Singapore to Manado Airlines

Is Silk Air the only (reliable) way to get to/from Singapore and Manado. I plan to use miles for a trip next fall so I am booking WAY early to flights. I can either get to Singapore or Bali, but the Bali flight goes thru Singapore and has a huge delay in getting from there to Bali, so figure I might as well just try to get directly to Manado. Silk Air shows ~$425US for this flight. They talk about supersavers and hotdeals but none show up (probably way early). Is this fare usual? Any good ways to save? Any other airlines that might be cheaper?

Thanks!
Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

The Resort I manage has a VERY high % of SG divers, so I do know a bit about this.
If you can travel with a partner (2nd person) on the same flights etc.. , then the fares on Silk can become MUCH more affordable--almost to the point that 2 are traveling for the price of 1 (with advance purchase, promo fares etc..)

HOWEVER, if you are traveling alone, forget it! Silk has absurdly high fares for single travelers, so many SG Divers that come to my place are going on Air Asia to KL (less than 1 hour flight) then taking the DIRECT, non-stop from KUL (LCCT terminal) to Manado (MDC), which is about 4 hours.

The fare is LESS than half of Silk Air's, if done in advance and you have some flexibility, etc..

And AFAIK, there are direct flights from Bali to Manado-check the Indonesian domestic carriers like Lion Air, Merpati, Garuda, etc...

Good Luck and have a great trip!
HB

Last year I was determined to get to Manado ASAP. I took a flight from Singapore to Balikpapan to Manado on Merpati.....I learned my lesson it was hell!!!!.....forget the cost saving....DO the Silk Air from SG to Manado. My 2psi!

Singapore Airlines owns Silk Air. If you fly on Singapore airlines you can continue on Silk Air to Manado the next morning. Your luggage will be checked thru Singapore to Manado so you don't need to collect and re-check your checked luggage. If you have miles it should take you all the way there if your miles are on Singapore air. This is considered a continuous flight on one ticket and one airline (as Singapore owns Silk) so if you are coming from the US you get two bags at 70 lbs each (on Singapore last year, check current regulations) which is called the Piece Concept (see other threads regarding piece concept versus the weight concept). If you break your trip by taking a non-required stop over or connect to a different airlines you will in most cases lose that valuable luggage allowance on the connecting airline.

I booked Singapore air and Silk air from LAX to Manado at Singapore airlines web site for US$1123 end of March 2007. A great fare when you consider that I flew 20,000 miles. It was so good that my friend who is VP of a major ticket wholesaler said that it was $45 cheaper than his cost. From LAX to Singapore I recommend the one stop in Tokyo. It is cheaper than the non-stop and you get to get out in Tokyo for an hour. With the non-stop you will still end up on the same flight to Manado as those who took the one stop so you don't get there any sooner.

Or if the fare is better you could do as mentioned in the previous post about Air Asia via Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Manado . Air Asia goes from the LCCT (LOW COST CARRIER TERMINAL) which is on the far side of the Kuala Lumpur airport from the main terminal building (MTB) . http://www.klia.com.my/LCCTerminal/
And for info on getting to the LCCT from the city or from the Main Terminal Building (MTB) http://www.klia.com.my/LCCTerminal/LCCgetting-to-terminal.html


I would highly recommend avoiding the domestic airlines in Indonesia which have a reputation for crashing, losing or misplacing luggage, canceling flights and arriving late. Also hard to book from US. Often your dive operator can assist you with domestic flights.

I am flying with United miles. Even though I will fly Singapore Air from SFO to SIN I have to book thru United, and they do not allow me to continue on Silk Air. So I have to pay for the Silk Air part myself. We are a group of 4 but all coming from different places (and for different length of time) so it will be hard to manage multiple people on the same silk air flight but we can try to do this if it saves a good bit. I will also look into Asia Air... we are obviously booking well in advanced and so we have a little flexibility right now.

Thanks! J

I just paid for a flight to Manado in 3 weeks time. No super savers or hot deals either. I doubt there will be specials even if you book later....

I also paid the same amount...about US$425. The tax/surcharge was about $80 (included in the $435 fare price). I doubt it will get cheaper even if fuel prices drop. On the lighter side, they allow 20kg and an additional 10 excess if you have dive gear. THis is heck of a lot better than Airasia who charge about USD$5 per kilo for excess baggage (over the basic 15kg they allow)..... I should barely make it with some photo gear too....

You can fly for little to Manado from KL on Air Asia, two flights a week.

SG to KL is just a short hop on AirAsia as well.

I managed to get a roundtrip ticket KL to Manado for 180 ringit ex taxes -- booked 7 weeks ahead. Beats SilkAir if you have time for the diversion via KL...

cheers, Ari

I bought a Silk Air return tix for myself to Manado last week for SGD 398 (tax included). they are having Single Traveler promotion.
http://www.silkair.com/mbe/en_UK/content/promotions/hotdeals_sg_FIT.jsp

A few comments from my extensive experience with Air Asia the self proclaimed "no frills airline":

Price: hard to beat
Fleet: new Airbus A330
On-time performance: earlier flights in the day usually depart on time. Later flights are frequently delayed.
Check-in Queues: Especially in Kuala Lumpur's Low Cost Carrier Terminal are hectic. Coming from the US expect to be shocked by the level of pushing/line-cutting/lack of personal space etc.
Excess Baggage: They will weigh your bag carefully and often your carry-on as well. You are allowed 15KG (33LBS) for checked-in luggage. one-bag only unless you ask for more when you purchase the ticket - if you do, you still get only 15KG just that you're allowed to spread it over additional bags. Carry-on is limited to 7KG (15LBS). You will have to pay excess baggage fee if your luggage is heavier. The upshot is that if you are only slightly over the fee is manageable.
Boarding: Again a lot of pushing as there are no assigned seats. If you don't care where you seat, just wait it out and walk calmly to the plane after the pushing match is over and find a seat.
Food and Beverage: You can purchase on the plane.
Point to Point: This is important - if you use Air Asia from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and again from Kuala Lumpur to Manado you cannot check your bag all the way through. If the first flight is late and you miss the connection, they will consider it to be your own fault. So plan plenty of time between connecting Air Asia flights.

I use them all the time as they offer the best value for the relatively short flights I take around Southeast Asia.

broadreach:

A few comments from my extensive experience with Air Asia the self proclaimed "no frills airline":

Price: hard to beat
Fleet: new Airbus A330
On-time performance: earlier flights in the day usually depart on time. Later flights are frequently delayed.
Check-in Queues: Especially in Kuala Lumpur's Low Cost Carrier Terminal are hectic. Coming from the US expect to be shocked by the level of pushing/line-cutting/lack of personal space etc.
Excess Baggage: They will weigh your bag carefully and often your carry-on as well. You are allowed 15KG (33LBS) for checked-in luggage. one-bag only unless you ask for more when you purchase the ticket - if you do, you still get only 15KG just that you're allowed to spread it over additional bags. Carry-on is limited to 7KG (15LBS). You will have to pay excess baggage fee if your luggage is heavier. The upshot is that if you are only slightly over the fee is manageable.
Boarding: Again a lot of pushing as there are no assigned seats. If you don't care where you seat, just wait it out and walk calmly to the plane after the pushing match is over and find a seat.
Food and Beverage: You can purchase on the plane.
Point to Point: This is important - if you use Air Asia from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and again from Kuala Lumpur to Manado you cannot check your bag all the way through. If the first flight is late and you miss the connection, they will consider it to be your own fault. So plan plenty of time between connecting Air Asia flights.

I use them all the time as they offer the best value for the relatively short flights I take around Southeast Asia.

Click to expand...

I have just returned from Manado last night on Air Asia. I paid approx $120 for a round trip inclusive of airport taxes etc. that includes 2 meals. The fares are lower now as Air Asia has withdrawn all fuel surcharges. Some of my friends have booked flights from Kuala Lumpour to Manado in June, 09 and they are only paying $40 for the return journey !!!!!

With Air Asia, they keep the fares low but then will charge for additional baggage. the way to minimise cost is to pay a RM10 handling fee which allows you to check in one piece of baggage which must not exceed 15 KG. However, they will allow you to check in a sports bag which again must not exceed a further 15 Kg for a fixed fee of approx $10.00. So, this way a passenger can have up to 30Kg by paying the sports bag charge. Just declare the bag as 'sports bag during check in and pay at checkin.
It is important that each piece of checked baggage must not exceed 15 kg. Any excess over that will attract excess baggage charges. I did not have my carry on baggaged weighed.

Air asia is a low cost carrier and one has to put up with a level of service which comes with the low cost. This airline has some great fares and also great routes for dive destinations. I use it all the time.