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If the terminal is same (which is the case here) then no worries at Dubai airport. Dubai airport is one of the most simplest airports. Just one big hall it is.

Although you would be heavily tempted to stop and shop - it's a paradise for shoppers. :)

That's more than enough time to make the connection. You won't have to do anything but switch planes since your bags will be checked straight through. There might just be security at the departure gate, but still very manageable.

I will be traveling next month to Manila, Phillipines from Hyderabad. Which airlines is good - Cathay pacific/Thai/Singapore? Also I am thinking of getting a long layover flight for 1 journey so that i can explore the transit city - Hong Kong/Bangkok/Singapore. Which one would be the least expensive to explore? Any transit visa required? Which airport would be quick to complete the immigration & customs formalities?

Also I heard that the Manila Airport is one of the worst in the world. Any precaution or word of advice?

Appreciate your inputs on this.

I have travelled last year to HongKong, Bangkok and Singapore on business and stayed a few extra days to explore.

All these three airlines are pretty good.

I would say Bangkok is the cheapest, HongKong second and Singapore least. It also depends a lot on what you do. As long as you are happy eating in small local cafe and restaurant food and drink can be had cheap in all three. Getting around is quite cheap in all three. The biggest difference would be in hotel prices but as long as you are not to picky you should be able find reasonable accommodation. I use Tripit to do my research for any place in the world I visit.
Good luck
Jeroen

Its close. I prefer a two hour layover at Dubai just to be safe.

You need to clear security, then you will have to run across the hall to your gate.

The issue is that you'll come off a 12+ hour flight, which may easily be a bit late, and then you'll have to split.

Its not like Colombo or Kuala Lumpur where you just go straight to the next gate without any common security check.

Thanks a lot Jeroen! I am going to do a transit only, no stay. In that case is Hong Kong or Singapore is better? I heard that Indians need visa for Singapore even for transit.

Singapore offers a VFTF visa free transit facility and if you qualify you can get a transit permit quickly.
Indians having valid long-term US Visas like H1 or even 10 year B1 visas qualify. Similarly if you have UK visas. Read up more on their website to see if you qualify, I have used this once when transiting via Singapore and stopped over for 2 days.
*I was returning from Philippines and transited for 2 days at Singapore.

Airlines I would say Singapore > Thai > Cathay.

For a short transit, Singapore maybe better. Bangkok airport is far off from the city, and the traffic can be quite bad. Clearing the immigration & customs queue is also the fastest in Singapore.


I won't say its the worst, just not as modern and fancy as Singapore or Hong Kong.

Thanks vbsan. I am mostly going to go with Cathay Pacific as Hong Kong doesn't have any visa for Indians and with 8 hours transit time, I can visit the peak and the island if time permits. Singapore it seems we need to have visa even for the free tour offered by the changi airport.

Has anyone flown Sri-Lankan airlines? How has the experience been?

Hii we flew sri Lankan last month. I did expect a lot from it being the most expensive of the lot and the National carrier. But experience was average. The aircraft we flew was really old and looked it's age. The ground staff at Mumbai airport were however excellent and really helped us in their best way to make our travel with 10 month old twins comfortable.

I'm flying from Bangalore to Los Angeles the coming Sunday. I'm flying with Cathay Pacific.

A nob question here: stupid:

Since my flight is operated by Dragon Air from Bangalore to Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific from HKG to LAX), should I claim and re-check my baggage at Hong Kong international airport?

Sorry, I'm not able to find the information anywhere online.

Nopes, the parent company is Cathay Pacific, so unless they explicitly tell you while handing over the boarding pass during check-in, you shouldn't have to claim your baggage in the middle of the trip.

No need. The baggage will be carried over. Dragon Air is a low cost division of Cathay Pacific so they will handle your baggage internally.

Read the baggage tags they attach to your bags as also the counter that they will give you.

If it reads BLR HKG LAX then it's through & if it's BLR HKG then you have to claim and re check it.