Arrived in Manila at 0400 3 August 2020

[Yeochief]

Arrived in Manila at 0400 3 August 2020.  Started out in Meridian, Mississippi and drove to Jackson, Mississippi and flew to San Francisco on American Airlines.  Stayed in a room in San Fran for a few days to get rested up for a 14 hour flight from San Fran to Manila.  Took less than 1 and a half at Manila airport with the processing of paper work and the COVID-19 test ($188.00 US).  Cashed in some money for Pesos at the airport, 48.40.  Now wait 48 to 96 hours for the results.  As of right now we have a driver picking us up and taking us to Bulacan.  No cancelations on the flights, I think the reason is we took a direct flight from the US (LAX/San Fran and maybe Seattle) to the Philippines.  If you fly through Japan or South Korea or any other place, you might have flights cancelled.

 

[Tommy T.]

2 minutes ago, Yeochief said:

Arrived in Manila at 0400 3 August 2020.  Started out in Meridian, Mississippi and drove to Jackson, Mississippi and flew to San Francisco on American Airlines.  Stayed in a room in San Fran for a few days to get rested up for a 14 hour flight from San Fran to Manila.  Took less than 1 and a half at Manila airport with the processing of paper work and the COVID-19 test ($188.00 US).  Cashed in some money for Pesos at the airport, 48.40.  Now wait 48 to 96 hours for the results.  As of right now we have a driver picking us up and taking us to Bulacan.  No cancelations on the flights, I think the reason is we took a direct flight from the US (LAX/San Fran and maybe Seattle) to the Philippines.  If you fly through Japan or South Korea or any other place, you might have flights cancelled.

 

Good for you and welcome back to paradise!

That sounds like a fairly painless journey and I am glad you did not get hassled along the way.

Just curious... how packed was the flight coming to Manila? And did they serve you any food or drinks along the way?

And wow! You took a big hit on the peso... I have noticed the peso value rising in the past few weeks...

[Yeochief]

I knew I would take a hit on the peso, but since I have to stay put and can't get out until we get a negative results from the test.  We flew business and only one seat was empty.  The rest of the plane was packed.  We did get two meals, drinks and snacks.  

[Tommy T.]

4 minutes ago, Yeochief said:

I knew I would take a hit on the peso, but since I have to stay put and can't get out until we get a negative results from the test.  We flew business and only one seat was empty.  The rest of the plane was packed.  We did get two meals, drinks and snacks.  

Thanks for sharing your experience. I do not need to travel now, but I am very interested regarding future travel plans...

One last question... you say the rest of the plane was packed... so you mean middle seats too? Just confirming. And did they also get meal service and drinks? If so, that means virtually the entire aircraft passengers were not wearing masks... ?

Edited August 3, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Yeochief]

Yes all seats and yes they got meals.  Not wearing masks while eating and drinking.  Flight attendants had masks, face shields, rubber gloves and a light blue grown head to foot.  Philippines Airlines flies two flights a week from LAX and San Fran, not sure what they do out of Seattle, if they fly out of there. 

[scott h]

33 minutes ago, Yeochief said:

taking us to Bulacan.

Are you going to an approved hotel in Bulacan to await the results or going to your home? Is Bulacan your final destination? You know that tomorrow we here in Metro are going back to mecq so you might get stranded here.

[Yeochief]

I'm at the Belmont in Manila.  Wife has a driver coming to get us on 10 August, hopefully we will be allowed travel to Bulacan.  Yes I have seen Metro and Bulacan are both going back to MECQ.   

[Yeochief]

Test results are back (about 18 hours), negative.  Now if we are authorized to travel we will check out and head to Bulacan.

 

[KC813]

Yeochief-  Thanks for the reports.  It is good to hear of everyone's experiences when they return to the country.  Surely a number of us are stuck outside for awhile, but never know when we might be forced to return for an emergency, although no doubt the quarantine procedures probably will change weekly!

The Belmont is not bad, and certainly better then some of the quarantine hotels I heard about.  Did you get to chose from a list and get a good price?

 

[Heeb]

On 8/2/2020 at 5:55 PM, Yeochief said:

Yes all seats and yes they got meals.  Not wearing masks while eating and drinking.  Flight attendants had masks, face shields, rubber gloves and a light blue grown head to foot.  Philippines Airlines flies two flights a week from LAX and San Fran, not sure what they do out of Seattle, if they fly out of there. 

Yes, same on my flight going the other way to LAX, I flew business as well, once I found out that they didn’t alternate seating I upgraded. I have a flight scheduled on EVA airlines on my way back and the flight from Taipei to Manila was cancelled, I had to rebook two days later and they still charged me $35 for it, I here that if you route through Korea they require a COVID t test 48 hours prior to leaving a he states.