A few articles back I wrote a piece about the various destinations close by the Philippines, useful for regular visa runs and also where Phil-Am couples can fly to together and then return so the foreigner half of the marriage can get a free one year Balik Bayan Privilege stamp.
I’m Always Watching For Good Deals On Flights
Ho Chi Minh City (NOT the capital of Vietnam by the way 
) was one of the destinations recommended. A quick 2 hour flight from Manila, it’s regarded as a great travel destination by many and it’s particularly popular with many of my entrepreneurial expat friends as being one of the best cost of living bargains anywhere in Asia.
The Airlines Were Reading, Too
So this morning it was fun to see a great many of these eye-catching graphic ads from discount airlines popping up on my screen.
Here a current ad for a flight to Ho Chi Minh City from Manila. The return flight back to Manila will be by the same route, for the same price.
See anything a little “off” about the offer?
Well the price is not at all the lowest I have seen, with many Philippine discount airlines, like Cebu Pacific, you can probably find a price half of the offer here. But for less than $200 USD equivalent, this price here won’t drive anyone broke …so that’s not why I feel the ad is “off”
Take a look at the line in the ad that says “via Singapore Changi Airport”, and if you don’t have the same feeling I have. The airline, wanting to fill seats (which is, of course, their duty to their stock holders) is deepening upon many people’s well-know inability to read a map … or to even think about using one, for that matter.
Now Look At The Direct Line Map Route between Manila (RPLL) and Saigon (VVTS)
Right at 1002 miles. About 2 hours in a modern airliner.
Now Look At The Advertised Route: Manila to Singapore, the change for Saigon.
Almost 1500 miles to Singapore (roughly three hours), then the time to change flights and about 6785 miles from Changi to Saigon … more than another hour.
Now there is nothing illegal about advertising a flight routing like this. Many airlines do it as a matter of course.
But if you have to pay the fare, stand in security, and then go numb in the seat, is this the sort of route you would want to take … if given a choice?
I Surely Wouldn’t.
You can decide for yourselves.
Here’s a great tool you can check for this mapping on a moments’ notice http://www.gcmap.com You can learn a lot by looking at maps.
Hi Dave,
Interesting observation regards the picture.
I have another for you, what’s wrong with the mileages?.
6785 miles from Changi to Saigon? too many digits, lol 🙂
6785? Wow that’s a long trip, isn’t it? See, I told you to take the shorter, direct flight!
Let’s see, what’s my excuse here. Artistic license to drive home my point My globe was sitting in the sun too long and warped? My dog ate my homework?
I guess those all sound lame, so I have to own up to doing a careless job both typing and proof reading. Sorry. The Correct mileage is 675 Thanks for reading, Chas. (and to all you who follow) Apologies again.
No worries Dave, i usually blame my need for new reading glasses, lol.
Talk about zig-zaging, I looked at a flight back to the states to St. Louis and this was one of the flights that I got. RPLL to Japan to NYC to Salt Lake City, to St. Louis. How is that for flying a few extra miles and not only that you could jump out of the plane half-way and be home as the flight would most likely go right over St. Louis.
The last time I checked U.S. citizens need a visa to visit Vietnam. So Vietnam was bumped down the list on my countries to visit. When I run out of “visa free” countries that I want to visit I’ll reconsider Vietnam.
Vietnam is visa on arrival for us citizens. Just book your flight, then go online to Vietnam visa agent. You pay around $25 for the service. The agent emails you an invitation letter that you use to board. In arrival, go to the counter, pay the visa fee (most around $25 depending on type) and get stamped
Sounds complicated, but takes 5 minutes online and queue time on arrival
Inside the US mileage maniacs leap on routings like this. This time of year the hardcore types are finding trans oceanic flights to fly at minimal cost just to hit mileage thresholds for the following year’s elite status (which doubles next year’s miles).
Dave
This is due to the hub and spoke system most airlines use. Last year, to fly mnl to Brisbane, Cathay pacific had a sale, around us$200 each way. But via Hong Kong. Two hours extra flying yielded quite substantial savings, despite the backtrack. You just need to check carefully before buying, but sometimes deals can be worth it
I’m well aware of the hub and spoke strategy John. I’ve been flying airlines since it was nearly unheard of (no the wings weren’t fabric, but DC-3’s were still in common service 😉 ).
You’re absolutely correct that sometimes the circuitous routing may be worth the “time in the seat”, but since I as just writing about the closest, cheapest locations for a visa run I wanted folks to think about looking at a map before they bought on price alone.
Everything is relative …
I always find the direct or return flights in Asia pretty good the last few years. For me the hard part is when I have to do multiple destinations, such as in Jan when I have to do Toronto-Beijing-Bali, Ho Chi Minh, Manila, Hong Kong,-Toronto. I usually end up using Hong Kong as a hub and doing a lot return flights, at great expense. Any suggestions appreciated.
Bill
My son is spending the year studying in Chile. When he left us in the center of California, he flew to San Francisco, then to Montreal, Canada, then to Panama City, Panama, and finally, Santiago, Chile. Look at that on a map. Stockholders indeed!
Hi Tom,
Sometimes it almost seems as if you “can’t get there from here”, I do wonder, though, where that routing came from, because I just checked (on Travelocity.com) and see that American flies every day of the week from San Francisco to Santiago with only one stop/plane change in Miami, and their fare, $1041, is the cheapest I found including other airlines with much more zany routing.
Guess a lot depends upon where and when you look.