Philippine Airlines Math

[Bruce]

I always travel Philippine AIr. Not only price but also schedule wise in that they arrive in Manila about 6am and then I have no trouble connecting with the next flight. So I have been happy with them. But the website has always been a problem posting incorrect information and pricing. I have tried to talk to their customer service people about it and they all say the web site is a different branch and they have no control over it. On my last trip, I wanted to travel Into Manila, then Cebu then Tacloban then back to Manila for the flight out. If I book the flights using the website multi destination feature, the total cost was about $4800 USD! But when I booked the same exact flights, each individually, the costs came to about $1100! LA to Man, Man to Cebu, Cebu to Tacloban, Tacloban to Man, Man to LA. Same flights, same plane same schedule! Huge difference. and no one at PAL was able to tell me why or even seemed to care. I sent them an email and they did fix it but it took them a long while. Also, at the same time, If I book LA to Manila and then Manila to Cebu, it was about $680 (+ taxes) and then $35 + taxes. But if I booked LA to Cebu, then $1632 + taxes for the same flights! Speaking of taxes and surcharges, I have noticed that they reduced the flight costs, but raised the taxes / surcharges to make up the difference. As of this time, those taxes and surcharges are about $500 USD. And here is more funny PAL math. Below are 2 things off their web site, The top one is the current cost of a RT flight between LA and Manila. Remember to ADD on the $500 taxes and surcharges. However, also showing on the website is 'SPECIAL WEB FARES' with the costs below that. Remember to ADD on the taxes and surcharges as stated in the 'promo'. It appears that you can book a flight using the standard web features and pay about $630 and up, plus the taxes for a total of about $1130 and up. OR You can book the same flight using the SPECIAL WEB FARES for $910 + taxes for a total of about $1410! What is the logic they are using? Usually, you would expect a SPECIAL WEB FARE to be lower! But it appears that the SPECIAL WEB FARE is not only higher but also has more restrictions. This makes me wonder, with all the turmoil within PAL and the spin off of the 'non core' business into separate private companies, is there a disgruntled employee on the web page development side of the business who is 'screwing' with the company in his own special way?

Special Web Fares

Los Angeles or San Francisco to Manila

• For only USD 910 (BKXWEB6U) plus taxes and applicable surcharges

  • Minimum 3 days and maximum 6 months stay

  • Travel is permitted from 11 August to 27 November 2011 and 30 December 2011 to 29 May 2012 on the outbound travel

  • From the United States, travel is permitted from Sunday to Wednesday. To the United States, travel is permitted from Monday to Thursday

  • Extension of ticket validity is not permitted

  • Valid for sale through the internet

Edited September 5, 2011 by Bruce
format at Bruce's request