General Info

I have never flown with them, but they say they allow 20 kg of free checked luggage in coach. Each additional kilo is 10 USD in Manila. Anyone have experience as to how strict they are with the charges?

Thanks FRED GOLD.

[QUOTE=Laydher;1608666]The South Korean embassy in Manila expressed alarm Thursday at a rise in crimes against its nationals in the Philippines, citing the killing of nine South Koreans this year alone.[/QUOTE]Most of the time it's one Korean settling a beef with another Korean. The odd time it's a local who was working for the Korean.

The main reason more Koreans are ending up dead in the Philippines, there are more Koreans visiting and living in the Philippines.

[QUOTE=FredGold;1608969]I have never flown with them, but they say they allow 20 kg of free checked luggage in coach. Each additional kilo is 10 USD in Manila. Anyone have experience as to how strict they are with the charges?

Thanks FRED GOLD.[/QUOTE]Depends, domestic or international?

PAL is fairly strict when it comes to enforcing the latest baggage policy. On certain domestic routes they weigh your carry on, they weigh your checked bag, then they will weigh you! You pay if you are over the allowed carry on and / or checked bag weight limit. They weigh you for even weight distribution on smaller aircraft.

If you are over the allowable limit you will pay up. IMO PAL is not as strict as CP, but YMMV.

Sorry, I omitted that it is from Manila to Bali. Yes, international and domestic can be very different.

On AirAsia they were very strict on one particular flight and I had to wear a few layers of clothes, sweating like a pig.

Thanks!

[QUOTE=StrokerAce88;1609014]Depends, domestic or international?

PAL is fairly strict when it comes to enforcing the latest baggage policy. On certain domestic routes they weigh your carry on, they weigh your checked bag, then they will weigh you! You pay if you are over the allowed carry on and / or checked bag weight limit. They weigh you for even weight distribution on smaller aircraft.

If you are over the allowable limit you will pay up. IMO PAL is not as strict as CP, but YMMV.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=FredGold;1609024]
On AirAsia they were very strict on one particular flight and I had to wear a few layers of clothes, sweating like a pig.
[/QUOTE]I've flown AirAsia often and they are always very strict with weight. Kind of pisses me off when I see a 25+kg overweight bloke slide by free and easy - weight is weight, is it not? I find it dollar wise to pay for an extra 10 kg (22 lbs) when I book my flight online, typically an extra $25-$40 for a regional flight which is far less than the punitive penalty you'll pay at the check in counter.

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1609031]I've flown AirAsia often and they are always very strict with weight. Kind of pisses me off when I see a 25+kg overweight bloke slide by free and easy - weight is weight, is it not? I find it dollar wise to pay for an extra 10 kg (22 lbs) when I book my flight online, typically an extra $25-$40 for a regional flight which is far less than the punitive penalty you'll pay at the check in counter.[/QUOTE]Hutsori,

Have you sat next to me? LOL.

I use Air Asia a bit (as well as Cebu Pacific, but never PAL), yes strict but sometimes a nice smile and gentle banter helps. For the hand baggage I say I have 2 laptops and never been checked. Extra kilos purchased online are much cheaper than at airport. I regularly see passengers (mainly Korean and Japanese) having to unpack / repack their bags by the counter as the airline is strict. Always makes me smile.

Yes, a smile is the most universally accepted currency. All cultures accept it! And please & thank you in their language has the greatest exchange rate, beside it just being polite.

Happy hunting fred.

QUOTE=Wicked Roger;1609053 Hutsori.

Have you sat next to me? LOL.

I use Air Asia a bit (as well as Cebu Pacific, but never PAL), yes strict but sometimes a nice smile and gentle banter helps. For the hand baggage I say I have 2 laptops and never been checked. Extra kilos purchased online are much cheaper than at airport. I regularly see passengers (mainly Korean and Japanese) having to unpack / repack their bags by the counter as the airline is strict. Always makes me smile.

Returning back to the us from phi any issues at customs for single male traveler. Do they get nosy?

[QUOTE=Kman1;1611170]Returning back to the us from phi any issues at customs for single male traveler. Do they get nosy?[/QUOTE]Don't sweat that. You're a tourist.

[QUOTE=Kman1;1611170]Returning back to the us from phi any issues at customs for single male traveler. Do they get nosy?[/QUOTE]I've never had any problems entering LA but they are nosy. There have been a few reports here of them checking your cell phone and or computer for stuff. Make sure you have no images saved you don't want to share.

[QUOTE=TallyWacker;1611205]I've never had any problems entering LA but they are nosy. There have been a few reports here of them checking your cell phone and or computer for stuff. Make sure you have no images saved you don't want to share.[/QUOTE]You can always encrypt the images and send them to the cloud and then reinstate them on your hard drive once clear of Customs and other snoops.

[QUOTE=Kman1;1611170]Returning back to the us from phi any issues at customs for single male traveler. Do they get nosy?[/QUOTE]I've never had any issues at San Francisco airport in the last ten trips. Once I got tagged for luggage search but it was fairly quick.

[QUOTE=DCups;1611369]I've never had any issues at San Francisco airport in the last ten trips. Once I got tagged for luggage search but it was fairly quick.[/QUOTE]I have been to several places and taken lots of video that I not need my mom to see. Or customs. No problem so far. I tinking of mailing my memory chips home.

Anybody do that? DHL or FEDEX?

I posted this in the "Living in the Philippines" thread but I will re-post it here so that more guys who are interested and / or contemplating a change will be more likely to see it.

This link is to The Age newspaper (in Australia).

http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/carry-on-abroad-20140818-3dv6x.html

[QUOTE=Laydher;1608666]The South Korean embassy in Manila expressed alarm Thursday at a rise in crimes against its nationals in the Philippines, citing the killing of nine South Koreans this year alone.[/QUOTE]I don't want to see physical harm to Koreans. I do want to see a big advertising campaign saying that PH citizens should be very suspect of those visiting from Korea. I've traveled 30+ countries and never seen "tourists" more horrible than Koreans in PH.