Saturday Flights Manado to Sorong?

[Mr. Blues]

I'm planning a trip in March 2011 to Raja Ampat.
The lob leaves on Saturday and so far it looks like Merpati Air
is the ONLY carrier that flies Manado to Sorong on SATURDAY.
I plan to stay the previous night in Manado (as the Merpati flight leaves very early
the following morning) and prefer not to overnight in Sorong.
Question is what are the chances that Merpati will cancel that flight or even discontinue Saturday service etc., in which case I WILL BE SCREWED and miss the boat.
I have had bad luck with Merpati before and anyone who has traveled throughout Indonesia knows how fickle and unreliable domestic air travel can be.
I realize that it's impossible to predict the future but perhaps someone
on SB has been on that flight before and can report on what my odds are that I'll reach Sorong the same day? (Notice I didn't even mention it being on time. I've learned to expect delays). I assume it will originate from Manado because it supposedly departs around 04:45 so perhaps my chances are pretty good barring mechanical failures etc. Any ideas or options? Thanks for all replies.

 

[RinaW]

Have you booked your international flight to indonesia and your stay in Manado? if not, how about doing the liveaboard first then do Manado? I assume you're trying to do some dives in North Sulawesi.

I've not personally been on Manado-Sorong flight. Not to cause you further worries, but it's not the route that our LOB recommend our guests to get to Sorong because Manado is a much smaller hub that only recently offer direct flight to Sorong (thus small plane, lost baggage, etc.). We will jump for joy on the day that it becomes reliable because it is often a more direct route when you're coming from overseas.

 

[Mr. Blues]

thanks for your reply....
everything is still in the embryonic stage....
I've been to the northern Sulawesi/Manado area and
would like to dive Raja Ampat but prefer not
to have to go through Jakarta - Sorong route.
I'm used to small planes, delayed flights etc....and expect
inconveniences...
it's the cancellation of flights that have me a little freaked
assuming the boat won't wait. This happened before in Bima
during the return of a liveaboard enroute to Bali.
Not much fun with attempts to re-juggle land reservations, overnight in Bima etc.
I guess I'm seeking info regarding the history of the SATURDAY - Merpati
Manado to Sorong schedule. How often is it cancelled? completed? etc.
Has anyone actually been on this flight?

 

[jake11]

We too will be going to RA in March 2011. We are already booked into Manado where we will spend 1 night before flying out the next day to Sorong( Express Air). We opted to stay in Manado as well because we wanted to avoid the overnight in Sorong. We shall see if all of us and our luggage make it ??? We took this route because we have done the other routes to RA and I could not stand the thought of all of those airport waits in stifling heat with delay after delay. Our boat ends up in Manado at the end so we only have to endure 1 domestic flight. Hopefully it will all work out???? It is really a roll of the dice! Good luck!

 

[Mr. Blues]

Express Air flies from Manado to Sorong on SATURDAYS??....
if so at least I'll have another carrier to consider.
Thanks for your reply

 

[jake11]

Sorry if I was unclear. We are flying on a Thursday and I am not sure if Express Air flies on Saturday or not??? Also, the carrier could change at the last minute. We are booked next week to fly into Ambon and all along I thought we were on Lion Air. When I downloaded the e-tickets they are from Batavia???? Only in Indonesia!!!

 

[Mr. Blues]

WoW!
Somehow I believe things will work out....
Good Luck

 

[jake11]

Thanks! We need some good things to come our way. For the first time ever we are flying directly into Jakarta! Wouldn't you know it ... Mount Merapi erupts! Hopefully our flights will not be cancelled due to ash! One day at a time.....

 

[Tapas bali]

@Jake & Mr. Blues: Although both airlines have scary reputation, I would suggest you to go with Merpati. Because Express has bad history of canceling flight when they do not have enough passengers.

Merpati also proved to help passengers to buy new tickets (even for international ones) for passengers who missed the flight because of their delayed flights.

 

[highdesert]

My personal opinion of Express Air (YMMV):

- Unless you can score an exit row seat, this airline has the tightest seat pitch of any I have ever seen, anywhere, regardless of the size of the aircraft. If you're taller than the average Indonesian, you may find that you are physically unable to put your legs in front of you. I'm not talking just uncomfortable ... impossible!

- When we flew from Sorong back to Makassar, where we were to claim our baggage and re-check it with Lion Air to Denpasar, our luggage (ALL of our dive gear) wasn't there ... Express Air left it on the tarmac in Sorong because the airplane was overweight. We had a third party track down our dive gear and get it to Denpasar the evening of the next day. Luckily, we planned ahead for the Indo domestic airline game, and allowed an extra day in Bali in case of problems like this. We ended up coming back to the USA with our dive gear. That doesn't always happen ... ask Scott (Travelnsj) about his luggage fun and games.