Manila To Us - Where To Get Good Fares?

[OnMyWay]

Any news on good deals out there? I can't seem to find anything under 1300, for LAX, so far, for April. MNL/TPE/LAX is 1300 but LAX/TPE/MNL is 900-1000???Has anybody on the ground in Phils used travel agents to find consolidator prices?

[Art2ro]

It's just a hit and miss proposition and depends on the month of the year, high or low peak season for travelers! And travel agents are also a hit and miss proposition and some will gouge you! It's all about what you can find on your own on the internet as long you have a credit card that will work overseas without any hangups or you can just pay in cash avoiding the credit card service charges and maybe avoid paying the Travel tax if you have been in the Philippines less than a year, which you will need a certificate of waiver you can get the form and instructions on-line prior going to the Travel Tax counter at the airport prior to your departure, but if you buy your tickets from a travel agent, they may automatically add on the Travel Tax on to the price of your airfare unless you already have a certificate of waiver to show them that you are exempt from paying the Philippine Travel Tax! If you have been in the Philippines for more than a year as a tourist, then you will have to pay the Travel Tax and Exit fee (ECC) along with the Terminal fee which has been reduced to P550 prior to your departure. Good luck to you!

Edited February 4, 2012 by Art2ro

[FlyAway]

Try CathayPacific.comLooks like base fare is $745 round trip. Date range was flexable and showed April 7 - April 22. All were the same price.

[Bruce]

Try CathayPacific.comLooks like base fare is $745 round trip. Date range was flexable and showed April 7 - April 22. All were the same price.

This is before any taxes I believe. Similar prices with Philippine Air, BUT when you add in the taxes, you are around $1150 round trip.Also, it is not always about price. Remember lay over times. So you might look at it from a time issue of door to door time instead of simply the lowest price.

[FlyAway]

Try CathayPacific.comLooks like base fare is $745 round trip. Date range was flexable and showed April 7 - April 22. All were the same price.

This is before any taxes I believe. Similar prices with Philippine Air, BUT when you add in the taxes, you are around $1150 round trip.Also, it is not always about price. Remember lay over times. So you might look at it from a time issue of door to door time instead of simply the lowest price.

Ouch, thats right, US Congress passed a new law that airlines have to disclose all the fee's associated with ticket purchases. A few years ago I remember paying $800 - $1,000 for a round trip from San Francisco to Hong Kong.Philippine airport tax is cheap compared to US in retrospect.USD 308.60-Surcharges / charges / fees imposed by Carriers YRVA USD 5.50- USA - Customs User Fee YC USD 16.70- USA - International Arrival / Departure Tax US USD 16.70- USA - International Arrival / Departure Tax US USD 5.00- USA - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Fee XA USD 7.00- USA - Immigration User Fee XY USD 2.50- USA - Security Service Fee (September 11th Security Fee) AY USD 4.50- USA - Passenger Facility Charge XF USD 366.50 Total Edited February 4, 2012 by FlyAway

[OnMyWay]

Try CathayPacific.comLooks like base fare is $745 round trip. Date range was flexable and showed April 7 - April 22. All were the same price.

This is before any taxes I believe. Similar prices with Philippine Air, BUT when you add in the taxes, you are around $1150 round trip.Also, it is not always about price. Remember lay over times. So you might look at it from a time issue of door to door time instead of simply the lowest price.

Ouch, thats right, US Congress passed a new law that airlines have to disclose all the fee's associated with ticket purchases. A few years ago I remember paying $800 - $1,000 for a round trip from San Francisco to Hong Kong.Philippine airport tax is cheap compared to US in retrospect.USD 308.60-Surcharges / charges / fees imposed by Carriers YRVA USD 5.50- USA - Customs User Fee YC USD 16.70- USA - International Arrival / Departure Tax US USD 16.70- USA - International Arrival / Departure Tax US USD 5.00- USA - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Fee XA USD 7.00- USA - Immigration User Fee XY USD 2.50- USA - Security Service Fee (September 11th Security Fee) AY USD 4.50- USA - Passenger Facility Charge XF USD 366.50 Total

Thanks Flyaway, Bruce and Art2ro! I will check the Cathay prices. Phil Air is about 1430 total, I think. The non-stop is definitely worth some extra money and also the baggage allowances are a consideration these days. Some of the airlines are only allowing 1 bag in economy now.I was surprised that some of the prices still do not include the taxes and fees upfront. I guess the new US law applies only to domestic. Edited February 4, 2012 by OnMyWay

[JJReyes]

There are as many online buying strategies for airline tickets as passengers. Here's mine.Airlines utilize a complex mathematical formula to achieve maximium revenue. Prices for a particular flight can change on an hourly basis. Any flight that is still 60 days from departure will have prices based on a standard formula. So many seats at full price for businessmen; seats pre-sold to tour companies; discounted seats; and low fares. The computer algorithm starts the price adjustments 59 days before departure. Large number of reservations, the prices start to climb. Few reservations, the price goes down. They will keep a number of seats for businessmen until the last minute because they are willing to pay full price. Usually, there are four remaining seats either in economy, business or first class 24 hours before departure. These are reserved for important clients, government officials and company executives.My first step in buying a ticket is multiple login to the wholesaler search engines like Travelocity, Expedia, etc. Last year, I needed two reasonably priced Honolulu/London/Honolulu tickets during the high travel season. We did not want to wait 10 or 12 hours for a connecting flight in San Francisco, Newark or Chicago. I also did multiple login on the airline websites. This included British Airways, United, etc. All the tickets were offered in the $2,000 to $4,000 range. Within a week, we started receiving emails with all kinds of deals. We rejected everything until one pop showing a round trip for $1,250 per person including taxes and excellent connections. Why? If the airplane flies with empty seats, that's revenues lost forever. The cost for aircraft leasing, maintenance, flight crews, meals, landing fees, gate agents, and other expenses are fixed cost. Adding one passenger for a trans Atlantic or trans Pacific flight increases fuel cost by $25 one way. I know we got lucky because it was high season. They gave us the seats three weeks before flight, which is also unusual. Maybe there was a glitch in the computer. Other tactics include trying to buy directly from the airlines. The online wholesalers either charge a fee or collect a commission. Their tickets are usually slightly more expensive. By the way, Southwest Airlines won't work with online wholesalers like Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Their flights won't show up on the computer screen even if they are cheaper. You need to go to the Southwest website.We don't contact travel agents. They charge you a fee because the airlines no longer pay commissions. For certain routes, we check with tour operators. They pre-purchase seats, sometimes one or more years in advance. The purchase price is very low like $350 roundtrip between Honolulu & Tokyo. Everyone else pays in the $800 and above range. If the seat is empty, the tour operator absorbs the loss. If they have not sold the seats by a certain time, the tour operators work with travel agents and consolidators in trying to recover their cost. Travel agents, consolidators and tour operator will give minimal discounts unless you know how to play their game. Also last year, we couldn't get a cheap return flight Vancouver to Honolulu. Someone told me about a little known airline company and after checking to make sure they were legit, I purchased tickets. The service was excellent and they didn't charge baggage fees. We have been on flights to Tokyo where the seats are suppose to be close to sold-out. After boarding the aircraft, my wife and I discover over one hundred empty seats. In the case of United Airlines, 60% of all the available seats between Tokyo and Los Angeles have been pre-purchased by Kintetsu Travel one year in advance! JTB has a similar deal with Delta.Some companies may have similar deals from the Philippines. Ask around.

[Art2ro]

When purchasing airline tickets in the Philippines also keep in mind of the other charges, like the (ECC) "Exit Clearance Certificate" aka the "Exit fee" and the "Philippine Travel Tax", because it depends on one's immigration status and length of stay in the Philippines if one has to pay these fees or not, the "Terminal fee" is paid by all prior to their departure! You can find the explanations of these other charges on previous post under the titles: "Exit Clearance Certificate" and "Travel Tax" to determine for yourselves if it pertains to your situation.

[joeatmanila]

try Etihad airlines

[Call me bubba]

There are as many online buying strategies for airline tickets as passengers.

JJR (or other FM)any new advice or suggestions on how to get the best fare?