Thunderroad

My wife and I plan to visit Manila, Palawan, Laoag and Boracay next month. Does anyone have recommendations on the best (and warnings re the worst) domestic airlines flying these routes? It looks like our choices are Philippine Air/PAL Express, Cebu Pacific, SEAIR, and Air Asia Zest/Air Asia Pacific.

Price is a less important consideration for us than safety and reliability.

Also, is there any difference between PAL and PAL express, other than the types of planes they fly? Same question for Air Asia Zest and Air Asia Pacific.

Thanks for any help!

newaarondavidson

Also interested.

rankourabu

Have flown Cebu a few times, as well as PAL Express. Really did not see any difference between the two. Book on price/schedule.

All the prop planes that fly to MPH will be under PAL Express

Dont forget TigerAir.

Crocodile

I always try PAL/PAL Express or Cebu - they have the frequency and price on most routes. The fleets are all very new, so no real issue there. Don't book tight connection times and the on-time performance, especially out of MPH, is pretty ordinary.

jchock1

FWIW, Cebu posts their on-time performance on their website, and for December 2014 it was 55.2%. Of the two domestic flights we've been on thus far one was on time and the other was an hour and a half late.

Also be aware that Cebu has some sort of partnership with Tigerair, and sells tickets on Tigerair, and those flights leave from a different terminal in Manila than the Cebu flights (terminal 4 for Tigerair vs. 3 for Cebu). We missed that fact, and showed up for our flight at the wrong terminal. It's a 15-20 minute taxi ride between terminals. The plane we flew on was branded Cebu even though it was a Tigerair coded flight.

Cebu claims to have the newest fleet in Asia. They were always significantly cheaper than Philippines Air and somewhat cheaper and/or more convenient time-wise than Air Asia. At every point during the booking process they try to add fees for meals, baggage and seat selection, and hide the "No thanks" button so you miss it.

If you can connect through Cebu vs. Manila on your interisland flights that would be preferable. Manila airport is a clusterf*ck to say the least.

One tip I did read about the taxis from the Manila airport (that worked flawlessly for us in Jan 2015) is to take the elevator upstairs to departures and get a taxi there. The line for regular taxis was incredibly long downstairs at arrivals (this was terminal 3), but we went upstairs and got right in a taxi. Be sure they start the meter.

RAINMAN0

I've flown all of them. They are all pretty garbage but they are cheap. Don't expect on time arrivals and to be squished in like a sardine but you'll eventually arrive.

Just pick the cheapest with a good departure and arrival time.

yevlesh2

Pal/Air Phil and Cebu are fine. Don't expect perfect on-time performance, but any delays are usually minor.

I would avoid Zest Air - they have a habit of radically changing their schedules on short notice and not bothering to notify passengers. Also avoid Skyjet -absolute joke of an airline.

Thunderroad

Thanks for the feedback, folks!

And thanks for this tip, jchock1. Much appreciated.

samplat

I traveled on PAL Express recently (Dec-Jan) MNL-KLO and back and overall it was fine though both flights were delayed by several hours. At the time at least, there was a lot of negative reports about Cebu pacific delays, cancellations, overbooking, and we saw the massive lines firsthand at MNL Christmas Eve and on the return from Kalibo (some passengers had been delayed a day+). I don't know if the situation was due to the holiday season or routine but was definitely glad we weren't traveling Cebu Pacific.

Safe travels and enjoy the Philippines!

davidord

I've only flown Cebu pacific - over 20 times.
50% on time departure/arrival, but FA's are friendly, hot food onboard is reasonably priced, and the flights are short so no big deal even in a cramped seat.

railways1

Philippine Airlines and PAL Express seem indistinguishable.

They are fine. MNL is busy delay-prone airport.

Cebu Pacific checkin is slower and annoying, but apart from that it is fine.

I don't like AirAsia: pilots may be inexperienced.