yannix

There have been no reported plans to move any airline from T1 until at least after the "improvements" in T3 is completed (estimated Aug 2014).

Mabuk dan gila

So based on that estimated completion date......perhaps Aug 2019 ???

Mabuk dan gila

You forgot the boarding pass inspection to get to the gate area and then the additional full open bag carry-on search, third WTMD and patdown to get to the gate area holding pen since MNL-GUM is a US bound flight.

tentseller

Never had to do MNL GUM, mostly DL MNL NRT/NGO US or cheap PR MNL HKG.

MNL NAIA flight security is a joke. They missed my pocket knife but confiscated my daughter's three seashell which was her present after teaching poor children for a month in a rural village. They claim it was protected good and not allowed to be export. they then threw them into the garbage pail. Similar seashells (processed) was for sale in the Pinoy souvenir shop airside.

yannix

I think you are being very optimistic ...

smith80678

I think they are trying to prevent people from harvesting marine life, not that you did. The shells for sale in the gift shop might me from china or other

Akiestar

Something PR regulars should note: pictures of the newly-renovated (international) Mabuhay Lounge!

http://www.choosephilippines.com/sta...abuhay-lounge/

KIXman

That's good to know!
The ham in the pictures shown on that page looks pretty good
I added a comment to the lounge description in my previous post mentioning that it was renovated.

tentseller

Is that T2 lounge? The layout looks familiar. I hope there is room in the men's room to turn without "pissing" on the guy next to you.

Akiestar

Yes, that is the T2 lounge. (I wouldn't be posting it here if it wasn't the T2 lounge, right? )

If they were able to put in a shower, they should have been able to make more room for that.

JDiver

There is a current thread on the PR Mabuhay Lounge at MNL in the Other Asian, Australian and South Pacific Frequent Flyer Programs Forum here:

New MNL PR / Philippine Airlines International Mabuhay Lounge (2013)

ex-koelner

I'm in the middle of planning my vacation to the Philippines in December, which makes quite a good progress, but I'm struggling with sorting out the return flight. I'll spend the last days of my vacation on Palawan Island, but will have to catch an already booked flight out of MNL to HKG on PR, which departs at 2.30pm.
There would be a flight from Puerto Princesa to MNL (also on PR) which arrives at 10am, giving 4.5 hours for transfering. I know, nobody has a crystal ball, but any thoughts on the reliability of this particular route? Just in case the PR flight gots cancelled or was heavily delayed, there would be a 5J flight 90 mins later, giving still 3 hrs to transfer.
The point is, it's imperative to catch the PR flight out of MNL, because I'm booked on a flight from HKG to Europe later the evening.
That's 3 seperate flights on one day, with what I would consider sufficient time buffer inbetween, but I'm still afraid of doing it all too tight. Of course it would be safer to fly from PP to MNL the day before, but I foresee that I would just kill my time in a hotel near the airport, not the best idea for the last day of a holiday.
Any thoughts? Is it doable in one day or grossly negligent?

PS: I was not sure to post my worries here or in the Other Asian Frequent Flyer Programs. If you consider that to be the better place, feel free to move it.

edit: I just discovered that there is also a Z2 flight from PP to MNL in the morning, arriving MNL at 9am. So there are 3 flights from PP to MNL which should allow sufficient transfer time if everything runs smoothly.

Crocodile

I would say that it is not common for flights to be cancelled, but it is not uncommon for flights to be delayed for hours (or for you to be put on a later flight). All that being said, since there are only a couple of flights a day from PP to MNL, it is more likely to be cancelled than delayed. Sorry, no crystal ball here. I have seen a guy yelling at the Caticlan airport staff as he was saying he had a 2hr connection where he had to then fly to Hong Kong and connecting to Europe and they would have to pay for his $5,000 airfare to rebook! - Yeah, don't be that guy.

A 9am arrival flight into MNL will have you leaving PP early and your hotel super-early, so you might rule that one out. Palawan is a big island - not sure how far away your resort will be from the airport. Your PR option/strategy is probably not a bad one, considering there is a later flight on 5J. Note that flights do get booked out. If the PR one looked like being delayed, you would need to be quick and a little lucky. Depending on how long you the stay is in Palawan, I may be more likely to fly back to Manlia the day before. Staying in Makati (no need to stay beside the airport), see a few of the sights in Manila (no, there are not that many), do a little last minute shopping and relax a little is not a bad way to spend the last night in the Philippines.

I don't think that the phrase "things run smoothly" and the Philippines are really meant to be used together. In the Philippines, things run on Philippines time - they sometimes just happen when they happen, for no real reason.

Oh, and I hope your PR flight to Hong Kong gets you there on time also .

ex-koelner

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Crocodile. On Palawan I'll stay in El Nido, so I have to come back to PP the day before and spend the night somewhere close to the airport. Showing up there at 7am or so shouldn't be a problem.
On the other hand, if I have to go back to PP the day before anyway, I could try to find a flight to MNL in the late afternoon and spend the last night in MNL, as you suggested. Provided that the vans from El Nido bring me to PP airport in time

In HKG I have almost 6 hours to transfer from the PR flight to the TK flight which departs at 11pm. And I hope they interline so that my luggage will be checked through. Keep the fingers crossed! But again, there are CX and 5J flights as back-ups if PR messes it up.

tentseller

With the roads in Palawan why not just fly El Nido to Manila direct?