AIr Asia - Manado route ending

I dont know if anyone else has heard this but I have been told by one of my very good friends in the dive industry that Air Asia are stopping the route from KL to Manado in the next few days. She is working at a dive show at the moment and has just been informed of this. She works for Smart Divers and knows a lot of people in the travel industry so I do believe wahr she is saying.

I have a flight booked on that route in may and have not been informed by them yet. This is a massive p1$$ off as we will have to try and get from KL to Manado now. Does anyone have any ideas.

Simon/Mike have you heard anything?

Stew

Confirmed.

Last flight I believe is 23rd Feb.

Ralphy myself and another guy just got hosed.

We were flying Emirates LGW to KL and had Air Asia to MDC in April.

They have confirmed this to me today _after_ the resort emailed me with a heads up.

No direct comms from Air Asia with the good news - only after I chased it via their UK contact number on the web.

Flights were all booked and paid for last October - they kindly offered to refund my credit card in, get this, 30 - 60 days time.

So - anyone got suggestions KL - MDC ? If I have to break the LGW - KL it is going to hurt

Paul C

Confirmed.

 

Last flight I believe is 23rd Feb.

 

Ralphy myself and another guy just got hosed.

 

We were flying Emirates LGW to KL and had Air Asia to MDC in April.

 

They have confirmed this to me today _after_ the resort emailed me with a heads up.

 

No direct comms from Air Asia with the good news - only after I chased it via their UK contact number on the web.

 

Flights were all booked and paid for last October - they kindly offered to refund my credit card in, get this, 30 - 60 days time.

 

So - anyone got suggestions KL - MDC ? If I have to break the LGW - KL it is going to hurt

 

Paul C

Right I am being really thick here ( wheres MDC ) Shhhhh dont tell anyone I asked where it is, I am meant to be a well seasoned traveller.

30 - 60 days, oh thats bloody good of them. Louise has just spoken to them and also had it confirmed. I think our only option is to fly from KL to Singapore then Singapore to Manado with Silk. Had we have known this to begin with we would have flew London to Singapore to Manado.

Hope you get something sorted Paul and Ralphy

Stew

Think MDC is the Airline code for Manado.

Not too excited with the extra flight to Singapore - just sounds like an extra link to loose luggage.

Also the Silk Air luggage allowance is not so 'helpful'.

Paul C

Think MDC is the Airline code for Manado.

I knew that really.

Not too excited with the extra flight to Singapore - just sounds like an extra link to loose luggage.

 

Also the Silk Air luggage allowance is not so 'helpful'.

 

Paul C

I know that was the reason we didnt chose to fly with them this time.

Stew

Not found anything direct but as an option (if you dont get lucky with SilkAir) via Jakarta with Lion Air?

Hope you guys get sorted

I found Silkair ok with extra 10 kilos free as default, Singapore Air proved more difficult to get the extra 10 but we got it in the end

Flying via Silk will cost a lot more. If you want to save some money do the following:

I would suggest flying KL to Jakarta, Bali or Makassar then getting a connecting flight to Manado.

I am checking which schedule will allow guests to arrive on the same day as you would have before. The kicker is that you cannot book domestic Indonesian tickets on a foreign credit card. My wife is working on an option to send e-tickets for those that need them, most likely paying to my account in the UK to save on fees.

It's going to be a tough hit for us in Lembeh, but i believe it wont be too much different doing what is outlined above, just an extra flight and a fun new airport to visit. Why they didnt reduce it to one flight a week i do not know.

Stew, please email me your flight details for arriving to KL and i will see what i can do for that.

Stew, please email me your flight details for arriving to KL and i will see what i can do for that.

I will get Lou to do it as soon as, Si. Thanks for doing what you are.

Stew

It's going to be a tough hit for us in Lembeh, but i believe it wont be too much different doing what is outlined above, just an extra flight and a fun new airport to visit.

Yup, I think that it will impact business.

KUL-MDC using Silk air forces an extra overnight in Singapore and maybe KL.

Other carriers look cheaper but seem to take three flights KL - MDC with a total 24 hour runtime, which is just having a laugh.

Looking at changing our UK flights to target Singapore rather than KL but that is looking to be £250 per head.

All in all I think that we may just cancel the lot and walk away to be honest.

Paul C

I just sent Stu his itinerary, gets there 6 hours later than he would with a direct flight. Only one extra flight.

I just sent Stu his itinerary, gets there 6 hours later than he would with a direct flight. Only one extra flight.

Have a look at this Paul. Ok more money, but i get to NAD the same day as I would have originally. I dont have to stop in Singapore for 2 days on the way out. Which would have cost a small fortune.

Ok, so we worked this out for you:

7May MH3 12.00 noon LHR – KUL

8May arrive @ 7.25, allow for 1 hour plus to clear immigration.

Take a taxi to the LCCT terminal for Air asia.

8 may AK384 13.15 to Jakarta, arrival 14.15 (Jakarta is 1hr behind KL)

8May possibly might have to change terminals at Jakarta, there is a free shuttle bus but is hard to find. Can negotiate with taxis. They will try and rip you off for 200,000 rupiah, only pay between 50 and 100k.

8May Lion Air flight JT770 18.35 – 22.45 arrival in Manado (Manado +1 from Jakarta)

11.30pm arrival at resort + Beer

Stew

Quite sad to hear the sudden news.

Air Asia has alternate day flight KL to Makassar... Makassar airport is quite new (& quite busy too)...

Makassar is a good option, however the connecting flights to Manado are often the same flight as from Jakarta as Makassar is a hub with a 20min stopover for flights from Jakarta.

Jakarta is very, very easy to clear immigration too, without too many questions about shiney cameras.

I personally prefer Jakarta as my point of entry into indo for getting asked the least amount of options and the sheer volume of airlines servicing there.

As Simon can attest, I was recently able to get a ticket through Batavia Air from Jakarta to MDC. The Batavia website can be somewhat confusing, but I was ultimately able to purchase a ticket in advance using Paypal for around US$100.

After some hard work from Simon, ( and his wife ) we are all booked up and will be arriving at NAD just a few hours later than our original itinerary.

All the work very much appreciated.

will be coming your way

Stew

glad u stuck with it stew hope u have a good trip

Hi David,

Did you find a replacement camera yet?

There are a couple of airlines i have flown in Indo and not felt safe on, Batavia is one of them! Lion Air, Garuda and Express Air were all nice. Merpati isnt bad either.

I didnt realise you'd paid with Paypal for your incoming ticket... That is useful info, but Batavia would be my last option!

Hi David,

 

Did you find a replacement camera yet?

 

There are a couple of airlines i have flown in Indo and not felt safe on, Batavia is one of them! Lion Air, Garuda and Express Air were all nice. Merpati isnt bad either.

 

I didnt realise you'd paid with Paypal for your incoming ticket... That is useful info, but Batavia would be my last option!

I was wondering why U hadn't mentioned Batavia, but that more than explains it. Can I withdraw my endorsement?

As for my camera, I haven't bought anything yet, but there are many inexpensive replacements on Amazon/EBAY.

Just to update this thread with the info that I have found out along the way.

Alternative routes KUL - MDC via Jakarta are :-

www.garuda-indonesia.com (does not allow non-Indonesian credit cards)

www.garudaindonesia.co.uk (credit cards ok, but a bugger to use)

www.lionair.co.id (does not allow non-Indonesian credit cards)

www.batavia-air.co.id (credit cards or maybe even paypal ok?)

Lion Air was the best bet but would not take my credit card.

A recommended option was to use this Manado based travel

agency Safari Tours & Travel (www.manadosafaris.com). They do take

service charge, but seem very reliable and from my dealings offer a professional service.

What did we do ?

Well with the developing stack of five flights four International airports and ongoing complication

we decided to cut our losses and bale out of the trip.

Not a great result for the region, but there we are.

Paul C

I can sympathise with you Paul - I looked at joining Adam's Red Sea liveaboard trip, I looked at the flight options and frankly they were somewhere between hilarious and You're Joking! Cheapest was via Singapore and Zurich, next best was via Singapore, Delhi and Amman, and the third option was via Hong Kong, Bangkok and Amman.