Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, KLM, Oman Air and Emirates currently have some excellent Business class sale fares from the Philippines to Europe, for travel right up until the end of August 2020. For example, you could fly with Etihad Airways in Business Class from Manila to Rome for just $2,571 return.
If you live in Australia, you can take advantage of these prices by positioning to and from Manila at the start and end of your trip to Europe. This could involve paying for a return ticket from Australia to Manila, e.g. on Qantas, Philippine Airlines or Cebu Pacific, or redeeming points. Qantas flies daily from Sydney to Manila and there are often Classic Flight Reward seats available.
You can stay in Manila for as little or as long as you like between flights, but we recommend allowing at least one night in each direction in case of delays to your inbound flight. During your Manila stopover, you could simply stay at one of the hotels within walking distance of the airport or – if you have enough time given the heavy traffic – head into the city.
The sale fares are available to multiple cities across Europe, which vary by airline. In general, the cheapest fares appear to be to Rome and Munich. If you wish to travel to more than one city in Europe, you can book an “open jaw” and fly out of Europe from a different airport to where you arrived.
Read more: Strategies for Cheap Business Class to Europe
Etihad Airways sale fares from Manila
Etihad Airways has Business class flights on sale from Manila to destinations in Europe including Rome, Milan Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Geneva, Athens, Barcelona and London. (Note that if your return flight back to Manila departs from anywhere in the UK, you’ll pay around $315 more in UK departure taxes.)
Here’s an example of an Etihad Airways sale fare itinerary, pricing at USD1,767.70 (~AU$2,571) return:
You can of course earn Velocity points and status credits with Etihad Airways. For the above itinerary, you would earn 400 status credits and around 16,200 Velocity points. Flights to some other destinations in Europe, like London and Madrid, would earn 480 Velocity status credits per round-trip. Keep in mind that you can also use Virgin Australia family pooling to earn Velocity status faster if travelling with a family member.
The Etihad Airways sale ends on 30 October 2019, and you must commence travel by 31 August 2020. Many dates are available, including during the upcoming European summer holiday period, and free stopovers in Abu Dhabi are permitted in both directions. You can book on the Etihad Airways website.
Qatar Airways sale fares ex Manila
Here’s an example of a Qatar Airways sale fare:
With Qatar Airways, you can earn points with any Oneworld frequent flyer program. For example, you could earn 14,500 Qantas points + 320 Qantas status credits for the above itinerary. The Qatar Airways sale departing the Philippines ends on 29 October, and you must commence travel by 31 August 2020.
Oman Air sale fares from Manila
Here’s an example of an Oman Air sale fare:
This sale ends 25 October, and you must commence travel by 30 June 2020. You can add a stopover in Muscat if you want (and if you haven’t been there, I would highly recommend it!).
Although Oman Air is not in an alliance, don’t underestimate the airline’s Business class product. You can earn miles and tier miles with Etihad Guest for Oman Air flights. You can book on the Oman Air website.
KLM sale fares ex Manila
Dutch airline KLM flies from Manila to Amsterdam via Taipei, and the airline is also getting in on the sale action. Here’s an example of a KLM sale fare out of Manila:
The KLM sale ends on 25 October, and you must commence travel by 30 June 2020. You can travel via Amsterdam to various destinations across Europe, and stopovers in Amsterdam cost USD100 each. You can book on the KLM website.
KLM is in the SkyTeam alliance. If you were to credit the above itinerary to the Flying Blue frequent flyer program, you would earn 102 XP points – which is enough to reach Flying Blue Silver, or SkyTeam Elite status.
Sale fares are also available from Clark & Cebu Airports
Emirates Business Class fares from Manila to Europe are a little more expensive, at just over $3,000 return. But Emirates does have some great Business class airfares available from Clark International Airport (located near Angeles, around 3 hours north of Manila by car) and Cebu. You can book on the Emirates website.
Here’s one example:
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: EY & QR J to Europe from $2,723 ex MNL
