PAL - Business to Manila Ex Perth Darwin & Bris $738 Return!

[aussie25]

Business class fares lower than economy in many cases.

Also, cheap business class fares from Manila to almost all their international destinations.

When checking flights look for the Mabuhay Classic fare for business class

Unfortunately Melbourne and Sydney don't get such a great deal (approx $1000 each way)

Sales and ticketing dates are 1 May to 31 July but Perth, Darwin and Brisbane flights don't start until June

Edit
The fare looks to be available for all months that are open for booking through to March 2014

[ding]

I've searched everywhere I can think of on PAL websites and can't find anything like this out of Brisbane. However, PAL has direct Brissy to Manila flights about 11 hours one way and about 9 hours the other, for around $950 return.

I have previously flown to brisbane, waited around, then flown to darwin, waited around then flown to manila. I'm quite good at sleeping on the carpet in darwin airport down near the dunnies while I wait 6 hours for my flight back to brissy.

I have some serious back problems and I'd had flights booked by a travel agent previously that involved about 12 hours travel in Aus with several waits at small airports, then hours waiting in darwin just to avoid most flights from Australia that went through singapore or somewhere similar with about 6 hours layover there.

Last time I booked them myself and had less wait time, but still lost 8 hours in brissy and darwin airports to do a darwin-manila flight.

Thanks for this post. Even though I can;t find the mabuhay busines class fares (let alone the cheap ones) You've saved me a lot of pain and quite a bit of inconvenience, as well as some dollars :-)

[chris]

Dec 13, 2013 12:31:54 GMT 7 ding said:

I've searched everywhere I can think of on PAL websites and can't find anything like this out of Brisbane. However, PAL has direct Brissy to Manila flights about 11 hours one way and about 9 hours the other, for around $950 return.

I have previously flown to brisbane, waited around, then flown to darwin, waited around then flown to manila. I'm quite good at sleeping on the carpet in darwin airport down near the dunnies while I wait 6 hours for my flight back to brissy.

I have some serious back problems and I'd had flights booked by a travel agent previously that involved about 12 hours travel in Aus with several waits at small airports, then hours waiting in darwin just to avoid most flights from Australia that went through singapore or somewhere similar with about 6 hours layover there.

Last time I booked them myself and had less wait time, but still lost 8 hours in brissy and darwin airports to do a darwin-manila flight.

Thanks for this post. Even though I can;t find the mabuhay busines class fares (let alone the cheap ones) You've saved me a lot of pain and quite a bit of inconvenience, as well as some dollars :-)

Good info. I will be based there for my 24 months mandatory stay. Or in Canberra some of the time. The cheaper flights and the overall cost of living make the Gold Coast (Robina/Reedy Creek) more attractive.

[chris]

Good info...replying to rossd.

[Banjo]

Here's some PAL promotion flights.

www1.philippineairlines.com/special-offers/promo-fares-international/

I suppose Darwin would be under 700AUD.

[ding]

Thanks Banjo,

Stupid here read those as being one way, but a look at the headings and it is obvious it is round trip.

Business class Manila-Brissy-Manila is on sale at about AUD$2020, but

Economy class Manila-Brissy-Manila is on sale at about AUD$770

I've bookmarked that page.

For me that would be a $180 saving. That's a few San Mig lights :-)

[ding]

Hmmm, at that sort of fare price I could sell my home out in the sticks and get a flop in the city and get rent assistance there, then I could use the money from the house to finance alternate 6 weeks here and 6 weeks in Phils. The government would be paying more than if I was doing 13 week trips, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind, because it was their idea to drop portability from 13 weeks to 6 weeks, and I would certainly avoid boredom :-D

[Banjo]

You may not avoid Centrelinks residency requirements though, I think I would advise against something as drastic as selling your house until we see if any pension losses on frequency of travel grounds are forthcoming.

[ding]

Yes, though some of that post was a bit tongue in cheek. I suppose I should sto doing that.
Regarding your comment though, one day when I was reading the Centrelink web site I saw something that suggested that they would be looking at frequency of trips and duration of the returns to Australia. The way I read it, Centrelink would be watching for overnight returns and clamping down on them.
I haven't been able to find it again.

One thing that is annoying is that they went from 13 weeks to 6. If I'm planning a trip I plan to lose a week, because that's sometimes the only way to fit a cheap flight from say townsville to brisbane, so I really only get about 5 weeks. Pity they didn't make it 7 lol.

Just waiting for them to apply the 6 week rule to OAP. In the mean time, your revelation about the PAL specials has just screwed up all my careful planning and juggling of connecting flights.

With direct flights Brissy to Manila, even at their normal economy rate, it will make a huge difference in pain and inconvenience. But if I can get those flights on special it will pay for at least one way Townsville to brisbane and if I time it right, both ways.

This board is a wonderful resource and great for encouragement.

[Banjo]

Many thanks.

Deep in my files somewhere there's something from Centrelink saying that any more time spent overseas than 6 month a year, total in any 12 month period will be actionable.
We need to remember that when we fought them under the previous residency system we were invariably successful as long as we had NO ties overseas. Frequency of travel did not matter.

Whether this would still stand up remains to be seen.

[ding]

I'm lucky that way I suppose. My gf is not too much younger than me, and while it might be nice to marry, doesn't feel any urgency to unless it makes it simpler for us to be together. I'm surprised we've survived as many years as we have :-) So some more to-ing and fro-ing a couple of times a year will be ok.  Using PAL will make things so much easier.  I'll only have one important connection to get timing right, instead of 3!  I suppose if we marry too early we'll have problems with 'ties' overseas.  If we leave it too late, not being married could disadvantage her in a number of ways.  <sigh>

[Banjo]

People were given opportunities to establish lives overseas by the way Centrelink interpreted the legislation at the time Ding.
Then after years of allowing unlimited 13 week portability periods the rug was jerked out and they claimed "it was never meant to be like that".
I, and others like me, were cut off while overseas with no warning, just a direction to ring an investigations officer so he could give you the bad news.
Payments in lieu of appeal were never considered and if you could not get back, then starve.
So much for a duty of care.

[ding]

Yes Banjo, you know why I consider my gf and I the lucky ones, even though the rules make it hard for us. I feel for the people that established or joined families, then had their lives turned upside down after the 26 week rule changed to 13 weeks, and those that copped the same in the change from 13 weeks to 6. And as I and others have discovered, the 13 wks was really 12 weeks if you wanted to allow for flexibility and not risk accidental over stay. We almost considered calling the whole thing off around then, but unfortunately we are just too compatible.

Now I'm spending far too much time on this website trying to pick up on your collective experience. Including, and especially, how to budget for these overseas trips. :-), because it looks like I'll be doing them well into retirement, from what I can read on Centrelink's web site.