To Europe via Manila

[JoshuaL1997]

I'll start of with a bit of background for this trip and segments I'm hopefully going to cover, before launching into trip reports from each segment. This is really more for me to document my trip but if anyone gets anything from it event better.

I'm originally swiss and have been meaning to return home for a holiday to see extended family since the borders opened post covid. However being 6'2 and not liking the idea of forking out 3k to fly in Economy (yes thats how much Qatar and Emirates both wanted when I was searching, for reference we paid less for two people in July 2019), I decided to try out a hack which I kept reading about to get cheaper business class fares to europe by flying out of an asian gateway.

What most people who rave about this hack seem to do is book a cash business fare from cities including: Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and sometimes even Singapore and then either use their reward points or a cheap cash fare to get to that city from Australia

In my case I live in Brisbane and as we don't have direct flights to KL, Jakarta or Bangkok (until next year) my only real straight forward options were Manila and Singapore. Using google flights I found a really cheap deal out of Manila with Etihad allowing me to fly into Munich and out of Geneva all in business class for $2600 AUD in December. As I was finding this deal, Qantas also announced they were restarting direct flights between Brisbane and Manila so you can say this felt like fate and I booked the flights and a trip started to take shape.

Trip breakdown:

30/11 BNE-MNL, QF97, A330-200 Business Class

30/11-02/12 Savoy Hotel Manila, Runaway Suite

02/12, MNL-AUH, EY440, B777 Business Class

03/12, AUH-MUC EY125, B787 Business Class

03/12-05/12 Boutique Hotel Germania, Munich, Standard Single room

05/12 Munich to Salzburg, RJX65, 2nd class

05/12-06/12 arte Hotel Salzburg, Double room medium level

06/12 Salzburg to Zurich, RJX 368, 1st class

06/12-13/12 Staying with family in Winterthur, Switzerland

13/12-15/12 the Freddie Mercury Hotel, Montreux Switzerland

15/12-16/12 Nash Pratik Hotel Geneva, Standard Double room

16/12 GVA-AUH, EY146, B787 Business Class

17/12 AUH-MNL, EY440, B777 Business Class

17/12 MNL-SYD, QF20, A330-200 Business Class

18/12-22/12 Staying with family in Sydney

22/12, SYD-BNE VA989 737 Economy

Thats what I have planned and booked, lets see how this goes. Stay tuned for rolling coverage.

 

[RooFlyer]

Switzerland has been a point of discussion here recently; looking forward to this TR.

 

[I love to travel]

I'll start of with a bit of background for this trip and segments I'm hopefully going to cover, before launching into trip reports from each segment. This is really more for me to document my trip but if anyone gets anything from it event better.

I'm originally swiss and have been meaning to return home for a holiday to see extended family since the borders opened post covid. However being 6'2 and not liking the idea of forking out 3k to fly in Economy (yes thats how much Qatar and Emirates both wanted when I was searching, for reference we paid less for two people in July 2019), I decided to try out a hack which I kept reading about to get cheaper business class fares to europe by flying out of an asian gateway.

What most people who rave about this hack seem to do is book a cash business fare from cities including: Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and sometimes even Singapore and then either use their reward points or a cheap cash fare to get to that city from Australia

In my case I live in Brisbane and as we don't have direct flights to KL, Jakarta or Bangkok (until next year) my only real straight forward options were Manila and Singapore. Using google flights I found a really cheap deal out of Manila with Etihad allowing me to fly into Munich and out of Geneva all in business class for $2600 AUD in December. As I was finding this deal, Qantas also announced they were restarting direct flights between Brisbane and Manila so you can say this felt like fate and I booked the flights and a trip started to take shape.

Trip breakdown:

30/11 BNE-MNL, QF97, A330-200 Business Class

30/11-02/12 Savoy Hotel Manila, Runaway Suite

02/12, MNL-AUH, EY440, B777 Business Class

03/12, AUH-MUC EY125, B787 Business Class

03/12-05/12 Boutique Hotel Germania, Munich, Standard Single room

05/12 Munich to Salzburg, RJX65, 2nd class

05/12-06/12 arte Hotel Salzburg, Double room medium level

06/12 Salzburg to Zurich, RJX 368, 1st class

06/12-13/12 Staying with family in Winterthur, Switzerland

13/12-15/12 the Freddie Mercury Hotel, Montreux Switzerland

15/12-16/12 Nash Pratik Hotel Geneva, Standard Double room

16/12 GVA-AUH, EY146, B787 Business Class

17/12 AUH-MNL, EY440, B777 Business Class

17/12 MNL-SYD, QF20, A330-200 Business Class

18/12-22/12 Staying with family in Sydney

22/12, SYD-BNE VA989 737 Economy

Thats what I have planned and booked, lets see how this goes. Stay tuned for rolling coverage.

Looking forward to this

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Brisbane (BNE) - Manila (MNL)
Qantas QF97
30/11/24
A330-200, VH-EBD
Business Class seat 4K

Intro
As laid out in the introduction post, I had to make my way to Manila for my very affordable Business ticket to europe with Etihad and as Qantas re-launched the BNE-MNL route after a 14 year absence I got an opportunity to use up some Qantas frequent flyer points to make the journey even more fun. Qantas flies four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturdays leaving Brisbane at 7:15m landing in Manila at 1am the following day.

How I booked this flight
I used 68,400 Qantas frequent flyer points plus $210 in fees and taxes to book this direct flight. Alternatively for the same number of points and an extra $60 in taxes you can also book the flight via Sydney which runs daily. The direct flight retails around $3900 AUD return and $3000 AUD one way, $400 more than my ticket to europe from Manila return.

Check in and security
Qantas uses check in counters in row 8 at Brisbane International, these are all automated meaning even in a $4000 business class seat you are tagging your own bags. The machine also prints you a flimsy boarding pass ala Jetstar, in my case the bag drop machine didn't seem to want to work and there was a single person responsible to assist all passangers that afternoon.

While the whole process is quick in my opinion this is a big sign of cost cutting at Qantas and cheapens the experience.

You do get priority security screening with a Business Class ticket however at this time of day it really made little to no difference as I managed to get through within about 10 minutes.

Lounge



Qantas as you'd expect has a large lounge complex at the BNE international terminal spanning across three levels. The entrance is located at the end of duty free opposite of Gate 80. While the ground floor doesn't seem to be in use, escalators take you to level 1 where the entrance, bar and buffet are, above this is another level with just seating.

Lots of windows give the lounge a nice open feeling and during my time in the lounge you didnt get the feeling it was full despite a few other departures just prior to my flight.

There is a small buffet with several hot options as well as salads, fruit, cheese and crackers and a couple sweet treats. You can see the menu below from my visit:




Boarding and cabin layout

We boarded from Gate 83 with a 15 minute delay. Gate agents managed the process very well and I managed to be the first person on board.

Qantas operates two versions of the A330-200, one with 28 business class seats spread across two cabins which only has a single bathroom for both cabins and one with 27 business class seats also spread across two cabins which has two bathrooms. On this flight we had the 28 seat layout which meant that a single loo was in hot demand by passengers and crew alike.



On this flight I was in seat 4k, a true Window seat in the first cabin. While the privacy in these seats is great, if you do struggle with mobility I'd suggest you pick an isle seat (rows 1, 3, 5 & 7) as it can be difficult to get in and out of the window seats.



While boarding was swift doors did not close and about 10 minutes after the scheduled departure time the Captain made an announcement to say that there was a discrepancy with some paperwork relating to the fuel load which he needed to clear up. About 30 minutes later he assured us that that had been ironed out but now due to flight controler shortages the airspace between Mackay and Cairns was closed and we needed re-routing. Ultimately this led to a delay of about an hour but I wasn't mad, they kept us well informed which is key during these delays.

Service
Things started with a welcome drink on the ground which turned into two due to delay, crew also took the extra time to take everyones meal orders.

Our menu for the flight

About 30 minutes after pushback crew came round with the aperitivo, I ordered the margarita and nuts, they did not scrimp on the booze with this one. Oh boy did I sleep well after this.

This flight included the new tray service which had its ups and downs. Major plus is that the crew was far more efficient, you can also move your tray out of the way (to the console next to you) between courses and head to the bathroom if need be, down side is that its obviously less pretty and a much smaller surface space but seeing as Qantas uses tiny dishes I don't think that a major upset.

20 minutes after the aperitivo the trolley came down the isle, and we were delivered the new tray which included cutlery and Neils famous leaves & dressing which seemed to be a cheap $3 woolies mix today, as well as a single slice of focaccia. Drinks were also offered and after my heavy marg I decided to hydrate. 5/10

To start I had the Moroccan carrot soup with spicy harissa chickpeas which was yum and importantly nice and warm. 8/10

For my main I had the Vegetable randang with fragrant rice, cashews and spicy pickles. I have to say this was a really good vegan option even for those of us who do eat meat, nicely spiced with a good amount of tang from the pickles. 8/10

And finally I had the Coratina extra virgin olive oil panna cotta, while I love a panna cotta I don't think the olive oil works with this one so i would give this one a 5/10.

Overall a 7/10 for me.

Seeing as this flight lands in Manila at 1am the crew let us sleep till about 40 minutes out and while they offered me the pre-landing snack as I made my way to the loo to get changed (which i politely declined) they remarked that no one ever actually takes them up on the offer. So that makes me wonder how much food is getting wasted on this flight and could qantas maybe instead invest this in a nicer lettuce mix.

Bed and amenities

I'll confess that at this point of the trip both the margarita and Sam the sandman resulted in me forgetting to take a photo of the seat in bed mode, I mean its googlable but the thing I feel like mentioning is that while the seat is comfortable thanks to nice bedding, a draw back of the design is that the armrest doesn't lower so when you are in bed mode or you are constricted at the shoulders.

Amenities included the classic Qantas PJ's, Amenity kit which included sleep mask, ear plugs, toothbrush and paste as well as a couple lotions and potions to keep you hydrated in the air.



Arrival in Manila

Arrival in Manila was surprisingly smooth, our gate was directly opposite immigration and as there were no other International arrivals we were through passport control in less than 5 minutes with luggage being another 20 minutes later.

What was less efficient is actually leaving the airport. Even at 2am the pick up area was packed. Like most of Asia GRAB is their rideshare app which doesn't require you to link a bank card as all drivers expect cash.

I ordered my grab and it took about 15 minutes for my driver to get through the maze to get to me, the area is well policed but is very chaotic so if you want to avoid this I'd suggest arranging for a private pick up ahead of time.

Over all thoughts

This is a great option for Queenslanders looking to head to the Phillipines for holiday or to pick up a good onward deal. While I think the awkward flight timing is going to turn a few people off especially as Philippine Airlines flies a much more reasonable schedule, for those with Qantas points to spare its a great option but I'd think twice about the return flight which leaves Manila at 2:30am, yikes.

Personally I think this is a good redemption rate but economy is really the sweet spot with a one way costing just a bit over 25k points.

The good was the food and crew, the less great was the high toilet to passenger ratio and the frequent delays the service experiences making it a less reliable option for traveler's.

First leg done, a few more to go.

 

[markis10]

Good start! PAL have better timings but I am not sure if the A321 is a favourite from those that try it. An acquaintance of mine caught the return on the weekend, a mechanical issue meant 5 hours in the gate area in the early AM, that would push my buttons

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Good start! PAL have better timings but I am not sure if the A321 is a favourite from those that try it. An acquaintance of mine caught the return on the weekend, a mechanical issue meant 5 hours in the gate area in the early AM, that would push my buttons

Agree, plus seeing as PAL isnt a member of any alliance its difficult to book with points.

 

[JoshuaL1997]

Two days in Manila
I had two nights in Manila prior to my flights to Europe and as I had never been before I wanted to explore the city a little. I stayed near the airport in Newport City opposite of Terminal 3 which both Qantas and Etihad use.

My two days had lots of rain which made exploration limited but that didnt stop me from seeing a few things.

To start off I caught a GRAB from the terminal 3 to my hotel, one of the negatives about the Savoy is that its too far to walk with luggage. Other hotels are more easily accessible via the walkable bridge over the motorway. I already had the GRAB app on my phone but you can also go to the GRAB stand outside near parking bay 5 & 6 for them to book one for you.

GRAB seems to have a standard minimum charge around the airport which is 290 PHP or about $7 AUD, for reference a journey into the main city the following day which was 30 minutes long cost 360 PHP or about $9 AUD. The journey to the hotel is only 5 minutes but as the airport is crazy busy most of that is due to traffic.

Savoy Hotel Manila
Runway Suite
30/11/24-02/12/24

Ok so I'll preface this part of the post by saying that partially due to me landing in Manila at 2am and just general disorganisation I didn't manage to get get any photos of the suite but what is portrayed online is very accurate.



There is a Queen size bed in the room with a small couch and coffee table along with a TV which didnt get used thanks to the massive windows all along one wall.

There was also a little coffee station with free bottles of water but I didnt have a mini bar in my room. The bathroom includes a large shower which didn't have a shower screen, a sink and toilet along with some amenities in case you forgot a toothbrush or a razor.

You also have a walk in wardrobe with plenty of space for suitcases etc.

It looks like there is a suite like this on each floor on the corner of the building which gives you great views of runway 13/31 the smaller runway at MNL mainly used for short and medium haul aircraft. I was on level 5 and as you can see from my photo below (Excuse the starbucks in bed) you have a fairly nice few if you like planes.



What I paid
I paid 8400 PHP ($225 AUD) for this room for two night through Agoda which did not include breakfast, I thought this was a really good deal and seeing as their is a Starbucks next door I got my coffee fix fairly conveniently.

What I got up to in Manila



Venice Grand Canal Mall
As mentioned it was raining during my two days in Manila, so I decided to head to a shopping centre which Manila has plenty off. I needed to purchase a new backpack as the strap on mine broke and chose to head to Venice Grand Canal Mall about 15 minutes away from my hotel. The Grab cost me about 260 Pesos each way. This shopping centre is quite large and spans three levels, it includes lots of retail shops, outdoor dining, a cinema and of course as the name suggest a canal which you can ride gondolas up and down.

I purchased a new backpack and some shoes that were on sale and had a nice katsu chicken for lunch. As it was Christmas time lots of Phillipino families where headed to the mall to take family photos with all the decor, there were also many characters out and about to take photos with such as Santa, Minions and more.

I also went to the cinema and watched Wicket before heading back to the hotel room.

Forte Santiago


On my second day I headed further out to Forte Santiago, one of Manilas key cultural heritage sites. The site is centred in the middle of Manila about a 30-40 minute Grab ride away from my hotel which cost roughly 400 pesos.

Forte Santiago is a citadel/castle built by the spanish in 1571 within the walled "intramuros" city of Manila. Its a great place to visit to understand the history of the Phillipines especially during Spanish occupation and the revered Phillipino national hero that fought for the countries freedom that was imprisoned here.



Entry into the site is 75 pesos or $2 AUD and I really would encourage to book a tour with a guide as I found the site lacks much detailed description of the history to really give you context for why the site is important.

After I finished walking around the sight I headed further into the walled city to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception built during the same time however I didn't enter due to long queue's.

Further down the road I found a nice little restaurant called Bartala Bar which serves up craft beers and lunch, in my case a Singapore style Chicken rice dish with broth and Pork Lumpias all was suer yum and a welcome change from the many fast food eateries in Manila.


In the same building you will find a museum dedicated to colonial life in the Phillipines and several arts and craft shops.

As check in opened at 2:30pm I headed back to my hotel to grab my bags and get ready for the next part of the journey.