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Prices last updated: 2026-08-12 · MNL → Los Angeles (LAX) · Sourced from Travelpayouts
MNL → LAX · 🇺🇸 US Visa Required
Cheap Flights Manila to
Los Angeles 🇺🇸
Piso fare deals, seat sales, and cheapest prices on MNL → Los Angeles. Philippine Airlines nonstop — tracked 24/7, updated daily.
From
₱47,800
roundtrip incl. taxes
~13h 00m
direct flight
❌ Required
US B1/B2 Visa
5
deals found
Direct flight
~13h 00m
Airport
LAX
Currency
USD ($)
Time difference
-15/-16 hrs (LA behind PHT)
Best weather
Mar–May, Sep–Nov
Best to book
2–3 months + visa lead time
🔥 Best MNL → Los Angeles Deal Right Now
Manila → Los Angeles, USA
Usually ₱48,563
₱47,800
↓ Best price found today
You save ₱763 (2% off)
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❌ US B1/B2 visa required for Philippine passport holders
Filipinos need an approved US B1/B2 visitor visa before flying to Los Angeles — there is no visa-free or visa-on-arrival option, and the Philippines is not part of the US Visa Waiver Program. Complete the DS-160 form online, pay USD 185 plus a USD 250 Visa Integrity and Border Security Fee (~₱26,900 total), and attend an in-person interview at the US Embassy in Manila. Interview wait times run 3–10+ weeks — apply well before booking a specific travel date.
Visa Required
ℹ️
Real prices from real searches. Sourced from Travelpayouts — refreshed regularly. Click Check price to confirm the live fare before booking.
MNL → Los Angeles flight deals today
Cheapest roundtrip fares from Manila Ninoy Aquino (MNL) to Los Angeles International (LAX) · Prices in PHP
Updated 2026-08-12
📅 MNL → Los Angeles Price Calendar
See the cheapest days to fly — click any date to book at that price.
Best time to fly MNL → Los Angeles
Month-by-month price guide for Manila to Los Angeles flights
💡 Pro tip: The cheapest months are January, February, and September — often ₱40,000–₱58,000 roundtrip without needing a seat sale. Avoid mid-December through early January and Thanksgiving week (late November) at all costs — Christmas/New Year draws both Filipino families and the LA-based Fil-Am diaspora at once, pushing fares past ₱80,000–₱95,000 roundtrip if you leave it late.
📅 Los Angeles events & fare surges
MNL → Los Angeles fares spike hard around these dates — book early or avoid entirely
🎄 Christmas & New Year
December 15 – January 5
+80%
avg fare surge
The single biggest surge on MNL–LAX. Filipino families flying out to spend Christmas with relatives collide with the half-million-strong Fil-Am community in Greater LA flying home for the same holidays. Normal ₱46,000–₱62,000 fares routinely climb to ₱65,000–₱95,000 roundtrip, and PAL's limited daily nonstop schedule sells out its cheapest cabins months in advance.
💡 Book by September for December travel, or shift to January 6–31 when fares reset to the lowest levels of the year within days of New Year.
🦃 US Thanksgiving Week
Late November — week of the 4th Thursday
+45%
avg fare surge
Thanksgiving is the single busiest US domestic and international travel holiday of the year, and LAX is one of its busiest airports. It's a distinctly American pressure point that doesn't exist on any Southeast Asian route — Fil-Am families based in LA use the long weekend to host relatives flying in from Manila. Expect ₱58,000–₱80,000 roundtrip if booking inside 6 weeks of the holiday.
💡 Fly the Tuesday or Wednesday after Thanksgiving rather than the week of — fares drop noticeably once the holiday itself has passed.
✝️ Holy Week & US Spring Break
Late March – April (dates shift yearly with Easter)
+35%
avg fare surge
Philippine Holy Week and US spring break usually land in the same few weeks, creating a double bump: Filipino families travelling for the long weekend, plus US-based Fil-Am families bringing kids home to Manila during their school break. Fares typically move from a ₱46,000–₱60,000 baseline to ₱56,000–₱78,000 roundtrip.
💡 Book 3+ months ahead if your dates are fixed around Holy Week — or shift a week earlier/later where school schedules allow.
🇵🇭 PH Independence Day & Summer Break
June – early August
+20%
avg fare surge
Philippine Independence Day (June 12) kicks off a summer travel season where both PH school break and US summer vacation overlap — families on both sides use the window to visit. It's a milder, longer bump rather than a sharp spike: fares drift up gradually from June through July before easing in late August.
💡 Late August is the release valve — fares ease back toward baseline as US schools reopen, while PH summer break is still technically on.
🎊 Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC)
September 12, 2026 · San Pedro, LA
+15%
avg fare surge
LA's largest annual Filipino cultural festival draws Fil-Am visitors from across the US rather than direct Manila travellers, so the effect on MNL–LAX fares is mild. It's worth knowing about mainly because it falls inside September — otherwise the cheapest month of the year on this route — so it can nudge availability on the specific festival weekend even while overall pricing stays low.
💡 September is still your best budget month overall — just avoid booking the exact festival weekend if you want the absolute lowest fare.
📊 How to read this: Surge percentages are averages vs the same route in a non-event week. An +80% surge on a ₱52,000 base fare means roughly ₱94,000. Unlike short-haul Southeast Asian routes, MNL–LAX surges are driven as much by the US-based Fil-Am diaspora's travel calendar as by Philippine holidays. The single best thing you can do: subscribe for alerts and book MNL → Los Angeles at least 3–4 months ahead of Christmas or Thanksgiving travel.
💸 What Filipinos actually spend in Los Angeles
Real daily breakdown in USD with PHP equivalent — LA is not a budget destination, and no travel blog will tell you that upfront
Budget Filipino Traveller
$100–140 / day (~₱6,170–8,640)
🍜 Food (fast food/food truck)$15–25
🚇 TAP card / Metro day pass$5–8
🏨 Van Nuys/Panorama City motel (shared)$50–70
🎡 Free beach/hike/park$0–15
💧 Snacks & tipping buffer$10–15
5 days + flights (₱38,000 piso-adjacent fare)
~₱68,000–₱85,000 all-in
Comfortable Filipino Traveller
$220–320 / day (~₱13,570–19,750)
🍜 Sit-down + Filipino restaurants$40–60
🚇 Rideshare / rental car$40–70
🏨 Koreatown/DTLA 3-star hotel$130–180
🎡 Universal Studios / Disneyland day$50–150
🛍️ Shopping & pasalubong$30–50
5 days + flights (₱52,000 normal fare)
~₱150,000–₱190,000 all-in
Is Los Angeles cheaper than Singapore? No — LA runs noticeably more expensive than Singapore once you account for mandatory US tipping (18–20% on every meal, not built into the price like Singapore's service charge) and the fact that LA all but requires a rideshare or rental car instead of a compact MRT network. A fast-food combo meal that costs $8–10 (~₱495–620) in LA costs the Singapore-dollar equivalent of roughly ₱350–420 in a Singapore hawker centre. Filipinos don't fly this route for a cheap city break — they fly it for family, and that changes how you should budget: plan for LA prices, not Southeast Asia prices.
🇵🇭 Filipino traveller intel — Los Angeles edition
Things a Skyscanner page would never tell you
The visa is the real gatekeeper on this route — not the fare. A cheap PAL seat sale is worthless without an approved US B1/B2 visitor visa in hand first. DS-160, a combined USD 435 in fees, and an embassy interview in Manila with wait times of 3–10+ weeks stand between you and the airport. Don't book a specific travel date around a seat sale until your visa is already approved — non-refundable fares and pending visa applications don't mix.
The "piso fare" trick barely works on MNL–LAX. Unlike Bangkok or Singapore, where a ₱1 base fare promo can produce an all-in roundtrip under ₱4,000, long-haul transpacific tickets carry heavy fuel surcharges and international airport taxes that a base-fare discount can't erase. Even Philippine Airlines' best seat sales on this route rarely clear below roughly ₱38,000–₱45,000 all-in roundtrip. Chase the sale anyway — a ₱10,000+ drop off the ₱52,000 normal fare is real savings — just don't expect SEA-route pricing.
Tipping in the US is not optional, and skipping it gets noticed. Standard is 18–20% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 per bag for hotel staff, and roughly 15–20% for rideshare drivers. Filipino visitors who under-tip out of habit (not malice) get awkward looks from servers who rely on tips as real income. Build an extra 20% into every restaurant bill before you land, not after the check arrives.
Balikbayan boxes are actually easier from LA than from most origin cities on this site. Los Angeles hosts its own consolidator warehouses (Eagle Rock, Carson, and other SoCal drop-off points) — you don't need to route boxes through Manila the way travellers from Cebu or Davao often do. Sea cargo runs roughly $58–90 per standard box with a 4–6 week transit time, usually far cheaper than paying Philippine Airlines' excess baggage fees for an extra checked bag of pasalubong.
US Customs can confiscate or fine you for food items brought from the Philippines. Fresh fruit, meat products, and many packaged Filipino snacks are restricted or banned under US agricultural import rules, and CBP officers at LAX do check. Declare anything questionable rather than risk a fine — and know that the safer move for bringing food back home is shipping via an LA-based balikbayan consolidator rather than packing it in your carry-on.
Airlines flying MNL → Los Angeles
Philippine Airlines is the only nonstop carrier — one-stop alternatives listed for comparison
Los Angeles travel guide for Filipinos
Everything you need to know before you fly — written from a Filipino perspective · See the full Los Angeles guide →
Los Angeles trip budget for Filipinos
Typical costs in USD with PHP equivalent — 1 USD ≈ ₱61.70 as of mid-2026
6 tips to get the cheapest MNL→Los Angeles flights
This route needs a visa, a nonstop-only airline, and 13 hours in the air — book smart and it's still worth it
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Frequently asked questions — MNL to Los Angeles flights
Content reviewed 2026-07-30 · Prices update automatically every day
Yes. Philippine passport holders need a US B1/B2 visitor visa before flying to Los Angeles — there is no visa-free or visa-on-arrival option and the Philippines is not part of the US Visa Waiver Program. You must complete the DS-160 form online, pay a USD 185 application fee plus a USD 250 Visa Integrity and Border Security Fee upon approval, and attend an in-person interview at the US Embassy in Manila. Interview wait times commonly run several weeks to a few months, so apply well before booking a specific travel date.
Direct flights from Manila (MNL) to Los Angeles (LAX) take approximately 12 hours 50 minutes to 14 hours 35 minutes depending on winds and time of year — the return LAX to MNL leg is usually longer due to headwinds. Philippine Airlines is the only airline operating this route nonstop, using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with up to 18 weekly flights as of June 2026.
January, February, and September are typically the cheapest months, with roundtrip fares dropping to roughly ₱40,000–₱58,000. The most expensive windows are mid-December through early January (Christmas and New Year) and Thanksgiving week in late November, when fares can climb past ₱80,000–₱95,000 roundtrip as both Filipino families and the Filipino-American diaspora travel to reunite.
Philippine Airlines is the only carrier flying nonstop from MNL to LAX, using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. There is no direct low-cost carrier option on this route. Filipinos can also fly one-stop itineraries via Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong), EVA Air or China Airlines (Taipei), ANA (Tokyo), or Korean Air (Seoul) — these connections sometimes undercut Philippine Airlines' fare but add 4–8 hours of total travel time.
A piso fare is a promotional fare — popularised by Cebu Pacific and used occasionally by Philippine Airlines — where base fares drop to as little as ₱1 or a few dollars. On short-haul Southeast Asian routes this produces roundtrip tickets under ₱4,000, but MNL–LAX doesn't work the same way: heavy transpacific fuel surcharges and airport taxes mean even a genuine piso-style promo rarely brings this route below ₱38,000–₱45,000 all-in roundtrip. It's still a real discount off the ₱52,000 normal fare — just don't expect Southeast Asia-style pricing on a US route.
You need a valid Philippine passport, an approved US B1/B2 visitor visa, a return or onward ticket, and documentation showing the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at LAX that your visit is temporary — proof of accommodation, a rough itinerary, and evidence of ties to the Philippines (job, property, family) are commonly requested. There is no US pre-clearance facility in Manila, so all CBP screening happens on arrival at LAX.
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