Good J prices: EY MNL-Europe rtn

[CMA222]

Yes, I know, I was there last week and it's slightly more than a noodle bar. The wantons were very nice, but the cheap Aussie shiraz wasn't.

The CX lounge in Manila is miles better than the PAGSS contract lounge QF uses. The CX wines, including the bubbles, were down graded after the lounge finally reopened after Covid.

 

[Ansett Nostalgic]

The CX lounge in Manila is miles better than the PAGSS contract lounge QF uses. The CX wines, including the bubbles, were down graded after the lounge finally reopened after Covid.

Does QF fly out of a different terminal in MNL or are they just to cheap to pay for CX lounge access?

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Does QF fly out of a different terminal in MNL or are they just to cheap to pay for CX lounge access?

They fly out of the same terminal but send passanger's to PAGGS as I assume its cheaper, same as Qatar.

Cathay will let you in if you have status or are on a J ticket. Only shame is that the lounge closes at 8pm so if you are on the 2am flight to BNE you will miss out, same with the midnight Qatar departures.

 

[CMA222]

They fly out of the same terminal but send passanger's to PAGGS as I assume its cheaper, same as Qatar.

Cathay will let you in if you have status or are on a J ticket. Only shame is that the lounge closes at 8pm so if you are on the 2am flight to BNE you will miss out, same with the midnight Qatar departures.

Yes fortunately the MNL - SYD flight (QF20) departs at 2035 so the QF pax, who can access the CX lounge, have already left the CX lounge to board the flight before it closes.

 

[SydneySwan]

Yes fortunately the MNL - SYD flight (QF20) departs at 2035 so the QF pax, who can access the CX lounge, have already left the CX lounge to board the flight before it closes.

Does it really close at 8pm? I was in the lounge on Wednesday evening and left at 8.15pm as QF20 was delayed a few mins but there were still about 6 people there when I left.

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Does it really close at 8pm? I was in the lounge on Wednesday evening and left at 8.15pm as QF20 was delayed a few mins but there were still about 6 people there when I left.

The Cathay website says it closes at 8:15pm daily which is also when the last flight to HK departs.

https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_AU/destinations/lounges/manila-mnl/cathay-pacific-lounge.html

 

[Melburnian1]

Hey everyone,

Interesting thread! I've just booked MNL-AUH-MUC and returning GVA-AUH-MNL in J with Etihad for $2600 in December. I chose the shorter layovers in AUH and therefore the flights between MNL to AUH are both on the 777 with the old J seats but for the price I really can't complain much. The AUH-MUC flight will be in the brand new 787 with suites which I haven't heard or read much about which I'm excited for.

It will be my first time flying in and out of MNL and I've done a bit of reading to get my expectations right. Seems like Manila is navigable but not extremely efficient or fun, can anyone tell me if Manila has fast tracked security and immigration options for premium passangers? And what has your experience been in terms of time it takes to clear immigration and security on either end of your flights in and out of MNL?

In recent times I have only used T1.

The only fast tracking appears to be for those holding an APEX card.

In my last visit (February and then March 2024), on both occasions it took about 12 minutes to get through immigration. There were more immigration officers than I can ever recall, probably because the media gave the Filipino Department of Immigration a few 'serves' two or three years ago, so additional officers were trained.

The experience was better than when departing or arriving SYD or MEL internationally.

My suitcase also appeared very promptly on one of the two trips, and quite promptly on the other. Maximum waiting time was about 18 minutes: again, superior to Australia.

99 per cent of passengers just walk straight through customs.

However, I don't advise same day international connections in MNL, especially during June to December typhoon season. This doesn't mean there's a typhoon every day - far from it - but you could be unlucky. Additionally, an inbound on which you're travelling could be late, and then you expend energy panicking that you won't make your connection.