Am I right in saying that you are as excited as I am with the buzz being created by the arrival of the so-called “budget airlines?” My excitement shot to the roof when Air Asia finally ran a full-page colored ad in a newspaper today announcing their fares to KL and Kota Kinabalu complete with the flight sked, shuttle bus timetable going to Clark, website and accredited travel agents.
From P1949 one way to KL is good enough, considering that this fare won’t even get me to Cebu on PAL.
So I started calling the nine travel agents listed in the ad to know what the real score is. Geewhiz, most of them were not prepared to answer my question as it seems the announcement preceded the formal orientation. Finally, I got hold of Queensport Travel and Tours which proceeded to give me a rundown of Air Asia’s special offer complete with airport taxes and fees (the part I wanted to know most about):
P1, 949 x 2 for round-trip = P3,898
airport tax, war risk (?)
admin fee, Malaysian tax
($30 X P54.90) = 1,647
Philippine travel tax = 1,620
+ round trip shuttle
to Clark @ P300 each = 600
Total = 7, 765
Of course I should have known that it wouldn’t come so cheap but still that’s reasonable enough considering that at present, this fare can only get you as far as Davao if you use the major carriers. Still, I can’t believe that the taxes costs as much as the airfare itself. If I remember right, Air Asia chartered the same flights from Subic before. At P10,999, it seemed a better deal since it included a three-day two night stay at the luxurious Legend Hotel in KL. For some reason or another, those chartered flights have stopped and have now transferred to Clark.
My spirits have not been dampened and I am still planning my KL trip or perhaps wait for the Tiger Airways flights to Singapore which is reported to only cost $16. This liberalized charter program is great. If Filipinos can afford expensive cellphones, I see no reason why they can’t widen their horizons by travelling.
Hmmm….sambal, roti panggang and char kway teow, here I come!
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