For those doing land based diving the guys at Papua Divers (http://www.papua-diving.com/diveresorts/krieco/) have been really helpful with organising and advising on flights

will let you know how we get on with the mandis

david kessel

Definitely NOT a good experience
I would also like to comment on Express Air. We flew from Manado to Sorong, and yes, we were over, but the Express Air representative was terrible. The fee should have been approx $ 150 for both of us for overage and he insisted that we pay almost $500 US cash. We only had $100 in Rupiah and there was no where to exchange, so he was demanding US cash. He would not work with us at all, and five minutes before the flight left he walked away mad and told us he did not care if we missed the flight. I was crying hysterically and he finally let us through after we paid him all of our Rupiah and an additional $200 in US cash. This guy was totally trying to rip us off. We got on the flight and I was so stressed from this and the flight smelled like a combination of body odor, vomit, and feces. It was the worst flight I had ever been on. Those who flew from Jakarta to Sorong with express air don’t seem to have the same complaint. We flew lion air back to Manado and as advertised, luggage was much less expensive. If you are flying to Sorong from Manado, I have a couple of suggestions. KNOW the weight restriction and don’t go over it. If you have a choice between Lion Air and Express Air, choose Lion Air. Make sure, if you do have overage, that you have enough Rupiah to pay for it.

Thanks for the info. Express

Thanks for the info. Express air charged me $4 USD per kilogram, which is what the boat told us they would charge. So we were not surprised. I think I paid $60 extra each way, which  was not too much imho. But I have never used Lion. – Scott