I'm planning a trip with a group of friends and we want to go to Philippines (Manila), Thailand (Phuket and Bangkok) and Cambodia (Angkor Wat). We will be flying out of Boston to any of the mentioned countries first but we aren't sure what airline is best to take to travel within Asia. Does anyone have any advice?

No 'one' airline can do the lot, your best bet probably is United/Thai Airways ( Star Alliance partners ). Angkor Wat ( Siem Reap ) is servied from Bangkok only by Bangkok Airways so that you would need to do separate.

Hello. Go to www.malaysiaairlines.com and look at the access-asia promotion. You can go to all the places you've requested for $999 USD. There is a catch, flight is out of Newark and most flights come into their hub in Kuala Lumpur so you will end up spending a few days there b/c of flight schedules.

I agree the Malaysia Airlines Airpass is good, plus Cathay Pacific do a good deal also, trouble is the routing.
You can do Manila-Bangkok-Phuket-Bangkok-Manila with Thai as 1 deal, the Siem Reap flight would have to be an add-on as it's with Bangkok Airways.
If you use Malaysia or Cathay deals you have to connect to/from the hubs.

Thinking about it Lufthansa might be your best bet mainly because they fly BKK-Manila, so you could get a BOS-FRA-BKK-MNL return ticket that allows stopover in BKK, that fare should be quite cheap, basically a BOS-MNL return with Lufthansa. Then just add on Bangkok Airways to Siem Reap and Phuket(Bangkok Airways does both sectors, but you have to route thru Bangkok down to Phuket ). That would probably be your cheapest and best option. You can save money taking overnight bus from BKK-Phuket ( not fun but cheap, about US$19 each way for decent VIP bus a/con movie, stop for meal etc ) Air fare is about US$130 return.

PS: Bangkok Airways have been doing a deal on Siem Reap ( airport for Angkor Wat ) but that was just for low season, roughly May-October. Otherwise the fare is 'mega' for a 50 minute flight, not sure exactly but well over $200. Although Angkor at is amazing the flight cost really knocks it, it you have the money, sure, it's a must see, but if you are on a tight budget you just 'might' considor perhaps doing Ayuthaya and Sukhothai in Thailand, not the same thing, much smaller scale, difference though is you can easily a/con bus to those places from Bangkok. You can also fly from Bangkok in 50 minutes to Sukhothai with bangkok Airways but a much much cheaper alternativeis to fly to a place called 'Phitsanulok' with Thai Airways (very very cheap ), which is 40km(25 miles) from Sukhothai, and Phitsanulok in general have more accommodation.
Not trying at all to steer you away from Angkor because it IS truly amazing, but it depends on budget. There are some agents in Bangkok who do cheap 'road' trip to Angkor but they are usaully in small vans and it's pretty rough going, but then again if you don't mind 'slumming it' a bit it's an alternative.
Hope that helps.

Roundtrip Bangkok to Siem Reap is about $250-275. While Ayuthaya is interesting, in no way would I say it's the "same" as Angkor. There are dozens of temples in the Angkor complex. It's an incredible experience and well worth every penny.

I think I said it was 'not' the same. We were lucky enough to go when Royal Air Cambodge were operating some years back, it was quite reasonable air fare, lucky we did, now for a couple with 2 young kids it would cost us about $820 in just air fares, which would be impossible. Sadly it makes Angkor Wat totally out-of-reach, certainly for Thai people.

Bangkok air is offering a Discovery Pass (good until to april 15/04) which allowes you to travel in Thailand and Cambodia and between the two. You have to buy a minimum of 3 coupons, each coupon good for one flight. The cost from Bangkok to Siem Reap is 80US plus a small tax. In addition there are the normal airport taxes. They can only be obtained through a travel agent so you might check if the offer is still good and if seats are still available for the period you wish to travel. The normal cost for a return ticket is around $276 so this would be a fair saving.

i also live in boston..we always fly northwest to asia, with a stop in detroit or minneapolis and toyko....long trip...
you can go to manila or bangkok from toyko...i think you will need a seperate flight from manilla to bkk..bangkok air is the best flight from bkk to siem reap (angkor wat), but it is expensive for what it is...maybe $250 round trip each

having said that you might want to check out the "all aisa passes" (different names) that malaysia air and cathy pacific have for around $1000 +...you use either KL in malaysia or hong kong as a base and fly to the other places over a 21 or 30 day period, but not to angkor--that has to be seperate, although one may fly to phenom phen...check it out on their web sites..

try checking out silk air.. they are riginal wing of singapore airlines.. they also have air pass that includes many of your destinations or close enought . cebu is a hop form manila .. im not sure if's any cheeper or better but is an option and they include many interesting destinations..

http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/app/...omoSilkairPass

My husband and I are planning a similar trip this October. We're taking advantage of Cathay's All Asia Pass but I probably would not recommend it for your trip. The pass (as well as malaysia air's) gives you a wonderful opportunity to see many different countries but it's only valuable if you have a lot of time. You will spend most of it in an airport or flying back to the airline's main hub. Unfortunately I have only two weeks so we're only using two of the countries offered.

Here are some suggestions for your itinerary:
Cathay just announced their Sept. offer - $499 to Manila from SFO, LAX or NYC with a stopover in HK. This is a great price if you haven't already booked a flight to asia.
You may be able to find a package/flight deal with Cathay from HK to BKK. check out cathaypacific.com for flights.
Cathay also offers great hotel discounts and package offers to customers (cxholidays.com). If luxury hotels are your thing, this is definitely worth looking into.

As far as I know the only way to get to siem reap is with Bangkok Air. I had the worst time trying to book my flight to Cambodia because I thought it had to be done through a travel agent - not the case! You can book it directly with them by calling 866-bangkokair. I just confirmed my flight today and i'm simply ecstatic. You must have a minimum of three flights and max six. domestic fares are $50 and int'l $60. See the website for details. You could probably fly BKK to Siem Reap, Siem Reap to BKK, BKK to Phuket then Phuket to BKK. Expect to pay $260 plus taxes. Flights are limited so be sure to book asap.

Some websites to remember:
Bridgestravel.com is a Philippine based travel agency that lists many travel packages w/in asia. I am using them for the first time this trip. If anything, it will give you a general feel for price
cxholidays.com is Cathay's holiday site.
smarterliving.com - if don't already go here, you should for current sales.
frommers.com - also keeps you up-to -date on the latest and greatest travel sales.
Bangkokair.com - Check out the discovery pass everyone has been talking about.
malaysiaairlines.com - their "access asia pass" flies to all your destinations except siem reap (i think). check with a travel agent, they updated their site and I cannot locate the details.

Thank you so much for all the valuable information. I am definately going to research everything suggested. You're all wonderful.

If you'll be flying Economy, stay away from Cathay Pacific because my mom flew CP and said there wasn't enough leg room in economy class and she's only 5' 2" so that's not gonna be a very comfortable trip.