On a recent (and now lost) topic, I talked about Ormoc City airport, located on the island of Leyte in the Philippines, my wife's hometown. Regular flights to Manila by Asian Spirit ceased in late 2005.
I'm glad to say that this airport will now be used again. On Friday August 15th Philippine Airlines will fly from this airport to Manila 4 times weekly : on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Planes leave Manila (terminal 3 !!!) at 1400 hours, and leave Ormoc at 1540 hours. My sister-in-law Ninet will be on the first flight from Ormoc to Manila, on her way to Brunei.
The first airplane to fly for PAL Express from Manila to Ormoc City was RP-C3033. Here you can see my sister-in-law Lorgina on her way to the plane from the small terminal in Ormoc.
Even in this small airport, security is everywhere. Given the presence of numerous terrorist organisations in the Philippines, this is (sadly) an everyday phenomenon.
The plane your sister flew with is the ex LN-WDA (Wideroe = SAS-Group), one of the Scandinavian Dash-8 planes who were withdrawn from service after a series of landing gear incidents with SAS.
yes, LG, I think I sent a similar message already some months ago to Ozzie warning him about his future trips.
By the way Ozzie: did you read that news about passengers who could not board KLM at AMS towards the Phillippines because they had not used the Thalys train ticket? I hope it was not you...
Oh yes Ozzie, can you tell your sister in law that if she arrives at AMS with that ( probably fake ) handbag, she can have trouble with the anti copy department ?
The plane your sister flew with is the ex LN-WDA (Wideroe = SAS-Group), one of the Scandinavian Dash-8 planes who were withdrawn from service after a series of landing gear incidents with SAS.
Yes, I know this, but I don't think my sister-in-law knows this.
regi wrote:yes, LG, I think I sent a similar message already some months ago to Ozzie warning him about his future trips.
By the way Ozzie: did you read that news about passengers who could not board KLM at AMS towards the Phillippines because they had not used the Thalys train ticket? I hope it was not you...
If you can survive Filipino traffic, you can survive anything.
And no, that wasn't me, because I almost bought a similar ticket a few years ago, and I was told by the Connections staff that I would be refused in AMS if I didn't use the train ticket, so I was warned.
regi wrote:Oh yes Ozzie, can you tell your sister in law that if she arrives at AMS with that ( probably fake ) handbag, she can have trouble with the anti copy department ?
I can assure you that her handbag is NOT fake. They do have expensive brand stores in the Philippines too, you know, especially in Manilla and Cebu (and almost nowhere else). Mind you, fake stuff can be bought anywhere on the streets for a fraction of what you would pay for the real stuff. Only an idiot would spend money on that fake rubbish.
By the way, my sister-in-law is not going to fly to AMS. She just accompanied my other sister-in-law who went to Brunei, and to have a medical check-up in a Manila hospital, where it was revealed that she has a dangerous growth in her throat and needs an urgent life-saving operation. I don't think she's at all worried about customs at the moment.
I wonder how the interiors of the PAL Express plane look like. I am from from Babybay City, Leyte and this direct flight to Ormoc from Manila and back is a welcome addition as it cuts the traveling time as opposed to taking the flights to Tacloban and or Cebu. It does bother me though to read in the post above about the plane's history of landing gear malfunction with its previous owner SAS.
I hope you can post more pics and thanks for the information and posted photos.
Gina wrote:I wonder how the interiors of the PAL Express plane look like. I am from from Babybay City, Leyte and this direct flight to Ormoc from Manila and back is a welcome addition as it cuts the traveling time as opposed to taking the flights to Tacloban and or Cebu. It does bother me though to read in the post above about the plane's history of landing gear malfunction with its previous owner SAS.
I hope you can post more pics and thanks for the information and posted photos.
Unfortunately, my sister-in-law didn't take clear pictures of the cabin (only portraits), but I found these on www.airliners.net, from when SAS still had these planes :
regi wrote:yes, LG, I think I sent a similar message already some months ago to Ozzie warning him about his future trips.
By the way Ozzie: did you read that news about passengers who could not board KLM at AMS towards the Phillippines because they had not used the Thalys train ticket? I hope it was not you...
If you can survive Filipino traffic, you can survive anything.
And no, that wasn't me, because I almost bought a similar ticket a few years ago, and I was told by the Connections staff that I would be refused in AMS if I didn't use the train ticket, so I was warned.
Is the train ticket a separate thing from the plane ticket? (Probably so, since KLM uses e-tickets) And do they check who actually checks in at the Thalys counter? If not, you could buy one of those tickets, and send the train ticket to someone else in Belgium to check in (but not board the train).
regi wrote:yes, LG, I think I sent a similar message already some months ago to Ozzie warning him about his future trips.
By the way Ozzie: did you read that news about passengers who could not board KLM at AMS towards the Phillippines because they had not used the Thalys train ticket? I hope it was not you...
If you can survive Filipino traffic, you can survive anything.
And no, that wasn't me, because I almost bought a similar ticket a few years ago, and I was told by the Connections staff that I would be refused in AMS if I didn't use the train ticket, so I was warned.
Is the train ticket a separate thing from the plane ticket? (Probably so, since KLM uses e-tickets) And do they check who actually checks in at the Thalys counter? If not, you could buy one of those tickets, and send the train ticket to someone else in Belgium to check in (but not board the train).
Don't you think they would check your identity when you check in ? I presume they would.
Hi. I read with interest that flights from Manila to Ormoc are on again. Do you know the costs? Do you know of any flights from Bacolod to Ormoc? Or more generally, what cities (national or international--if any--fly into and out of Ormoc?
Ill be visiting the Philippines soon and Id like to go to Bacolod and Ormoc, and prefer planes over ferry, unless you recommend the latter. Anything would help..thanks so much--photonut (Mark)
Photonut wrote:Hi. I read with interest that flights from Manila to Ormoc are on again. Do you know the costs? Do you know of any flights from Bacolod to Ormoc? Or more generally, what cities (national or international--if any--fly into and out of Ormoc?
Ill be visiting the Philippines soon and Id like to go to Bacolod and Ormoc, and prefer planes over ferry, unless you recommend the latter. Anything would help..thanks so much--photonut (Mark)
PAL Express flies between Ormoc and Manila, no other destinations from Ormoc as yet.
Air Philippines flies between Bacolod and Manila; Cebu Pacific Air flies from Bacolod to Manila and to Cebu; no other destinations from Bacolod as yet.
Flights from Manila to Ormoc (one way) can be had for about 2,500 pesos (airport tax not included, this is collected after checking in).
Ormoc City is now served by Airphil Express, the new name of Air Philippines. This is a picture of their new A320, which replaces their old B737-200's. Ormoc City is flown to with Bombardier Q300's.
Ozzie1969 wrote:Ormoc City is now served by Airphil Express, the new name of Air Philippines. This is a picture of their new A320, which replaces their old B737-200's. Ormoc City is flown to with Bombardier Q300's.
Ozzie1969 wrote:Ormoc City is now served by Airphil Express, the new name of Air Philippines. This is a picture of their new A320, which replaces their old B737-200's. Ormoc City is flown to with Bombardier Q300's.
how was the flight with such a Q300 ?
No idea. I've never made that flight. I once tried to fly from Manila to Ormoc way back in 2005, but Asian Spirit had stopped flying that route just a few weeks before, and they never resumed (they've changed ownership and name meanwhile).
It seems like Ormoc City Airport is doomed! Flights to Manila by Airphil Express have ceased here (even though practically every flight was fully booked), so there's no more regular flights here.
I passed by Ormoc City airport about a fortnight ago, and the place was deserted. Women in the neighbourhood hang their washing on lines attached to the perimeter fences. Other than a few small private planes, there's no movement here at all.