Tacloban to Penang On Separate Flights
I went on a succession of domestic and international connecting flights - again! Wah! But I still liked it anyway. It was Tacloban-Cebu on PAL, Cebu-Singapore on TigerAir and Singapore-Penang on Jetstar!
The exciting (and challenging) part was: I had company this time, yey! But he decided late to join me! Well when it comes to traveling, especially if by air, I'm not one who easily surrenders - when allowed. Like, the companion left me to 'curate' all bookings in the most economical way. Challenge accepted!
Our flights from Tacloban to Penang went something like this...
Coolness di ba? Yeah! Who says you need to be on the same flights forever anyway, right?
Why and How did that happen?
Ah, like this... for this travel to Penang and Langkawi Islands (Malaysia) I booked air tickets and hotels something like a month before departure. All set and fine! However, just a mere one week before this D-Day (departure day ba), my friend (MJ) discovered I was going on this trip, and wanted to tag along!
So I said "sige ba"! Told him my itinerary so he can replicate my flights. No need for him to book hotels since I have already done that - hotel rooms are good for two anyway - at least those that I usually get.
I expected this: just a few minutes after learning my itinerary, MJ comes back to me asking "bakit ang mahal na"? Of course I explained how airline tickets get more expensive as the departure dates come nearer. Ah let me tell you dear readers, MJ isn't poor, but maybe the most "barat" man I've ever known!
All my three flights going there (left column of the table above) amounted to P6590 (TAC-CEB=2055. CEB-SIN=2749, SIN-PEN=1786) all in pesos na yan! Imagine that, yung Cebu to Singapore na lampas 3hrs flight is only about 700 pesos more expensive than the Tacloban to Cebu flight na 20mins lang!
When we checked prices for the same 3 flights for MJ, umaabot na ng 14k! Syempre, nakuratan ang tihik entawon! And he actually gave up - di na lang daw sya sasama. Good! But, naawa naman ako, so I said "unless you take other flights via other cities to Penang". OMG, nabuhayan ng loob ang gi-ahak!
So I frantically searched combinations of airlines and cities with two objectives: 1) MJ must arrive in Penang at about the same time that I will [give or take 1 to 2 hours daw]; and 2) dapat hindi lalampas ng 10K daw, ang total cost ng 3 flights [I actually said "duh, dyes mil lang to a resort island abroad"?]!
Challenge still accepted, but I had one very strict rule: "while searching for flights, you sit down beside me and be ready with your credit card and booking credentials"! Done! It did not even take us an hour!
Fellow roamers, you of course know all about that rule, right? These days, when searching for cheaper flights, you must be ready to click and confirm the flight that you want immediately once you see it, as that will disappear (taken by other people all over the world) in a matter of minutes. Gone are the days when your airline would tell you the price on a Monday, and come Wednesday it will still be the same!
That's what the interconnected world brought us. Exciting online prices that change lightning fast!
Anyway, MJ finally got his 'acceptable in terms of price' itinerary - that's the right column on the table above. Incidentally, all on Air Asia: Tacloban-Manila, Manila-Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Lumpur-Penang!
You also know that pricing technique especially among budget airlines, right? Yep, getting connecting flights from the same airline, is most-of-the-time cheaper than connecting flights on different airlines.
Maybe we should talk about those ticketing and reservations techniques in a separate article. Soon!
Anyway again, if you noticed, we only got MJ's flights going to Penang on the table above. How about the rest? Well, we finished all bookings on that very same afternoon. Penang to Langkawi, we got him a seat on my flight at still the same price - First Class - on Firefly Air! Nanlaki ang mata nya sa "Firefly"!
MJ said "ano ito, bukatkat"? Yes we laughed for indeed it means "alitaptap kumikislap"! That's another thing with us Pinoys, when we don't know anything, we don't really check the facts, but decide that we should be afraid of it based on nothing hahaha! Firefly Air is reliable, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines!
Coming back, Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur, we got him a flight on Malaysia Airlines, while mine was on Malindo Air. That's another airline that Pinoys may say 'what'? But it's the Malaysian subsidiary of Lion Air, the biggest budget airline of Indonesia! All MJ could ask was: ikaw me-ari nyan? I said yes heheh!
Kuala Lumpur to Singapore we rode on the same Jetstar flight, although one could actually take a bus or even the train. But, can you believe this: it is more expensive to ride a bus or train from Kula Lumpur to Singapore, than just fly via the budget airlines like Jetstar! Mas mabilis pa di hamak. One hour lang!
From Singapore, ah naghiwalay na kami. Uwi muna daw sya sa Manila via Jetstar, before going back to work in Tacloban. While I continued my originally booked flights to Cebu then Tacloban. Okay, done!
But wait teka lang, just a monument! That was just all about booking our flights going to Penang and Langkawi, how about the stories along the way and at the destinations? Aw ah, those are coming up!
So.., expect another series of my notes, from Tacloban, Cebu, Singapore, Penang, Langkawi and back!
Abangan...
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