moodysf

Hello. I'm planning on visiting the Philippines in June and heard that unless you're flying PAL that you may need to transfer terminals for international and domestic flights. Does anyone know if there is a shuttle service between Terminals 2 and 3? If so, what are the rates, how often do they run and how long does it take? Also, would it be cheaper than taking a taxi?

tanzaniancane

Hi moodysf,
There is a shuttle that runs between the terminals and is free of charge. Once you exit the terminal, just find the sign for the shuttle or ask one of the security officers as to where that shuttle stops. There are also some jeepneys that run between terminals and cost 10 pesos or so. Enjoy the Philippines - it is absolutely gorgeous!

PS: This info is true as of last August - not sure if it has changed since then...

moodysf

Thanks tanzaniancane, do you happen to know how long it takes to get from one terminal to another? I need to figure out how much time to buffer between flights.

Crocodile

The "shuttle" works on Philippines time - ie, i think it is meant to go every 10 minutes, but it might leave in 5 or 15 minutes. It does a loop between the 4 airports, so can take time, depending on traffic. If you are in a hurry, grab a metered taxi (the yellow taxis are available, on the left as you walk out of the terminal - assuming you are flying in on an international non-PR flight). Terminal 3 is the "new" terminal, but not sure what stop it is after Terminal 2 - maybe the next one?. Easy just to ask the guard at the bus station and they will tell you. If you are in doubt then, just get a taxi (P70 for the first 500m, then P4 for every 300m).

jasperJ8

which airlines are you taking? from which terminal to which? there is scheduled shuttle as discussed here and if you have time of around 30 minutes or so, the shuttle will do but otherwise, just grab a taxi cab. if you are from the international airport (terminal 1) to centennial terminal/philippine airlines (terminal 2) or vice versa, it's an easy 5-minute walk between these two terminals

elitelite

Any update on transfer experiences at Manila lately?

I am planning a transfer from Cebu Pacific (T3) to Cathay Pacific (T1) and would like to know best options, typical time, busy periods etc.

Chances are our Cebu flight will arrive at MNL around 3:30p and our CX flight departs MNL at 5:50. That essentially means we need to be at the check-in counter by 5pm. Feasible?

jrpaguia

Just curious as to why you're not taking CX straight from CEB?

elitelite

I mean Cebu Pacific, not Cebu the city, although we are coming from CEB :-).

That said, the answer is availability issues--no award space from CEB direct.

jrpaguia

Gotcha! Have some fresh lato for me while you're there.

Black Adder

Yeah, I don't think it would be to much of a problem getting to T1 by 5pm as long as you get your bags pretty quick and there isn't a long line for taxis at T3. I would worry much more about checking in, going through customs and security in so short a time. Having said that, I've never left MNL that late in the day so I've no idea how busy the terminal is at that time.

Akiestar

I recommend checking in online, and then inquiring at NAIA-3 information about the inter-terminal shuttle. PR recommends that passengers allot three hours for inter-terminal transfers. If all else fails, you can take the airport taxi, or you can go back up to departures and take a regular white taxi.

Just a fair warning: traffic gets heavy on Andres Avenue by around 5:00-6:00 pm due to evening rush hour and the way traffic flows there.

LightSpeed

I'm looking at an itinerary currently as follows:
Philippine Airlines: Tagbilaran -> Manila (T2), landing at 1815hrs
Singapore Airlines: Manila (T1) -> Singapore, departing at 1850hrs

Two questions:
* Would Philippine Airlines allow baggage to be checked in to the SQ flight?
* Assuming the above works, would there be sufficient time with a taxi to transfer to the SQ flight or do I plan to spend a night in Manila (1850 is the last SQ flight out)?

Thoughts appreciated; thanks.

MrHalliday

Wow, that seems way too short a connection time.

bangkokiscool

Yeah, that's not going to work.

Akiestar

To answer your questions:

*PAL does not do interline baggage tagging if the two flights are on two separate itineraries. If that is the case, you will have to claim your bags in MNL before proceeding to NAIA-1 to check in for your SQ flight. I'm not sure though if that is case should the two flights be on one itinerary under a single PNR, so it would be advised to ask.
*There's sufficient time to get to NAIA-1, definitely (you're actually better off riding a public bus, since buses stop just right outside NAIA-1). But with this sort of connection, definitely not.

My advice for you is either to board an earlier TAG-MNL flight, or spend the night in Manila before boarding the next SQ flight the next day. Or, fly PAL to SIN, where your bags can be checked through to SIN when you check in at TAG.