Best Airlines to get best prices to Manila

[ginapeterb]

Can we have a help discussion about best prices to get us out to Manila or Cebu.....I think its a good topic to help each other..............I go Cathay via Hong Kong but Im sure some ofyou know a cheaper and more cost effective way........can anyone help............not take a chance airways though please............

Pete

[SteveB]

Cathay Pacific is the quickest route possible.
I have used Emirates, very good and reasonble prices.
Qatar is who I am using at the moment, cheapest flight avaible and very good.
If you can go online then check out the following sites.
Expedia.
Travelocity.
Bridge the world.
Simple thing to do is always apply for the privilege club of the airline, have upgraded to business many times.

[ginapeterb]

Thanks for that information, I bumped into a Fil-west couple in town recently, they use Quatar Airways as you have suggested, just want to be confident that their are no problems with middle east airlines or their airports, I understand Quatar goes through Dohar, if this is so, let me know..........hope Steve is having lots of Malambing out in Angeles City.......p.s. where is that ?

[Admin]

I just use Singapore Airlines to Singapore, and then onto Philippines, but it's not the cheapest, but must be one of the safest, especially if you take the 777

[ginapeterb]

I guess you are right its one or the other.........either Singapore or Cathay........I have a special link with Hong Kong as I worked out there........so I do tend to go Cathay Pacific..........as I said its one or the other.

[Admin]

Tip: Never use the cheapest option, you'll find yourself hanging around airports for hours, it's always worth paying around £100 extra for decent travel times.

[gm47]

How much wold you expect to pay to fly from London to Manila in pounds, I realise it can only be a guesstimate but am interested.
Also when is the best time of year to visit the Philippines.

Thanks

[Admin]

I paid around £700 in September last year on Singapore Airlines (make sure you book on a 777 if you use them not the 747).

You can get cheaper than that, but it means changing elsewhere, and hanging around the airport. You still have to change at Singapore, but you can't avoid that whoever you go with.

Best time would be during the Autumn/Winter here.

For best prices you need to book at least 3 months in advance.

[gm47]

Thanks once more for the informative reply.

make sure you book on a 777 if you use them not the 747).

Excuse my ignorance but why ?

[Admin]

747's generally stopover somewhere, as they need to refuel, and in some airports you have to get off, and then back on....it's a security thing!!

777's are classified ER (extended range), and could actually fly direct from the UK to Perth non-stop if they wanted to, so do not need a stop to refuel. This also can make the journey quicker.

As the planes were only delivered in March they are also new.

[gm47]

Thanks for that info...the old saying is true that you learn something new every day..........I have travelled a great deal all over the world but never knew that !!!

[ginapeterb]

STOP PRESS !!!

Around September 19th Quatar Airways are offering a good deal on flights to Cebu Mactan International from London for around £394.00 return.

However the downside is its a 2 day stopover... changing in Doha and Singapore but if you are wanting to keep prices down and have the time to spare you start in London terminal 3 and arrive about 2 days later due to stopovers.

I found it at www.expedia.co.uk

[Admin]

You can get some prices their, but you generally have to keep an eye on the site. One golden rule is to book as early as possible though, and the closer you get to Xmas the more you pay. Usually the first quarter is the cheapest.

[ginapeterb]

UPDATED ROUTES AND PRICES FOR:

LONDON LHR- MANILA MNL.


Folks I did a round Robin of all the carriers yesterdday in Terminal 3 who were open for business at the time I went to LHR.

I found out a bit of useful info, and the latest prices.


Starting from the lowest to the standard to the top end.

[ginapeterb]

KUWAIT AIRWAYS.

Concourse E LHR Term 3

London to Manila via Kuwait City, Kuwait.


I did manage to get information that their are flights on Kuwait airways as little as £349.00.

However, this involves lots of hanging around Kuwait City, Bangkok etc, and therefore the total travel time to Manila on each leg was in excess of 24 hours.

Kuwait airways use Airbus A340 and A320 Aircraft when I spoke to the customer services people there yesterday, they said prices are due to rise, but were ok for a few weeks up to the 5th December.

[ginapeterb]

QUATAR AIRWAYS


Quatar airways has been mentioned a few times, when I checked yesterday a return to Manila costs

£449.00

This is not bad as I understand others use it, I have bumped into several in the last year, who say they have flown with Quatar and its quite good, the only drawback is the waiting times between flights, the connections are not as good as the Far East carriers.

Typically a schedule looks something like this:

Depart LHR 11.00AM Arrive Dubai 19.00pm

Depart Dub 22.55pm Arrive BGKOK 0800am

Depart BGKOK 12.00AM Arrive MNL 16.30 hours.

Its over 24 hours travel and waiting around between flights, this is why the prices are lower, and may have something to do with the fact that they have all the oil in the world.

[ginapeterb]

EMIRATES


Emirates is another middle East airline, well known, again the cost of this flight was

£583.40


About average for middle Eastern carriers going via middle East obviously


London (LGW)
Depart 21:15
Terminal N to Dubai (DXB)
Arrive 07:10 +1 day
Terminal 1 3403 mile(s)
(5477 km)
Duration: 6hr 55min

Flight: 10


Economy/Coach Class, Meal, 773


Dubai (DXB)
Depart 08:20
Terminal 1 to Manila (MNL)
Arrive 21:20
Terminal I1 4294 mile(s)
(6911 km)
Duration: 9hr 0min

Flight: 334

Economy/Coach Class, Meal, 332



Total distance: 7697 mile(s) (12387 km)
Total duration: 15hr 55min (17hr 5min with connections)



Manila (MNL)
Depart 20:05
Terminal I1 to Dubai (DXB)
Arrive 00:25 +1 day
Terminal 1 4294 mile(s)
(6911 km)
Duration: 8hr 20min

Flight: 333


Economy/Coach Class, Meal, 332



Dubai (DXB)
Depart 02:45
Terminal 1 to London (LGW)
Arrive 07:20
Terminal N 3403 mile(s)
(5477 km)
Duration: 7hr 35min

Flight: 11


Economy/Coach Class, Meal, 332


Again its the total travelling time I tend to look at in this case with Emirates from LGW London Gatwick airport North Terminal its 17 hours +.

[ginapeterb]

GULF AIR

The Gulf ticket counter is right next door to the Cathay Pacific counter in Terminal 3 departures on concourse D, here is the information for Gulf

Total price for this trip: £513.40


London (LHR)
Depart 20:30
Terminal 3 to Muscat (MCT)
Arrive 07:20 +1 day 3632 mile(s)
(5845 km)
Duration: 7hr 50min

Flight: 12

Economy/Coach Class, 332



Muscat (MCT)
Depart 23:59 to Manila (MNL)
Arrive 12:45 +1 day
Terminal I1 4099 mile(s)
(6597 km)
Duration: 8hr 46min

Flight: 154


Economy/Coach Class, Airbus A340



Total distance: 7731 mile(s) (12442 km)
Total duration: 16hr 36min (33hr 15min with connections)



Manila (MNL)
Depart 14:15
Terminal I1 to Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Arrive 19:10 4352 mile(s)
(7004 km)
Duration: 8hr 55min

Flight: 255


Economy/Coach Class, Airbus A340



Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Depart 02:10 to London (LHR)
Arrive 06:50
Terminal 3 3409 mile(s)
(5486 km)
Duration: 7hr 40min

Flight: 9


Economy/Coach Class, 332


Total distance: 7761 mile(s) (12490 km)
Total duration: 16hr 35min (23hr 35min with connections)

If you look at this intinerary this is one of the reasons why I dont use Gulf carriers, because this one has a total travel time of 23.35..hahaha thats nearly a day of travelling one way.

[ginapeterb]

CATHAY PACiFIC AIRWAYS

The Hong Kong carrier is my choice for flight to Manila, for one thing the connection time is only 1 hour if you time it properly, that is off one bus and hop on the other one.

Hre is a typical flight.

Cost is around £638.40.

London (LHR)
Depart 22:35
Terminal 3 to Hong Kong (HKG)
Arrive 17:50 +1 day 5970 mile(s)
(9608 km)
Duration: 12hr 15min

Flight: 254


Economy/Coach Class, Dinner, Airbus A340


Hong Kong (HKG)
Depart 21:50 to Manila (MNL)
Arrive 23:45
Terminal I1 712 mile(s)
(1146 km)
Duration: 1hr 55min

Flight: 905


Economy/Coach Class, Refreshments, 773



Total distance: 6682 mile(s) (10754 km)
Total duration: 14hr 10min (18hr 10min with connections)



Manila (MNL)
Depart 11:05
Terminal I1 to Hong Kong (HKG)
Arrive 13:10 712 mile(s)
(1146 km)
Duration: 2hr 5min

Flight: 906


Economy/Coach Class, Lunch, Boeing 747-400


Hong Kong (HKG)
Depart 15:00 to London (LHR)
Arrive 21:05
Terminal 3 5970 mile(s)
(9608 km)
Duration: 13hr 5min

Flight: 253

This is one of the shortest travel times available in any airline at 13 hours 55 minutes that brings you to NIAI, although its £200.00 or so more than say Kuwait Airways or Quatar, however if cost is not your concern, Cathay Pacific is better.



The quickest route is as follows

Depart LHR 1305 daily arrive Hong Kong 0800am + 1 day.
Depart HKG 0900 arr Manila 10.55am.


Depart MNL 20.10 Arrive HKG 22.10pm
Depart HKG 23.55 Arrive LHR 05.45am + 1 day.


This route cost me £644.40 yesterday, its more than the Midle East carriers but for the sake of £200.00 I would rather be in Manila sitting in Tony Roma's having barbecue spare ribs and a mango shake than sitting in Kuwait city or Abu Dhabi waiting for a flight in about 7 hours time.

Best of luck folks

[Admin]

I'll stick with the non-stop to Singapore 777's with Singapore Airlines.

Tip: After booking, call the airline and tell them you need a seat at the back as you've been in an accident and can't bend your leg for a few months, or something like that. Never fails for me, always get the 2 birth seats at the back even though your not supposed to be able to pre-book seats.

[ginapeterb]

Just a quick note for members and guests alike, prices for round trip tickets to the Philippines are getting expensive at this time of year, anything afte the 5th December can almost double in cost, flights as high as £1500.00 to £4000.00 are not uncommon, this makes travel very prohibitive for many of the members.

Keep an eye on costs, www.expedia.co.uk will help you keep inforrmed of whats happening, between 5th December and 6th January 2005 is the most expensive time to go.

The last date for a decent flight at reasonable prices is around December 3rd.

[Admin]

Singapore Airlines are currently doing a special. Book for Singapore, and get a free flight onwards and back to Manila, Bangkok, etc

So you should be able to get something for around £650 with only changing planes at Singapore if you plan the trip correctly.

[ginapeterb]

Stop Press

Whats happening with flights over Christmas.


I did a Round Robin yesterday folks and there isnt very much in terms of economy seats, Cathay Pacific were fully booked for dates 10th December to 7th January 2005, Cathay were showing an economy class ticket at around £1476.00 although Singapore Airlines were showing a ticket for £807.00 today, there is not much to go around, most of the airlines couldnt guarantee a seat back from Manila between 1st and 7th January, however the price goes down considerably towards the 15th January 2005 on the way back.

Business Class seats continue to be ok, Gulf Air has low cost Business class seats available, I picked one up for £1582.00 yesterday in Gulf Air's Business Class plus service

Their Business Class service offers the following:

Limousine service from house to Heathrows, Park Avenue, Gulf Lounge.

Priority Check in and late check in, up to 45 minutes before boarding.

Use of showers, Gymnasium, and sauna, at the Gulf Lounge.

Snacks, Drinks, Wireless Internet Hub, available.

On board sky chef service, individual in flight meals.

In flight personal video service, and internet.

Special Sky bed seats, with extra pitch.

the normal cost of a business class seat with Gulf is around £3000.00 so the fare is good value, if ones pockets can reach to it.

I will keep everyone informed of any changes.

[Rob4Elsa]

Speaking from personal experience on flying UK - MNL...

I always try to get cheapest econmy direct LHR-HKG, and depending on the time of year, these can be as cheap as £280 return, as I had with BA in May.

On arrival in Hong Kong, there are loads of travel agents who will sell you a return HKG-MNL for very cheap prices, example:

Prices for return travel before 10 December
Cebu Pacific HKG-MNL £80 return
Cathay Pacific HKG-MNL £100 return
PAL HKG-MNL £90 return

some of these travel agents have websites, so you can reserve online, BUT you can only buy your ticket and pay cash or credit card when your actually in Hong Kong:

http://www.aerohkg.com/

There are many others, but these guys in my experience are very good and very helpful and friendly.

[rockman]

I am flying out of London Heathrow on the 15/1/05 on cathay pacific Not sure what jet it is.
I paid £623.80 return through skydeals.co.uk and it should be a realy good flight as i will only be waiting around an hour for my second part of the journey through to the Phillipines from hong kong.
Troy.

[peterdavid]

I am flying out of London Heathrow on the 15/1/05 on cathay pacific Not sure what jet it is.
I paid £623.80 return through skydeals.co.uk and it should be a realy good flight as i will only be waiting around an hour for my second part of the journey through to the Phillipines from hong kong.
Troy.

Not a bad flight. Have you been to the philippines before?

[ginapeterb]

Gulf Air’s New Business Class Service.

I thought it would be good to tell Forum readers about Gulf Air’s new business class
Services between London and Manila.

Gulf Air is the National airline of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Gulf State of Oman and
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Gulf’s new first and business class services have recently been voted as best value for money for the discerning business traveller, I had the privelidge of trying out this service on 10th December 2004 and 6th January 2005, on two occasions I was upgraded to First class without any charge.

Leg 1 - Gulf Air’s London to Abu Dhabi Service aboard an A340 Airbus.

Gulf Air provides all its business and first class ticket holders with a limousine collection service from your office or home, on this occasion I didn’t take advantage of this, however there is a limit of 50 miles from Heathrow’s terminal 3.

The service appears to have office based business travellers, in mind and by telephoning a central number, you can arrange for to be collected with luggage and taken to Heathrow’s kerbside check in service at park avenue, this is a priority check in service for business travellers, your bags are taken from you at the kerbside, and you are then met by a Gulf Air courier who will fast track you through immigration and security, I found the service to be pleasurable and I was amazed at how fast I was rushed through the usual formalities of showing my passport, and boarding pass, then being searched, this was a painless formality, and I was soon being escorted to Gulf’s new refurbished First class and Business class lounge near gate 12 in Terminal 3.

The First and Business Class lounge.

Gulf Air are in the process of a 10 Million dollar refit programme for all its long haul Jets, that is the A340 and A330 fleet, this includes new sky beds in First and Business class and an upgrade on all of the main lounges at London, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Dubai.

The new lounge in London has recently been upgraded and re furbished, I was soon spirited through to the lounge, and was invited to my own comfortable work area, with wireless lap top access, complimentary breakfast, with newspapers, and sky News, whilst I was there, I was able to use the Sauna and take a shower, I arrived at 9am, and spent about 1 hour and 30 minutes, in the sauna, and following that, a nice shower before being taken by a courier yet again, down to the gate for my flight to Abu Dhabi, on arrival at the gate, business and First passengers were taken through a separate access door onto the aircraft, in the Business class cabin, I was greeted by my personal attendant who offered me a glass of champagne.

The Sky Chef service and general comments about Business on Gulf.

Gulf’s new “Dine on demand service� is available only in First class, and I will talk about that later, however the Business Class culinary service is based around 2 4 course meals, provided by the sky chef service, this is different to typical airline meals in that the food is all fresh, and the menus are designed by world renowned chef’s, instead of the food being prepared on the ground and distributed by catering companies, the Gulf Service actually has a sky chef on board, who prepares the business class meals to order, I was served 4 courses for lunch on the outward bound flight, such as Fresh fruit, grapes, papaya, water melon, then starters such as prawn kebabs, with onions, peppers, and a main course of rack of lamb or beef, sautéed potatoes, parmesan blue cheese, and finally a desert, and coffee and mints, the evening meal prior to landing in Abu Dhabi was similar, and just as nice, I found the food to be 100 per cent first class throughout, drinks were plentiful, as was a choice of fine wines for lunch and dinner, the usual hot towels were abundant as was the delightful,
Personal grooming kit that was issued prior to departure, this had some extremely useful toiletries, and a special Gulf Air brush and mirror combination, with dehydration moisturiser, toothbrush and toothpaste, shoe horn, ear plugs, and other useful items.

In flight entertainment.

The personal television screen and headphones are enjoyable to use, however they are actually getting a little old, however Gulf Air is upgrading these to the Matsushita in flight system during Feb 2005 the A340’s should be fitted with these, there is likely to be broadband internet access in each seat on First and Business.

The availability of movies was a little lacking, there was a choice of about 7 standard channels on video, and a movie cassette service, however I hope they incorporate a personal DVD player in future upgrades, as in Virgins Business class.

The choice of Audio Channels, was mainly geared up for Arab speaking travellers, and was sadly lacking.

Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Abu Dhabi International is rather a strange looking airport, which seems to resemble a marble mushroom, however Gulf has surpassed it self, with the First and Business Class lounge here, the lounge is located inside the airport, and happily the lounge incorporates its own hotel as well, for those passengers who have long waits in between connections.

The lounge has its own bar, all drinks there are free, that includes beers, wines and spirits, there is a reasonable selection of snacks, such as pastries sandwiches, and coffee tea, however unlike London which is a self service lounge, Abu Dhabi is a waitress service, and no charges, surprise surprise all the staff in the lounge are (yes you’ve got it Filipino !!!)

You are served as much coffee as you can drink, and given complimentary snacks, nuts crisps etc, at your table, and again a courier will call to collect you to get you to the gate for your onward flight.

Abu Dhabi to Manila Philippines - Leg 2

The flight to Manila is around 9 hours 5 minutes and fortunately for me, the flight was full of OCW’s that is Balik-Bayan’s and there was no one in Business class apart from myself, I was then upgraded to First Class.

First Class

The First Class service to Manila was truly fantastic, on this flight, I had the services of a personal sky chef, and Gulf’s “Dine on demand service kicks in� this effectively means that you can order food or drinks or both at any time during the flight, the men is given to you at your seat, which includes a flick table, with your personal video player, the menu is again designed by gourmet chefs, and I was able to have 3 meals during the 9 hour flight, 2 meals had 4 courses, 1 meal was a light snack and consisted of 2 courses, complimentary champagne, and as many drinks as you can take, are provided, the First Class cabin is spacious, as is the First Class toilets, which are stocked with towels, lotions, and all the requirements for a comfortable and enjoyable flight.

Landing at Manila International (NAIA)

Sadly Manila Airport is a let down to the Gulf service, which is perhaps out of their control, when you leave the aircraft there is no courier to get you out of the airport and through immigration, however I did discover on the return leg, that Gulf has a First and Business class lounge, that is Club Manila on the 2nd floor, which is air side, and up the stairs, next to gates 7 to 12.


Verdict

Quite simply, if one can afford to pay for a Business Class ticket, there is really no better way to fly, it really does make economy class live up to the name of “Cattle class�, all in all, and excellent flight experience, I would recommend Gulf, and say that it is far superior to Cathay Pacific’s business class service which I have also tried.

Return Journey - Leg 3

Manila (NAIA) to Abu Dhabi.

After an early morning grush flight on board Philippine Airlines B737 from Bacolod City to Manila in Fiesta class, it was welcome to get to NAIA, sadly there is no kerbside check in facility at NAIA, also I had to sit around the airport outer area for 2 hours waiting for Gulf check in desk to become operational, there was no defined business class check in, however when I enquired I was taken to Gulf’s priority check in, however I had to ask first, once having gone through terminal fee control, passport and exit control, I then was invited to go to Club Manila, on the 2nd floor airside, located near gates 7-12.

Club Manila.

Club Manila seemed to be in want of a refurbishment, the seating and carpeting was jaded, and seems typical really of all things in the Philippines, almost as though it’s a relic of the past, however having said that, there were plenty of ice cold soft drinks, spirits, sandwiches, rolls, cream of mushroom soup, and spaghetti with parmesan cheese, there was self service coffee machine, and I was at one stage the only person in there for over 1 hour, there are local newspapers to read, sadly no television with cable, which is what I would have expected, however I have to say it was comfortable, and quite, I was later joined by 1 other English guy on route to Oman, we were then both escorted by a courier to our gate, for the flight, on arrival at the gate, we were given upgrades again to First Class.

Arrival in Abu Dhabi.

The flight arrived in Abu Dhabi at around 19.30 hours, however the onward flight to London was not until 0155am the following morning, out of courtesy on checking in to the First and Business lounge, I was offered a complimentary room for the period between flights, I was able to sleep and take a shower, until the following morning, although the flight was delayed until 5.45am, it didn’t really matter, as I was able to sleep through, at 4.30am I was awoken and later I was taken to the flight to London, the flight left at 6am, and arrived in London at 10am, on arrival I was offered priority fast track through immigration, and the use of the Gulf Lounge again, a complimentary breakfast and shower before making the journey home.

Verdict.

The return leg service was just as good in many areas, the offer of the shower and breakfast on arrival was fantastic, as I felt pretty grubby after the 7 and half hour flight back to London, more importantly, the Gulf Air Lounge had shaving facilities, including wet razors and shaving cream, and absolutely brilliant thought, this service is geared up so that business travellers can go direct to their offices in London, although I found it to be excellent for my needs too.

All in All again a great service and value for money, the personalized luggage tags offered by Gulf for travelling business class are an excellent addition to the service, these were presented to me on check in, I found that to be so personalized, Gulf have really tried to push the boat out on their services to Business and First.

The total cost of this ticket was £1580.00 including taxes, the nearest business class fare, is Cathay Pacific who wanted £2376.00 for the same flight, Singapore Airlines was very similar, but they wanted £2726.00 at the time of booking, If anyone is interested I sourced a flight at end of March and returning on 17th April 2005 with Kuwait Airways, its £1067.00 including taxes, this is Kuwait Airways business class, however I have not tried it, maybe I will, KLM are also at the moment streamlining their fares, they have recently merged with Air France, I noted a business class flight with them to Manila, via Amsterdam is around £1200.00, although I understand their business class is not as good as Gulfs.

Will keep interested readers posted.

[Admin]

Your making way to much money, even I only travel economy :) Although I do fiddle it so I get the best seats, and the staff look after us. Brown envelopes are useful ;D

[gmanalo]

I use Qatar airways it is the cheapest but you have to watch out for the itenarary as some of the stop over can be as long as 7 hours!!!!

Also if you have to re-confirm or collect a ticket at the ticketing office in Manila you may have to wait for as long as 8hours!!! It is a joke and I actually made a complaints at their Head Office in Doha.

As long as you get your tickets from London and confirm your flights using Qatar Reservation in the UK you will be fine. You will find that if you try and ring the Manila Ticketing Office all you will get is an answering machine telling you that "all their lines are busy" and if you do eventually get through you get a message saying that their office is now closed !!! :angry:

Still Qatar is still the cheapest at £402 inc tax. I still use them but as I said above watch out for those pitfalls.

A friend of mine managed to get a ticket for £390 but not sure if this is the Singapore Airline 777 plane.

By the way, I would like to thank everyone on this site for helping me and my Fiancee to get a Visa. Without this site she wouldn't have been able to get a Visa on the day. :)

Keep up the good work.

[Admin]

Glad to be of help, although most of the info is supplied by Pete, who testing it all in real time at the moment :D

Cheapest way to book SIA is through Virgin, I know it's it strange, but it works, but check the SIA site first in case of offers like the one I picked up for my hols on 2 weeks, £100 off, but not with Virgin.

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by admin@Apr 21 2005, 08:24 PM
Glad to be of help, although most of the info is supplied by Pete, who testing it all in real time at the moment :D

Cheapest way to book SIA is through Virgin, I know it's it strange, but it works, but check the SIA site first in case of offers like the one I picked up for my hols on 2 weeks, £100 off, but not with Virgin.
Quoted post



Thanks for that accolade Keith, yes I hear going through Virgin is a good way too, actually I understand the SIA promo is on until 30th April for tickets bought by then, this includes SIA promo offer of a free return onward journey from Singapore Changi the current fare rate to Manila return was £479.00 Inc Airport taxes, slightly more than Quatar, but nevertheless, I agree with Keith that the trip on the Boeing 777-200 was excellent, I did indeed notice the leg room that Keith has constantly alluded to, plus I found the entertainment system far better on this aircraft type, the t.v. screens in the seat in front actually tilts further out, when the passenger in front tilts their seat back, for guys like me with a big gut, this helps greatly.

I also notice the SIA Fleet, is regularly washed, they do stick their planes through the plane wash on a regular basis I suspect, anyway the Boeing 747-400 from Changi to London was beautifully washed and in a fine clean gleaming condition, well done Singapore Airlines, if it looks nice it is nice !!

I also noticed that Quatar Airways is heavily advertising on GMA and other channels in the Philippines, obviously trying to promote the Doha-Manila route, perhaps it would be nice to get a report on Quatar, Ive done a rather extensive one on Gulf Air's new Business Class.

[Admin]

And SIA is the first airline in the World to include broadband on it's London-Singapore flights, and are currently working on the rest of the fleet.

[ginapeterb]

If anyone is going in country, in about 4 weeks time, I have just sourced a flight with Cathay Pacific for £438.00 inc Taxes, return, on their 18.25pm flight to Hong Kong on Friday the 3rd June 2005, the return is on Saturday the 11th June 2005 from NAIA.

This flight is including taxes, it may change by x pence in next few days as the flight books up, but seems good price.

I also noted Emirates from Gatwick are quoting around the £505.00 and Lufthansa £500.00 however this flight is via Frankfurt and Guanghzou, China, in other words 3 stops.

[ginapeterb]

I just sourced a nice flight with Emirates..on Saturday 28th at 20.30pm...with 1 stopover in Dubai, arriving Manila NAIA at 20.40pm local...returning on the 12th June 23.55pm, arriving Monday 13th at 12.30 lunchtime...cute..

Price £510.00

hehehehehe, hmmmm that makes me think..I am popping past airport tomorow after my call..at 10.00am..hmmmmm let me think ??/

[Eljohno]

Hi guys i am just new to this website and the whole filipino experince.I am due to go back to Philippines in November 2005 to get married and the cheapest price i got was actually for cebu and not manila.The website is called www.dialaflight.co.uk or sometimes www.opodo.co.uk

I hope this helps,
John :D

[JustSomeGuy]

I've been using KLM, simply because prices are about the same, (470 ish inc tax) planes have a little more leg room than some, and it's just a short hop to Amsterdam.
The times of day are good, Arrive 15:30 ish in manila and arrive 8-9ish in uk all ready for work :-) I prefer flying overnight as I can get my body clock into sync quickly that way. On wide bodied planes i always go for seats in D and F (isle, middle section) so as other passengers don't have to climb over me and i don't have to climb over them. oh and the movie selection is quite good too :-)

Dave,

[Stereotongue]

Prices really vary but I have tried flying with Cathay via Hong Kong, KLM via Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur and also Korean Airlines via Seoul Incheon. Cathay and Korean had more leg room in economy than KLM - but KLM bumped me up to business class on the return flight. The service on Korean was best - great food and very helpful,friendly flight attendants - the only let down was that there were no TV screens in the headrests - so we had to put up with quite a few Korean soap operas along the way.
For me the most important thing is the legroom - especially on such a long flight. The are several airline legroom charts on the internet - this is usually how I decide who I am gonna fly with. I also like to fly via different destinations - epecially far east.
I think I would definately go with Cathay again even though it was the most expensive flight I have had at £850 - but this was due to me flying on Christmas day.

Cheers
Andrew

[mupsuit]

Booking Flights

I always avoid try to avoid flights on an airbus - just because they are slower - therfore the journey takes longer

what I was told on flights to Hong Kong (as the example)

Airbus operates at Mach .85
Boeing operates Mach .87

the lower operating spped (expressed as a percentage of the speed of sound)
means that the Airbus takes 40 minutes longer to fly from London to Hong Kong than the Boeing

so it would take a significantly lower price to tempt me onto an Airbus

KLM via Amstedam gets my money - made the last three UK - Manila flights with them on Boeing 777 - every seat has it's own independant TV system so you have an indiividual choice of over 100 titles to watch

AMS - MNL is a direct flight

The transit time in Schipol is the shortest I was able to find - also the overall journey time was shorter than with other carriers

[walesrob]

Originally posted by mupsuit@Mar 11 2006, 07:54 AM


Airbus operates at Mach .85
Boeing operates Mach .87


Quoted post



This depends on aircraft type. I think the person who told you this is talking utter rubbish anyway (why do people who fly regular on aeroplanes think they are an expert :Erm: they probably wouldn't know their ETOPS from their ERJ's nor would they be able to tell you what EGCC is :D ) You have to take into account aircraft type, range, engines, load, prevailing weather, etc.

I'm a member of an Aviation forum and we get people making statements like this all the time - the best one is that "I won't fly Airbus because its not made in America". :lol: :cwm24:

I have no preference to aircraft type, in fact, I always make an effort to fly on different types, makes it more interesting!

[mupsuit]

Originally posted by walesrob@Mar 11 2006, 10:48 AM
This depends on aircraft type. I think the person who told you this is talking utter rubbish anyway (why do people who fly regular on aeroplanes think they are an expert :

Quoted post



The person who told me was a Cathay pilot so your comments made me suspicious (OF HIM) - so I looked it up to compare identical, Cathay and Virgin, services ex Hong Kong


Boeing 747 - CX 251 STD 23.55 STA 05.05 - DURATION 13 hours 10 minutes
Airbus 340 - VS 201 STD 23.35 STA 05.50 - DURATION 14 hours 15 minutes

Looks to me that the CX pilot was correct as the Virgin flight takes 65 minutes longer.

As a matter of interest can you check this out on your aviation forum - so we can get the bottom of the flight times element -

Thanks

[walesrob]

It turns out your pilot is technically correct, the 747 is faster.

The timings you have given me are scheduled times, and are block times allotted by the airline. We both know these times bear no resemblance to the actual timing of the flight. Having flown CX, VS and BA from HK to London, my experience is that they always arrive early.

The actual stats I have from the forum are:

The Airbus A340 cruises at max 494 knots
The Boeing 747-400 cruises at max 507 knots.

Thus over a longer distance would explain the large difference, but remember to make allowances for headwinds, load, passengers, etc. Having said that, I picked a random 2 flights from 2 days ago, flying HK to London, one BA, one Virgin, and look at the stats:

FlightID: BA026 (BA Boeing 747-413)
Equipment: H/B744/Q
Proposed Departure Time: 1525Z
Departing: VHHH HONG KONG INTL
Destination: EGLL HEATHROW
Route of Flight: VHHH..BEKOL.A461.YIN.A461.VYK..HUR..GM.B339.POLHO.M520.
SERNA.A310.UNLL.R497.LAMEG.R497.
TODES.B200.ZJ.R22.UUYY.R22.KTL.R30.SU.B210.KR.B964.KOLPI.R30.
SPB.B141.RANVA.UP863.DEREX.UP739.KOLJA.
UM611.CDA.UZ701.GORLO.UL980.LOGAN..EGLL/1233
Speed: 0493
Altitude: 280

FlightID VIR201 (Virgin Atlantic A340-643)
Type A346
ProposedDepTime 1535
ActualDeptTime 1613
Dept VHHH
Dest EGLL
Route of Flight VHHH..BEKOL.A461.VYK..HUR..GM.B339.POLHO.M520.
SERNA.A310.DOBOS.A310.BD.A310.LONKA.A310.UNLL.R497.
TODES.B200.ZJ.R22.UUYY.R22.KTL.R30.SU.B210.KR.B160A.KOLPI.R30.SPB.B141.RANVA.UP863.KOTAM.UL990.LUPUR.UM611.ALS.UN872.
GOLEN.UR1.PAM.UL980.LOGAN..EGLL/1232
Speed 0499
Alt 300

You can clearly see both aircraft fly similair speeds, etc, but over a long distance the slighltly faster jet has the advantage.

Its interesting to note that all long-haul airlines I have used to Hong Kong - BA, Virgin, Cathay and Emirates all have in-seat entertainment, but the KLM 747 from AMS we used last November didn't have any, which kinda put me off flying KLM again, but at the end of the day, you get what you pay for. :)

[mupsuit]

Originally posted by walesrob@Mar 11 2006, 07:26 PM
It turns out your pilot is technically correct, the 747 is faster.

Quoted post



I am going to sleep tonight !!

Thanks for the comment on KLM - something to watch out for -

Did the 747 make a stop in KUL (that is WMKK to you) or was it direct
to MNL (RPLL) ?

The 777 flight from |Amsterdam to Manila was direct and probably the best I've ever flown because of the in-flight entertainment !

moral of the tale - avoid older aircraft !

[walesrob]

Originally posted by mupsuit@Mar 11 2006, 07:28 PM
I am going to sleep tonight !!

Thanks for the comment on KLM - something to watch out for -

Did the 747 make a stop in KUL (that is WMKK to you) or was it direct
to MNL (RPLL) ?

The 777 flight from |Amsterdam to Manila was direct and probably the best I've ever flown because of the in-flight entertainment !

moral of the tale - avoid older aircraft !
Quoted post


As I live in land of sheep, and half my family live adajcent to CWL (EGFF to you!! :D ), we thought it would be a good idea to book KLM as they operate the City Hopper CWL to AMS. Then we took the 747-406 AMS to HKG (VHHH, oh come on stop this ICAO code nonsense :lol: ) KLM use a Combi 747 on this route, and its very basic, no PTV, only 6 audio channels, no frills, BUT it was cheap - only £450 each, and Amsterdam airport is a delight to use. Given the choice I wouldn't use that flight again. I'd much prefer BA or the funky Virgin :lol: , but its a trade off between the convenience of the local airport or a dreadful 5 hour drive to LHR.

I flew on SQ's 777 last year SIN-MAN and I will agree its a lovely jet. I understand BA are about to put in an order for 10 777's, hope they put them on the Hong Kong route!

Wonder what the other people on this forum are thinking - what the hell are mupsuit and walesrob on about...

[symonh2000]

I booked my flight to manila two weeks ago with Cathay, for £475 all in, I fly on the 28th April. I checked back a week later and the price was up to £648 for the same ticket... This was on lastminute.com

[mupsuit]

Originally posted by walesrob@Mar 11 2006, 09:04 PM

Wonder what the other people on this forum are thinking - what the hell are mupsuit and walesrob on about...
Quoted post



I wont tell !

[A_flyer]

I just jump here (sorry I'm late) about speeds and planes characteristics.

The fastest is the 747-400 with an optimised cruise speed of mach 0.85 but with a max range of 13450km (from 416 to 524 paxs).

In second place you have the 777-200ER with an optimised cruise speed of mach 0.84 with a max range of 14316km (from 300 to 440 paxs). The 777-300ER has a range of 14594km with 365 paxs (same speed).

In third place you have A340-600 with an optimised cruise speed of mach 0.82 with a range of 14600km (from 380 to 419 paxs). The 340-300 have a range of 13700km with same cruising speed (from 295 to 335 paxs).

The best in range is the A340-500 (but the last 777 versions with compete with it) with 16700km (from 313 to 359 paxs). This range allows the longuest commercial flights of 18h30 non stop (I.E.: New-york <-> Singapore). Singapore Airline fly this route everyday both way.

By the way, just to compare with smaller A/C: the A320 family has an optimised cruising speed of mach 0.79, but on a 1H flight it uses it only 20mn as it use 20mn to climb and 20mn to descend (the 737 family has an opyimized cruising speed of mach 0.74 to mach 0.785 depending on the model).

But what you should know is that each airline having long overseas flight use "routers" people (like in sailing boat races) located in airline offices checking contunuously the weather and simulating routes to optimize the flight in term of route/speed/altitude and fuel to try to arrive on time at less cost!

But speed is relative as the pilots can adjust it (max cruise is mach 0.86 for A340) to save time or fuel and it depend also on the payload (paxs + cargo freight).

Just to stay a little technical, I speak only of mach number as this is the speed of the A/C relative to the air it is flying in. After the most useful speed is the GS (Ground Speed) but this one varies a lot, depending on the weather conditions encountered during the flight (winds, storms, ...).

So the fastest A/C is always relative...

Anyway, to go to the Philippines I use always KLM as the flight is not too expensive and it's a direct everyday flight to/from Manila (no stop). That's the only direct flight from Europe. All others have at least one stop.