Air Niugini problems

I was travelling in PNG Oct of 08. I checked my itinerary about a month before I left only to notice that there was suddenly no flight on the day I had booked to make my return connection in Aus. I ended up having to make reservations to stay overnight in Aus. and lose a night in PNG. Towards the end of the trip, a member of our group had to change her plans. While doing so she discovered that they had changed schedules again and I had to go into their office and have four of my flights changed as well as canceling the night in Aus and adding back a night in PNG! Neither my travel agent nor I received any kind of notice.

Sounds like classic PNG travel! Frustrating, yes; normal PNG experience, also yes.

They did that to us when flying into the Baliem Valley and it cost us 3 days due to rescheduling connecting flights.

Your TS card will receive one punch!

Yes, Air Niugini changes flights and times on a regular basis.

This has happened to me on two visits out of five. I was lucky enough to have booked the air tickets through the dive operator, and was made aware of the changes before they became critical (one extra night in the Airways).

I think the operators have closer ties to the airline than standard travel agents, so I'd say always book them through the Operator/Hotel your going to stay with.

Unfortunately the one that informed me of the changes (Mike Ball) no longer operates in the region.

Welcome to PNG. It's all part of the experience.