Under $500 to Japan, if you're prepared to take a stopover and carry-on!
https://flightscout.co/au/cheap-flights/melbourne-australia-…
Example: 03 Mar to 18 Mar = $494 Return!
Airline: Cebu Pacific
Stopover: Manila
It's not in style, but it is cheap…
…and did they make it to their destination?
Final destination…sorry, gotta say it.
You're talking absolute rubbish.
Please tell me about your friend who 'just flew' with Malaysia airlines that died.
last time i went to manila my wallet got stolen before i even got to my hotel
Price needs to be lower to be a deal. Needs to be under $400.
Considering no luggage, food and drink for the flight and to top that an almost 20 hours trip compared to around 10 hours with QF/JL direct, you only save over $100.
Also cebu has one of the tightest seats, compared to JAL, it's chalk and cheese.
I'd rather spend extra 200 for full service direct flight.
Manila airport can be a bad stopover.
You may have to take a bus to get to a different terminal that can take up to 30 mins, not including wait time. And some travelers are charged a bus fee. Sometimes people will take a taxi to a new terminal.
Price is ok, however I have flown JQ via OOL for not much more and I would rather transit in Australia than Manila.
That being said, QF are regularly around $800 and is full service.
Malaysia Airlines is fantastic. They had some bad luck with MH370 (pilot?) and MH17 (someone else shot them down!), but I've had a couple of flights with them since, half empty, great service and food.