I am going to Cebu in November. The price for a direct flight from Narita to Cebu Mactan Airport is 129,260 yen for Philippine Airlines and a whopping 247,650 yen for code-share All Nippon Airways. ANA and Philippine Airlines charge twice as much for the same flight. ANA is too much of a rip-off.
The connecting Korean LCC, JEJU AIR, is inexpensive at 29,120 yen, but it leaves Narita Airport at 14:00 and arrives at Cebu via Inchon Airport at 0:10 the next day, not a good arrival time.
Cebu Pacific Airlines, the airline we rely on, shows no sign of flying direct at least until December. According to a Cebu resident's blog, he had booked a flight from Cebu to Narita in November, but it was cancelled.
So I decided to fly from Narita to Manila using the miles I had accumulated with my JAL card, and then from Manila to Cebu with Asia Air, an LCC.
Normally, this would cost 377,720 yen for two people, but if I use miles, you only need to pay the surcharge. The cost for two persons is 43,720 yen to Manila. From Manila to Cebu is about 10,000 yen, for a total of 53,720 yen. The cost per person is now as low as 26,860 yen.
The problem is the terminal transfer at Manila airport. Manila Airport has a bad reputation worldwide. Among them, moving between the four terminals is a hassle. There is a free shuttle service between terminals, but the service is unpredictable, as is typical in the Philippines, where you never know when the shuttle will arrive. Some cabs in Manila still charge exorbitant rates, so avoid them if possible.
No matter which airline I use, I will be able to arrive in Cebu before 18:00.
The return flight is quite inexpensive, unlike the outbound flight. A direct flight from Cebu to Narita by Philippine Airlines costs less than 60,000 yen. Round trip per person is acceptable at 80,000 yen.
My wife is planning to stay in Cebu for about 10 days, but I have to work and can't take such a long break, so I want to come back in 4 days, but she wants me to stay for 5 days because she has to.
I am considering which way to go.
