Originally Posted by
Tiki
We are planning a trip to Seram and West Papua for birding next year. Our flights from BNE-DPS will be award tickets on DJ, then we have to get to the following places:
DPS-Ambon
Ambon-Sorong
Sorong-Manokwari
Manokwari-DPS
It looks like the airlines we have to choose from are a hodge-podge of Lion Air, Wings, Batavia, Express and Sriwijaya. We will probably have to use SUB or UPG to transit between DPS and Ambon, then Manokwari back to DPS. This thread is a couple years old so I was looking for more recent experiences with these airlines. Not fussy, just want to get there reliably, safely and preferably be able to book and pay online. There will be a buffer of 4 days in Bali before out flights back home. As far as I can see, overland transport doesn't seem to be an option between Sorong and Manokwari.
Words of caution for Lion Air (or Wings, they're same company i believe): They always late (2-3+hrs easily) based on my several experiences last year. If you absolutely have to take them, get the early flight.
There's new full-service airline, Pacific Royale (
http://www.pacificroyale.com/), which will finally fly this month. Not sure about route/price though.