Planning to go to MNL in Jan. 2006...too early to purchase tix?
May 6, 2005, 10:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Iowa
Posts: 229
Planning to go to MNL in Jan. 2006...too early to purchase tix?
Tickets are currently around $1750r/t for this flight (DSM to MNL). Would I be best off buying them now or gambling that they may go down before I depart in January 2006?
Thanks.
Thanks.
May 6, 2005, 11:29 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Silicon Valley
Programs: AA:PLT&3MM, HGP:DIA, SPG:GOLD
Posts: 1,896
I think that's way too high. Typically, fares from the West Coast to MNL are around $800 off-peak and $1000 peak. In fact for around the fare you are looking at ($1750), you could get a business class seat on PR for a few hundred more. It's best to get your ticket from an Asian specialist in the West Coast or Chicago and book the flight from DSM to those gateway cities separately.
May 6, 2005, 11:32 am
#3
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: MSP (and will only fly NWA in re-routes if I HAVE to)
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Posts: 5,800
If you were looking for a free (award) ticket (you don't indicate that however) .. I would say you are three months LATE in booking!
May 6, 2005, 11:49 am
#4
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Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Iowa
Posts: 229
Originally Posted by JGR01
If you were looking for a free (award) ticket (you don't indicate that however) .. I would say you are three months LATE in booking!
May 6, 2005, 11:50 am
#5
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Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Iowa
Posts: 229
Originally Posted by bp888
I think that's way too high. Typically, fares from the West Coast to MNL are around $800 off-peak and $1000 peak. In fact for around the fare you are looking at ($1750), you could get a business class seat on PR for a few hundred more. It's best to get your ticket from an Asian specialist in the West Coast or Chicago and book the flight from DSM to those gateway cities separately.
May 6, 2005, 1:24 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: SJC (AA PLT 2MM - Marriott LTT - Avis Preferred)
Posts: 2,030
January is considered a peak-season month, which may account for the premium airfares:
- End of Christmas season
- Chinese New Year
- respite from the typhoon season, so relatively dry
- End of Christmas season
- Chinese New Year
- respite from the typhoon season, so relatively dry
May 7, 2005, 3:07 am
#7
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Originally Posted by rnmcd
What do you think accounts for the fare being so high right now? Fuel costs?
May 7, 2005, 9:58 am
#8
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Portland, Oregon
Programs: AA EXP UA 2KMM AMB
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Originally Posted by bp888
I think that's way too high. Typically, fares from the West Coast to MNL are around $800 off-peak and $1000 peak. In fact for around the fare you are looking at ($1750), you could get a business class seat on PR for a few hundred more. It's best to get your ticket from an Asian specialist in the West Coast or Chicago and book the flight from DSM to those gateway cities separately.
May 7, 2005, 6:42 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Iowa
Posts: 229
Originally Posted by bp888
It's best to get your ticket from an Asian specialist in the West Coast or Chicago and book the flight from DSM to those gateway cities separately.
Also, how does anyone recommend I find a source for a reputable Asian ticketing specialist?
Thank you.
May 7, 2005, 6:44 pm
#10
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Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Iowa
Posts: 229
Originally Posted by USA_flyer
It would be worth your while setting up a fare watcher, but I'm willing to bet it's the other side of summer before you start seeing decent fares...
Which fare watchers are recommended?
May 7, 2005, 11:36 pm
#12
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I travel to Asia a lot, and MNL can be a tough nut to crack on both paid and awards. Too many immigrants wanting to travel and too few seats. Sometimes your ace on awards is CO through either GUM or SPN (possibly on an NW routing through NRT first, if not the more conventional HNL-GUM CO routing).
A split-ticket strategy with HKG as the break point might also work. HKG has more capacity and relatively less demand, plus lots of cheap flights to MNL. If you're traveling light or have some extra time, KUL might also be a gateway, as Air Asia is going to fly KUL-Clark.
Otherwise BP is right and the specialist travel agents can usually get sub-$1,000 out of LAX, SFO or HNL or close to $1,000 out of CHI, probably on someone like EVA or KE or CI.
A split-ticket strategy with HKG as the break point might also work. HKG has more capacity and relatively less demand, plus lots of cheap flights to MNL. If you're traveling light or have some extra time, KUL might also be a gateway, as Air Asia is going to fly KUL-Clark.
Otherwise BP is right and the specialist travel agents can usually get sub-$1,000 out of LAX, SFO or HNL or close to $1,000 out of CHI, probably on someone like EVA or KE or CI.
May 9, 2005, 9:25 am
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Iowa
Posts: 229
Originally Posted by RustyC
I travel to Asia a lot, and MNL can be a tough nut to crack on both paid and awards. Too many immigrants wanting to travel and too few seats. Sometimes your ace on awards is CO through either GUM or SPN (possibly on an NW routing through NRT first, if not the more conventional HNL-GUM CO routing).
A split-ticket strategy with HKG as the break point might also work. HKG has more capacity and relatively less demand, plus lots of cheap flights to MNL. If you're traveling light or have some extra time, KUL might also be a gateway, as Air Asia is going to fly KUL-Clark.
Otherwise BP is right and the specialist travel agents can usually get sub-$1,000 out of LAX, SFO or HNL or close to $1,000 out of CHI, probably on someone like EVA or KE or CI.
A split-ticket strategy with HKG as the break point might also work. HKG has more capacity and relatively less demand, plus lots of cheap flights to MNL. If you're traveling light or have some extra time, KUL might also be a gateway, as Air Asia is going to fly KUL-Clark.
Otherwise BP is right and the specialist travel agents can usually get sub-$1,000 out of LAX, SFO or HNL or close to $1,000 out of CHI, probably on someone like EVA or KE or CI.
May 9, 2005, 9:35 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Iowa
Posts: 229
Originally Posted by Scandalous
http://www.angeltravel.com/ is one popular on-line travel agent that should be able to get good prices.
But the odd thing about it is that the site didn't have fares for Jan.1 - Jan. 11 departures for United Airlines.hmmmmmmm