Reliability of domestic flights in Philippines?

[Smit]

Hoping people could share their experiences with domestic flights from around the Philippines to Manila, in particular from Panglao and Dumaguete to Manila. I'd like to travel to Panglao for a week, then fly to Manila to spend the night and catch a flight home the next day. I've heard some flights are kinda unreliable. Late is no big deal, canceled is definitely a big deal.

Would it be a good idea to spend an extra day in Manila to make sure or are the flights reliable enough to not worry about that.

I know things happen on occasion so troubles are always possible but generally speaking, are the flights reliable?

 

[Centrals]

Cebu Pacific and PAL are the two main carriers.
I believe flight from Cebu City to Manila is more frequent than either Dumaguete or Tagbilaran.
Leave as earlier as possible.
All bets are off if there is storm/typhoon in the area.

 

[Johnboy70_99]

I always book an extra night at NAIA or in Manila itself as I don’t trust the local carriers. But I am the kind of guy that always shows up 3 hours early and sits in airports.

That being said, I have flown domestic flights throughout the Philippines a couple dozen times and I think the longest delay was 2 hours. But I have been lucky to not by flying on days there was a typhoon in the way.

 

[Mango's Dive Center]

then fly to Manila to spend the night and catch a flight home the next day.

One night is fine for a safety net. If you take a quick look at google fights you will notice there are quite a few flights out each day from Dumaguete or Tagbilaran to MNL. I always just book an early morning flight so I have plenty of options the rest of the day if there is an issue with my specific flight. I've travelled a lot around the Phils over the years. Late flights is not uncommon, but I rarely have had a cancelled flight issue...domestically.

Now of course if you are coming during typhoon season there is the risk that everything will be cancelled. However, you should have a bit of a heads up on that to get out early if possible.

 

[Smit]

Thanks for your input guys. I feel much more comfortable knowing that I can spend an extra day in the water without flirting with travel troubles!

I'm looking at early February so a little after typhoon season so that reduces the chance of weather cancellations I hope.

 

[ontdiver]

A number of travel related articles over the past several months have highlighted the risks associated with connections where you have less than 3 hrs to make a connecting flight. An overnight stay - along with good travel insurance - reduces chances of disappointment and also gives you a chance to recover from long flight.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I agree with what everyone here has said, and the domestic carriers are terrible in terms of reliability, especially if you are flying through Manila. NAIA has to be one of the worst international airports around.