywhere else would be pointless and a 15 hour flight isn't a worry either, with a connection it becomes a 20+ hour journey at best with the added complication of having to make the connection. The main attraction of using PAL IS the 15 hour direct flight!
I am told by my pet travel agent that Malaysian are desperate and are selling seats really cheap for Oct and Nov
Malaysia Airlines is being nationalised and very likely renamed and rebranded. I am not hopeful that this will save this ailing and cash-strapped airline which is already 66% owned by the Malaysian government as there's unlikely to be any change to its management or leadership. It should take a leaf out of Cebu Pacific's and Cathay's books by employing northern Europeans to run the operation.
For a return ticket its £650 or thereabouts I think, I would have gone Malaysian Airlines as Mea is very familiar with KLIA for the changeover and I have flown with them several times and liked it but for obvious reasons she is reluctant after recent events even though its really not their fault.
Not a bad price eh! We are tied to an extra journey that most folk arent. IE Isle of Man to some staging post in the UK. Isle of Man, Heathrow, Manila sounds better than Isle of Man, Manchester, Schipol, Taiwan, Manila.
When are you planning on going next year? Shes not here yet and we are already planning a trip back - September I think - its a big family gathering that happens every few years!
Bit like our wedding. In typhoon season. My wife picked it. I didnt have a clue at the time. Manila was flooded half the time but by luck it all worked out.
Apparently its to do with holiday period in the US where a lot of the contingent will be coming from - its July or August though not September
Ah. Yes. So no choice. We havent been since my wife left in Oct 2011. So this will be the first time back. We havent thrashed out an itinerary yet. But we will aim to make it 3 weeks to make it worth our while. We will have a 2 year old with us, which is another factor. A direct flight will suit us better in that sense too.
Travelling with small children is always stressful - why introduce the stress of x hours at an airport half way there for no reason? I get that!
