Air Asia is coming

In March, President Aquino signed the open skies order, allowing foreign airlines more rights to travel to, from, and within the Philippines. Probably the biggest beneficiary of this order will be Air Asia, the discount Malaysian airline, and this is important news for people living here. Why?
Air Asia is one of the few airlines in the world that has taken the discount model and made it not only successful, but providing relatively decent service as well. The new hub will be at Clark, where Air Asia has had two international flights operating for a while: To KL and to KK. The fares are cheap, and, in my experience, the service is generally good.

Air Asia is coming

I have flown Air Asia on many occasions. In particular, when I was working a lot in Borneo, in some cases, they were the only way to get to small airports in Sarawak and Sabah. Several years ago, Malaysian Airlines sold most of their domestic routes to Air Asia. The only rub is that with Air Asia, you cannot “officially” buy a transit ticket. For instance, to fly from Clark to Sibu would require buying a ticket to KL, enter Malaysia through passport control, collect your bags, and check in again on your KL to Sibu flight, travelling on a different ticket… A real pain. Now that Clark joins BKK, SIN, and CGK as Air Asia hubs, travellers can expect many more direct flights to many destinations in the near future.

Air Asia has expanded rapidly over the last ten years, and the number cities receiving service has grown, most of them experiencing what is known in the US as the “Southwest Effect”, where fares drop dramatically once Air Asia arrives. As an example, last year I flew them from KL to London. The return fare was around $600, $900 in business class (Which is just a bigger seat that reclines, but worth it on a 12 hour flight). My fares to Kuching went from around $800 return to around $100 return, since competing airlines tend to match the fares.  All this is good news for travellers here… Check them out and give them a try once the new hub opens at year end. Check the Air Asia Website.

Pretty faces at Air Asia

One of the first articles I wrote on LiP, almost three years ago, was regarding air travel here. The text below is an updated version of that article, since much is now out of date.

1. There is a Philippine law that states that air travel originating in the Philippines must be paid for in the Philippines. Fine, if you are flying Philippine airlines. Not so good if you are flying Cathay Pacific and using a US credit card. You then have to make the reservation and physically go to the local ticket office to pay for it. Forget trying to buy for someone else not travelling with you… Photocopies and fax of the credit cards, passports, etc. This impacts many of the travel websites or airline websites, particularly US-based, where I have my expense accounts. One of the reasons I use Expedia is that their call center is in Cebu, and they can book the tickets. This normally works, but Expedia sometimes has its glitches. You can also book complicated tickets departing from Hong Kong, and just buy a separate ticket to Hong Kong. I have found that, particularly, fares also can be cheaper from Hong Kong or Bangkok, particularly trans-Pacific flights, and Europe flights also tend to be more convenient.
2. Philippine-based companies often do not like US credit cards. Ever go into SM and see 7 different credit card scanners? One word in my mind: Ridiculous. However, you cannot change it. Local ticket offices are usually very crowded… Remember, 10% of the population works overseas. There are always people travelling and never a “slow” time at the ticket offices. Don’t forget traffic and all the other things associated with going in person. Fortunately, Cebu Pacific seems to have recently fixed the problem. PAL remains spotty, at best.
3. Cebu Pacific, Seair, Air Asia (The best of the lot) and the other discount carriers are booming, offering cheap fares as low as 0 Pesos. Wonderful! However, you can expect to be self-loading cargo (Queues) and the taxes on the fares are not so cheap. For example, last month I flew to Gensan… RT fare was 2,000 Pesos, Taxes were around 3,000 Pesos…More than the fare. Do not expect so much as a free water on these flights, and prepare to pay baggage fees. Don’t dismiss this… Also, and I can’t stress this enough, avoid ANY Domestic connection through NAIA if possible. Sometimes the fare difference is worth being able to connect straight through.… You may be delayed, bumped, etc. The discount carriers often only have one flight per day to some locations, if that many. Also, for business, it is better to book on a major airline than a discount, particularly if your business is urgent. Also, customer service on these airlines, particularly Cebu Pacific in my opinion, is horrendous. Expect to wait on the phone at least an hour if you call for anything, and expect little to no resolution of problems. I tend to fly these guys ONLY if I have no other options (Business, remember?). Sometimes, it is easier and cheaper just to buy another ticket than to try and rebook.
4. For domestic travel, schedules are often fairly limited, and can also sell out fast, particularly on less popular routes or during holidays (Big one there… If you want to travel in the RP during Holy Week, All Saints, or Christmas, book FAR in advance.) Also, Filipino airlines have a very annoying habit of giving incorrect information on the phone or web… They say “Sold Out” but there is space available, or worse, they say “Space available” and you get to the ticket office and the flight is “Sold Out”.
5. ALWAYS remember to bring a printout of your ticket to a Philippine airport. They have this habit of not letting you into the terminal counters without one, requiring you to go find a printer before you check in. This is easy to forget, particularly since most airlines only issue e-tickets now.
6. Don’t lose your baggage claim tags. They check them in the Philippines and create yet another queue after you leave customs while everyone sits there searching for theirs. Pointless, and another hassle. I tend to simply blow around the line and get selective hearing if the security protests, but I’ve had to argue with them a few times. Why is it silly? They want the actual claim ticket… Your name in your passport (and the baggage tags, too, BTW) is not good enough. I had a missed connection in HKG last month and Cathay took the folder with the claim by accident and didn’t give me a new one… explaining that to the security people is like having a conversation with the wall.
7. Don’t show up at the airport without any cash… 750 Pesos for international, from 40 Pesos to 250 Peso for domestic, depending on the airport you are departing from. This always seems to get loads of complaints. Every country and airport in the world imposes these fees on every airline ticket. It is just that in the Philippines, it is more visible than in the majority of countries where the fees are collected as part of your ticket automatically. I have, on occasion, forgotten about the exit tax after not wanting a wallet full of Pesos before going to Vietnam. Fortunately, at NAIA, there are ATMs nearby, but, in my experience, they are usually broken (or, in local vernacular, “offline”.)
8. If you live here on a tourist Visa, you MUST have a ticket departing the Philippines before your visa expires. Most regular tourists won’t have this problem, since they did not originate in MNL, and people with residence can stay as long as they like. Some airlines will let you slide if you tell them something like, “Oh, I’m on the 9:00 Cathay flight on the 23rd” or something like that. I have also never been asked once for it at passport control, despite the signs saying otherwise… It is always at airline check-in. You do need to be prepared to buy another ticket out, however, just in case. Think of it this way… A cheap one-way fare to HKG, TPE, or BKK can always be used as a shopping excursion, if need be. Just book the cheapest flight ON ANY AIRLINE TO ANY OVERSEAS DESTINATION that you can that shows you intend to leave… Also keep in mind that the cheap fare may not be changeable and you could lose the value of the ticket.

There are four major international airports in the country, and a few minor ones. The largest is Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila (NAIA), with the other three being in Cebu, Davao, and Clark. Clark, the old US Air Force base, is primarily used by budget carriers, most prominent of which is Air Asia. There are very ambitious plans to make Clark into the primary gateway into the country. Davao and Cebu normally receive international traffic from other parts of east Asia. (Silk Air from SIN to DVO, CX from HKG to CEB) If you are coming from the States, Europe, or Australia, your first impression of the Philippines is most likely going to be at NAIA. There are four terminals at NAIA:

1. Terminal one is International, and if you are flying anyone but PAL, this is where you will arrive. It is around 30 years old, and showing every year of its age. Depressing, dirty, and with few services (DO NOT eat there if you value your belly!) The terminal is operating at well above capacity.
2. Terminal 2 “Centennial” Terminal. This is exclusively for PAL. About 15 years old, this terminal is about as clean and hassle-free as airports get here. Queues tend to be relatively short.
3. Terminal 3. Initially conceived to be a showpiece for travellers to the Philippines, this project has ended up showing the worst of the country. See, the terminal was complete for several years, now it is used for Cebu Pacific, PAL’s (Air Philippines) turboprop service, and a single flight on ANA. It is largely empty and barely used. Political infighting, corruption, and general stupidity has surrounded this collossal monstrosity since it was first planned. If you read the whole story, the greed and idiocy surrounding this project will make you ill.
4. Domestic Terminal. This structure was built in the 1940′s and is also well over capacity. Mostly outdoors, it reminds me of the airports I used to frequent in Borneo and some of the Caribbean Islands.

When I travel for business, I tend to fly business class on flights that are over 3 or 4 hours long. Those fares are typically priced several thousand dollars more than the typical coach seat. However, most seats in the front of the plane are upgraded from coach class. Airlines treat their best customers better than everyday travelers… That is a fact. By joining a frequent flyer program and sticking to one primary airline, you build up status. This is the most important tip I can give. It is not necessarily the free flights that have value, but, rather, the upgrades that really frequent flyers covet. By flying enough to get to Silver or Gold status, you tell the airline that you are one of their best customers and you can get numerous benefits. In the Philippines, the only airline that has kept its program in place is Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay Miles program. Unfortunately, the other airlines in the Philippines have eliminated their programs, and you can no longer earn miles on domestic flights taken on Air Philippines, even with a Mabuhay miles card. Another problem is that PAL does not belong to one of the three alliances: One World (American, BA, Cathay, Qantas, JAL), Star Alliance (SQ, Thai, United, Lufthansa), or Sky Team (Delta KLM, Air France, KAL). The alliances allow you to earn and redeem miles across multiple airlines and seamlessly book flights all around the world. I hold “elite” status in three programs. In order to get elite status, you normally actually have to fly… Credit card rewards and other bonus miles typically do not count towards status (You just get the miles). Benefits to higher status:

1. Many times, if space is available, you are upgraded to business class. You don’t always have to use accumulated miles… Sometimes it is simply because of elite status. Trust me, the bigger seat makes a trans-Pacific flight much easier.
2. Free flights. As much as I travel, I don’t typically care about a free flight (I prefer upgrades), but I use miles to fly Rebecca with me on business trips, sometimes. I often hear people complain they accumulate many miles but can’t use them. Elite status nearly always means that more seats are available for free flights when and where you want to go. I cashed in miles for my father to come in April… Two First Class tickets, MIA to MNL…. Worth around US$30,000, so status DOES make a difference.
3. You earn more miles on flights. On One World, I earn almost double the miles as I normally would, due to loyalty.
4. Easier booking of tickets. You typically get special reservations numbers that are actually answered.
5. With elite status, you are the last person to be bumped from a flight and are nearly never overbooked.
6. Faster check-in. For instance, on Cathay Pacific, I typically can check in at the First Class line, even when flying coach.

Now, none of these things, in my mind at least, is worth the price on its own, but if all things are equal (fares, schedule, etc.), it makes the decision as to which airline to fly much easier.
With fuel costs so high, “deals” are getting rarer these days. Now, some tips for cheaper fares:

1. Book on Tuesday or Wednesday departure. Airlines are busiest around the weekends… Friday, Sunday, and Monday. That is when business travelers fly. Book during the middle of the week and fares are typically cheaper.
2. If you must fly last minute, check the business class fare as well as the full coach fare. Sometimes, there is no difference in fare, or very little, so, even though it is a higher fare than if you booked ahead, you are more comfortable. Last year, a trip to Tokyo, full fare coach was US$900, with business class only $50 more.
3. If you are flying one-way, check the equivalent round trip fare… Sometimes it is cheaper to buy a RT fare and just not use the return flight.
4. Use airline web sites. Fares are usually cheapest. The frustration is the credit card issue I discussed previously. Very frustrating if the fare is cheapest, but you can’t book. Fares are almost always higher if you actually have to talk to someone.
5. Be flexible on plans, if possible. You will normally pay much more over Christmas or other holidays. You need to be realistic in expectations. Speaking of realism, the Golden Age of Air Travel is long gone… There are no longer any “freebies” like pillows or even water. Business class food is better than the swill in the back, but only vary rarely is it actually haute cuisine, like pictured in the ads. The airline advertisements usually focused on First Class. Everyone else is riding a flying Jeepney.

If your flight is cancelled due to weather or very late and you might miss a connection, get on the phone to the airline… Don’t wait at the desk at the airport. You will usually have a much easier time rebooking. A final tip: Be NICE to the gate agent…No matter how frustrated you are or how dumb they appear to be… They are usually your best key to getting an upgrade and can be helpful in sorting out problems.

Courtesy of: http://www.liveinthephilippines.com/
By: JOHNM