mikeology From United States of America, joined Mar 2012, 102 posts, RR: 0 Posted (9 months 2 weeks 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 1436 times:
Looking to travel to MNL end of year. Possibly December. After extensive searching and pricing I came upon ANA for $3500 Round Trip in J Class. SFO-NRT-MNL.
Is this a could deal or can better be had for the same price or less? Is the new J Class on ANA good?
Even though direct I do not want to fly PR. Making 1 connection is not a problem.
steex From United States of America, joined Jun 2007, 1423 posts, RR: 9 Reply 1, posted (9 months 2 weeks 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 1396 times:
I'm not especially familiar with the route and its typical pricing, but doing some quick searching, I see the following available on Hawaiian Airlines for a total of $2,260:
9 DEC 12
HA 11 SFO 08:40 HNL 12:00 First (P) A330
HA 455 HNL 14:20 MNL 19:25+1 Business (P) A330
17 DEC 12
HA 456 MNL 21:20 HNL 13:05 Business (P) A330
HA 12 HNL 14:55 SFO 22:00 First (P) A330
The product won't be as nice as longhaul J on a reputable Asian carrier, but it's a nice alternative for considerably less cost. Additionally, if you were so inclined, it appears you could create a 1-day stopover in HNL on the westbound for only a few bucks more if you leave SFO on one of the days that HNL-MNL doesn't operate.
I didn't do an extensive search to see when else this fare may be available, but it may be worth looking into.
PR has been trumpeting improvements in long-haul recently (especially in J), so I don't see why you wouldn't want to fly them. Or are there other reasons why this is the case?
(I'm merely curious about this: I have yet to fly PR trans-Pacific, but it could be an experience should that time come.)
For fares suggest you contact some of the consolidators in the Bay Area. I'm sure some also offer specials on premium seats.
But as usual you probably need to weight the cost vs the service you get for your $$$.
For instance while HA/PR might be cheaper, but the product is inferior.
From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California