Zero

Zero, null, nil,  naught, zilch… That is the price of a Manila-Singapore roundtrip ticket.  Last November we took advantage of Cebu Pacific’s zero-fare promo and booked ourselves to visit the Lion City in February.

So as not to mislead my three avid readers (which include my wife), the total bill for two persons, after all the taxes and fees, was Php 10,772.00.  10k is still a lot, but based on our computation we would have spent at least 20k more if we went with another airline. 

 Being obsessive compulsives, we got ourselves Sure Seats for Php400 each. For good luck, we chose row number 8.  A quick phone call made sure we would be together the whole flight, even if we were one of the last persons to check in.  It sure would be a bummer to sit beside a stranger who did not bother to take a bath nor brush his teeth because he was running late.

For peace of mind, we also got ourselves Cebu Pacific’s Travel Sure insurance.  For Php 250 each, the coverage is up to Php1 Million.  It pretty much covers almost all unfortunate incidents while you are abroad.  Just make sure you don’t commit suicide … and unfortunately, they don’t cover emergency liposuction just in case you gain 5 kilos in a week due to overeating.

Honestly, we prefer Philippine Airlines (PAL) over Cebu Pacific.  Never did we experience any flight delay with PAL.  But our latest vacation might make converts out of us.  Aside from the big savings, our flight bound to Singapore was on time.  We even landed a few minutes earlier than the ETA.  The return flight was a different story, but we can live with 30 minutes of delay. 

Just a little tip - if you choose to fly on a budget airline, you might want to bring some food.  Food was predictably pricey onboard.  A small bottle of C2 green tea sells for 50 pesos, while a cold roll for 100 pesos.

 Right now we are monitoring Cebu Pacific’s site for any promo. They are getting more aggressive with their pricing and whatever savings customers get from their tickets can surely be put into other expenses like hotel and food.  We hope to catch a good deal soon.