Buying flight from Manila? Hear this first.

[iamatemple 8]

Recently my wife arrived from Philippines after 21 months apart.

Hearing her visa was approved, (Thank the LORD!) she was immediately flown to Manila to pick it up at the 2GO (SM Mall of Asia location)

After picking up her visa and my son's visa I purchased tickets over the internet using google flights and found a flight I was pleased with.

The flight was purchased (1415 dollars for 1 adult and 1 child travel MNL to TPA (Manila, Philippines --> Tampa, Florida, USA))

My wife noticed the name was wrong on the ticket so I called and the agent on the phone (for the airline) said not a problem and fixed it and sent the new ticket to me via email.

The name, again, was spelled incorrectly by the travel agent.

After she went to fix the ticket again I was told by the agent, "I can't sell you this ticket."

Shocked to hear this I asked if she was joking.

"There is a ticket ban", she explained.

Any flight from Manila must be purchased inside the Philippines either through a travel agent (in Philippines) or at the airport ticket counter.

This is the first time I'd heard this and I was perplexed.

I called another airline to verify the information and they said no problem, but, then a bit later said the same thing.

Not able to sell me a ticket.

We ended up having a friend of my wife take us to a travel agent she knew and trusted and we were told the price of 56,000 php is what was needed for the flight.

The money was sent and a bit more just in case.

After going to pay for the ticket my wife was surprised to hear the ticket price went to 100,000 php +.

Being at the mercy of the travel agent, I asked my wife to have them get the most reasonable ticket that will get her here quickly and not cost overmuch.

She called back and 63,000 php was the amount which she already paid.

I was at first a bit disgruntled to my shame as I realized the ticket wasn't much different from what I was going to pay the first time.

ALSO, my wife noticed that the travel tax of 1620 php for her and for my son (I forget how much) was already included in the ticket price!

A blessing in disguise as I thought she still had to pay the travel tax after paying for the ticket.

I have heard others have purchased their flights via the internet with not problem in the past though I was shocked that, for me, it didn't seem an option.

It worked out well enough using the travel agent and the price was less than if I had done it myself over the internet.

Hopefully someone is able to get the clue that I didn't before this happens to them. (be confused for hours wondering how to get through yet another immigration hoop)

[Hank_ 9,174]

I hear that from time to time, but the upside is like your noticed - travel tax is included.

There are still many that have no issue purchasing one way tickets online for travel from the Phils.

[iamatemple 8]

I hear that from time to time, but the upside is like your noticed - travel tax is included.

There are still many that have no issue purchasing one way tickets online for travel from the Phils.

I'd figured the same thing Hank, though for whatever reason the airlines, once realizing the flight originated from Manila NAIA airport, they said they had to obey the law.

One airline mentioned that also, about getting flights and bypassing the ticket ban though they said they are really cracking down on the airlines now.

Who knows if it's the case or not.

Also, glad for your help from the past Hank.

The family is together now and your name has a soft spot in our heart.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Being together is the biggy, and it is always good to "pay it forward". It is very possible, like you said, that this will become a major issue in the future.

All the best to you and your family.

[yannix 24]

It's not a question of whether you purchase the ticket over the internet or physically. The only thing the law states is the ticket must be issued in the Philippines. As you've guessed, it's because of the travel tax. A Philippine based travel agent is responsible for collecting the travel tax when they issue the ticket. Some airlines (mainly those with significant operations in the Philippines) will also sell you a ticket physically or even online. All they do is have their Philippine ticketing office "issue" the ticket for you to comply with the law.

Although some non-airline websites would happily sell you a ticket originating Philippines, I would suggest against it. The passenger could still run into issues at the airport. It's not worth the few $$ you save especially if the passenger is not travel-savvy.

PS IIRC, this rule was passed during Marcos' reign to combat travel tax evasion.

[Al422 221]

I got my wife's ticket through Expedia in June. Got it here in New York with my credit card. I then sent her the money for the travel tax through Western Union, and she paid it in cash as the check in counter in Manila. No problems.

[Rob63 10]

I bought my round trip ticket on Expedia, and then bought my fiancé's one way ticket on Delta's website, so we would have seats together. I'll be with her in Manila and at the airport when we depart, so hopefully I can just pay any tax they require... fingers crossed.

[Hank_ 9,174]

I bought my round trip ticket on Expedia, and then bought my fiancé's one way ticket on Delta's website, so we would have seats together. I'll be with her in Manila and at the airport when we depart, so hopefully I can just pay any tax they require... fingers crossed.

The counter for paying the travel tax is at the front of the terminal between the luggage scanners.

[SennaBrigante 92]

Including the travel tax with the ticket is optional. At least for PAL. Most people just pay at the airport. This is the first time I'm hearing about the ticketing ban. Might be a thing when booking with travel agencies.

[Hank_ 9,174]

The ticket purchase issue has been in the wind for quite some time now.

[yannix 24]

 

I bought my round trip ticket on Expedia, and then bought my fiancé's one way ticket on Delta's website, so we would have seats together. I'll be with her in Manila and at the airport when we depart, so hopefully I can just pay any tax they require... fingers crossed.

If your Expedia ticket is US-MNL-US roundtrip, then you are okay and not subject to this rule. You MAY need to pay the tax (Although you should be exempted being a foreign national and not staying over a certain period of time). Her one-way ticket should be okay since you bought it directly from the airline and most likely has the tax included in the price.

[yannix 24]

 

The counter for paying the travel tax is at the front of the terminal between the luggage scanners.

That was true before but Delta has since moved to T3. The travel tax counter for T3 is near counter/gate 1. Once you get in the airport, turn right and head to the end.

[Hank_ 9,174]

 

If your Expedia ticket is US-MNL-US roundtrip, then you are okay and not subject to this rule. You MAY need to pay the tax (Although you should be exempted being a foreign national and not staying over a certain period of time). Her one-way ticket should be okay since you bought it directly from the airline and most likely has the tax included in the price.

Highly unlikely for the travel tax to be included, UNLESS the ticket is purchased within the Philippines.

  That was true before but Delta has since moved to T3. The travel tax counter for T3 is near counter/gate 1. Once you get in the airport, turn right and head to the end.

Ah, thank you very much. This will get to crazy to track as to which airline is at which terminal. I will make note of the counter being near counter/gate 1 at T3.

[waka1 28]

August 29th, I paid for my fiancé's Manila to Boston flight through a local travel agent in the US. My fiancé simply printed out her ticket went to the airport in MNL paid her exit fee's with no problem...

She did tell me that the CFO office in the terminal was closed that evening she flew, fortunately we anticipated this might happen, so I had her fly to Cebu to pick-up her CFO exit stamp the week before. Since she did her CFO before her USEM interview, she had the option to get her CFO stamp at the airport....very lucky to dodge that bullet

[yannix 24]

 

Highly unlikely for the travel tax to be included, UNLESS the ticket is purchased within the Philippines.

The ticket bought from directly the airline will most likey be "issued" within the Philippines. The airline is the one that gets fined anyway so it's in their best interest to comply with the law. Just to be on the safe side, look at your ticket's fare breakdown. The tax will be a line item called "PH" with the amount of P1620 or it's 30 something $ equivalent.