This has happened twice already this month alone.
We have had 2 sets of clients whose return flights, prior to their departure date, have been arbitrarily canceled, forcing those clients to rebook to an earlier or later flight that they did not prefer.
The first case was a client who went to Palawan and was supposed to return to Manila on March 3. On February 10 Cebu Pacific notified us that they canceled their afternoon flight for that day and tried to compel our client to cut their vacation short take the morning flight instead. Our client opted to move their flight to Tuesday, March 4.
The second case happened just a while ago; Cebu Pacific canceled their 5:15 pm flight out of Caticlan back to Manila on March 10. They’re “encouraging” our client to take an earlier morning flight out of Kalibo instead, also cutting their vacation short by half a day and adding a 2 hour bus ride from Caticlan to Kalibo to their worries to boot.
What is weird is that suddenly there is an almost-fully-booked 4:30 pm flight out of Caticlan back to Manila with one slot left — which our client can’t take because there are three of them. Where that 4:30 pm flight came from — with full bookings to boot — is a mystery to us. If it was the 5:15 flight moved earlier, our client should have been given first priority to move into that flight. Something sounds really, really fishy here.
What gives Cebu Pacific? Are your planes regularly experiencing Monday blues? Or is your management compelling your reservations team to conjure passengers on unpopular, near-empty morning flights?
I just hope you stop pissing off our clients, pretty please, or we’ll have to convince all our future clients that you’re crap and fly Philippine Airlines instead because the headaches you cause us are so not worth it.
43 responses so far ↓
1 Sidney // Mar 13, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Till now I am very happy with Cebu Pacific and they are interesting travel rates.
2 benjamin mark // Mar 16, 2008 at 7:59 am
I’ve also gotten very frustrated with Cebu Pacific.
One time, my flight back to Singapore from Davao was moved to an earlier time (4 hours earlier), but Cebu Pacific did not call me. They did send an email 2 or 3 days earlier, but I’m on vacation in a place away from the city, with no access to the internet. Good thing, the ground staff is able to book me a flight to Manila and then, Manila to Singapore. But so sorry about the person that I bumped out of the flight. I felt even more sorry for the domestic worker that went with me to Manila. There’s one travel document that she didn’t have (Exit Pass) so she’s not allowed to board the Manila-Singapore flight. The thing is, she was flown from Davao to Singapore. How will she get back home and get the neccesary document? If the Davao-SIngapore flight had pushed thru, she would have been left in Davao, safe and comfortable at home.
Then, there’s the case of overbookings (or should the term be oversold flights). Even if they would fly you on the next day, and add in a pair of travel vouchers, it still gets frustrating and stressful. Especially, if you have appointments in your place of destination. And when you try to make use of the travel voucher, you’ll find that it is very difficult to make a successful call to the cebu pacific booking hotline.
Perhaps, selling more tickets than the plane have is an ordinary business practice among airlines. Perhaps, it is so that the plane can accommodate the full number of passengers even if a few chose to rebook their flights. But I’d say the practice of other international budget airlines as regards guaranteed seating should be the standard. I’d rather have my ticket forfeited if I am late for my flight, than be told on the airport to take the next day’s flight because the current flight is oversold.
3 bonita // Apr 2, 2008 at 5:55 am
This is not related to changes in bookings. My luggage was ruined…destroyed,,,torn…. when i arrived in manila. I had to check-in my luggage since it was big for handcarry luggage. I had to complain,i can’t let it go. The Cebu Pacific Customer Service person told me to fill out their complaint sheet and somebody from their corporate office will contact me. after 2 years, i haven’t received any call. Talk about customer service. Do not be blinded by cheap fares, look at the service they have to offer.
4 Jon Limjap // Apr 2, 2008 at 7:03 am
bonita,
That’s something people have to keep in mind of course — you get what you pay for.
Fortunately for me I haven’t experienced anything really bad yet with their baggage handling, but peeking out of airport terminals reveal how haphazardly baggage handlers do their thing. So no checking in of sensitive stuff for me.
I wonder, what was it that you had to check in?
5 rose navarro // Apr 2, 2008 at 9:42 pm
bonita,
with cebu pacific, baggage handling is not a problem. EXCEPT, delayed flights. On my trip to Davao 5 months ago, the flight was delayed and I stayed at the airport for 2 hrs more and the same thing happened again in my Cebu-Mla flight. hay, naku!
6 phen // Apr 10, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Hi there, I just want to share my experience too with this airline.
I used to fly Cebu Pacific for my personal trips, the reason being cheap. However with what happened to me last April 4, 2008 for my Davao-Cebu flight, I will never be on this carriage again. I was supposed to fly to Cebu at 6.30 am, I was there at Davao airport 5am. Upon checking in, I was told that I couldn’t take the flight because my ticket wasn’t confirmed! I purchased it online with confirmed status clearly indicated in my print-out. The not-so-customer-oriented staff pointed out that the status for payment was pending, which was written at the bottom part of the ticket. Who on earth would think that you were not able to pay when you got a confirmation?! And worst, nobody from Cebu Pacific thought of calling me to let me know. I was denied right on the spot, and when I asked for their assistance to at least get me in, the lady in the check in counter just instructed me to go to the ticketing office.
Here comes the worst part, no one from the ticketing office had the consideration to prioritize me or give me a confirmed reservation for the next flight at the least. The ticketing staff, Mr. Jonathan Leonor, just told me to wait so that they could check. I was waiting already for an hour, and got the same response when I asked for a reservation. He had even the gut to go out for a cigarette break, what kind of staff are these?
I decided to pull out my ticket and shifted to AirPhil, where I got a confirmed reservation that very minute. I could not help comparing how lousy Cebu Pacific are as against with AirPhil people. They should go back to the training room and learn the basics of customer service. I can’t imagine how could they treat customers this way.
Passengers out there, please think thousand times before flynig Cebu Pacific. Go to PAL or AirPhil instead. They do have affordable tickets especially for early bookings. I wouldn’t want anybody else to experience the same fate I had when all I want was assurance that I could reach my destination.
7 Jon Limjap // Apr 10, 2008 at 9:18 pm
phen,
That monumentally idiotic way of ticketing has happened ever since they’ve switched to their new system.
I think it’s prudent to stay clear of Cebu Pacific until they’re able to clear the usability issues with their site.
8 sean gorospe // Apr 17, 2008 at 10:46 pm
all fleets of Cebu Pacific are Airbus A319 (150 seaters) and A320 (179 seaters), all brand new and with very comfortable leather seats. always on time pa sila. minsan nga lang may aberya out of their control OK lang naman for safety purposes they have to cancel my flight due to weather condition last December. We were all accommodated the next day. understandable naman they cannot compensate us kasi it is really a force majeure. This year lang they cancelled our flight due to aircraft technical problem. Fine lang din kesa naman to risk the safety of the passengers. They even provided us free ticket and 1 night hotel accommodation. Obviously the airline do not want it to happen kita nyo naman sa laki ng ginastos nila sa free tickets na pinamimigay at hotel accommodation namin. Some passengers opted to go home nalang and they were given 500 per person for transportation. Fair emough naman talaga. Come to think budget airline sila but the service is not cheap. They just really want their passengers to fly with them again even if their gesture costs that much. Eto pa, some passengers ay nagwawala pa sa airport gumagawa ng eksena, despite of the reasons like weather or aircraft problems. They do not seem to understand that the airline is not even happy kasi nga nagpapaluwal sila ng pera. Yung iba din kasi sorry for the word, gusto lang umistar. I would still fly Cebu Pacific again for all my future domestic and international travel. Cheap fares, good service and safe aircraft. Ay i forgot something tried lining up sa ticket offices nila super puno sa sobrang haba ng line nasa labas na ang mga tao. PAL and Air Phils at yung iba walang laman. Kahit mahaba ang line tiis nalang sa hirap ba namn ng buhay. We always have to bear in mind to always get the value for money di ba mga tsong? Cheap din naman ang AirPhils pero 25 to 30 yrs old na ang equipments nila nakakatakot naman at limited ang flights wala masyadong choices in terms of flight schedules. PAL is not an option to me ang mahal kasi. Lagi half the price cheaper si Cebu Pacific.
9 Jon Limjap // Apr 18, 2008 at 12:22 pm
sean,
There really are demanding passengers, and there really are cases wherein Cebu Pac is unreasonable. I have had flight delay experiences with them too, some as much as two hours, so I’m not really sure about their “always on time” claims.
I love their aircraft though. I’m an aircraft scale modeler (a Cebu Pacific plane is actually one of my projects for the future) so I take note of more details than usual.
phen’s gripe on their current reservation system is quite valid, in my opinion, I’m going to write a separate post for that.
10 Ang Kape Ni LaTtEX » Blog Archive » Cebu Pacific’s monumental failure: A new online reservation system // Apr 20, 2008 at 4:05 pm
[...] way they also changed things that shouldn’t be changed. A guy named Phen commented this on a previous thread about Cebu Pacific’s service: I used to fly Cebu Pacific for my personal trips, the reason being cheap. However with what [...]
11 .NET @ Kape Ni LaTtEX » Blog Archive » Cebu Pacific’s monumental failure: A new online reservation system // Apr 20, 2008 at 4:07 pm
[...] way they also changed things that shouldn’t be changed. A guy named Phen commented this on a previous thread about Cebu Pacific’s service: I used to fly Cebu Pacific for my personal trips, the reason being cheap. However with what [...]
12 donits // Apr 21, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Hi,
I didn’t know about this crap on line ticketing of cebu pacific till i purchased on line yesterday. my resersativation status is confirmed, however my payment status is pending. what should i do? my flight is on May pa naman. Am changing my mind after reading your comments here, Help….
13 Jon Limjap // Apr 21, 2008 at 6:01 pm
donits,
Check your email regularly, that’s where they will send the confirmation. We have had confirmations sent to us as far as a whole week after the transaction, so it could take as long as that. If it takes longer… hindi ko na alam
14 donits // Apr 21, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Jon,
Thanks for replying. Is there a way i can cancel my reservation? I called my credit card company and verify d transaction i made, they told me that under processing pa daw. I cant reached Cebu pacific hotline coz its too busy. Really sucks! I got a n email from cebupacific today with no reply status. what r d changes na maconfirmed payment status ko? do u know?
15 Melynn // Apr 21, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Hi Donits,
You can check the status of your booking at the “View or Change your Booking” link. It’s in the upper left side of the website. Just above or right of the Origin/Destination look-up.
Type in your booking reference and you will be able to see the status of your booking and payment.
16 Should I Worry About Cebu Pacific? « The Life & Times of The Renzie Man // Apr 21, 2008 at 8:07 pm
[...] Here’s Lattex’s blog entry on how unsatisfied he is with Cebu Pacific’s new Navitaire system. Read the rest of his blog for other Cebu Pacific stories. [...]
17 yeresera // Apr 22, 2008 at 9:42 am
Just want to share my experience with this airline.
Last Holy Week, we had our vacation to out province in General Santos, Mindanao. My brother told me that our airline would be Cebu Pacific since they have a cheaper fare. So for our flight from Manila – GenSan, we were on time. I was amazed, cause my perspective of Cebu Pacific is always delayed. The next day, its my aunt’s turn to travel GenSan – Manila. I was shocked to know that their flight was 3 hours delayed. Their flight was supposed to be at 3pm but they were able to leave GenSan at around 6pm. Imagine the hassle this caused them, having to bring 5 kids along(ages between 5-14). Anyway, I told my brother that we were lucky since our flight was on time. “We are on time 95% of the time”. But on our return trip from GenSan to Manila, I was shocked to know that our flight will be delayed for 3 hours. WTF!!! We are so pissed off with the airline that we decided never to fly with them again.
18 donits // Apr 22, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Thanks so much melynn
19 yeresera // Apr 23, 2008 at 9:35 am
Another thing with Cebu Pacific, have anyone tried to ask for a glass of water during the flight? The stewardess will tell you that they do not have potable water available but will ask you if you want hot water. Even water, you need to buy to them!!!
20 Cebu Pacific’s monumental failure: A new online reservation system « Reklamador’s reklamo // Apr 25, 2008 at 5:15 pm
[...] the way they also changed things that shouldn’t be changed. A guy named Phen commented this on a previous thread about Cebu Pacific’s service: I used to fly Cebu Pacific for my personal trips, the reason being cheap. However with what [...]
21 gerald // May 28, 2008 at 8:44 pm
nakakatawa ung ibang tao dito, kung magsalita akala nila cebu pacific lang ang nadedelay.. dont they know that all airlines expereince delays every once in a while? and whats up with all the drama saying that they will never fly cebu pacific ever again because they have experienced some sort of problem once. if that is their policy, im sure that they will never fly on any airline because nagkaroon ng problema.. nakakatuwa lang kasi feeling star sila..
22 chris // May 29, 2008 at 10:02 pm
most of their ground crew are arrogant! (the ones at the check-in counters) sobrang yabang as if they are so powerful bcoz they can make your travel miserable! yabang na, sungit pa!
23 hans // Jul 16, 2008 at 9:22 am
hi,
i bought a ticket in june 15. my creditcardcompany paid them immediately. but cebupacific still said, the CC is delined, which is 100% not true. so i wrote them (with copy of my creditcardcompany statement) around 6 mails. but so far, they did not answer. i tried to call them, no chance to get through. i tried mails direct via their website, but no answer also.
so, my flight is confirmed, but – according to CebuPacific – its declined. i guess, when i want to fly, they just dont let me fly.
1 month no answer. its not right what they do
regards,
hans@japan.com
24 Hoel // Aug 5, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Ok fly PAL Express!! Go for the BOmbardier Q400 aircraft w/c was sold to PAL by Scandanavian Airlines because of too many ACCIDENTS!!
Would Ratther wait that fly w/ PAL’s Flying Coffins!!
25 oliboy // Aug 5, 2008 at 5:02 pm
http://oliboycastro.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-cebu-pacific-story.html
26 Jon Limjap // Aug 5, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Hoel,
The issue of PAL Express buying SAS’s Bombardiers are totally irrelevant to the above issues.
Besides, when I wrote this entry I was talking about flights scheduled in Airbus A320 and A319s — models used BOTH by Cebu Pacific and PAL. 5J has yet to receive their ATRs last March.
oliboy,
Parami na nang parami ang nagsusulat against Cebu Pacific, pero ang impression ko eh naiiipit nang husto yung mga empleyado nila. Tipong walang guidance mula sa management on how to handle customers — mababa pa ang sweldo, pero hindi din makakita ng option na lumipat sa ibang airline.
27 iceman9 // Sep 7, 2008 at 10:24 am
my goodness, i think cebu pacific should test their systems rigorously for any possible bugs before deploying… heheheh
28 daveftl // Oct 6, 2008 at 10:07 pm
they should run a test! i tried to book a round-trip flight but i tried to pay it using my debit card(MasterCard) it was declined but the worst thing is… my current balance got deducted with the flight i tried to get! damn… and there HOTLINES aren’t answering!
29 jj // Oct 13, 2008 at 4:34 pm
hi. i wanted to share my experience. just last oct 4 we were supposed to be on 1.30 pm flight from caticlan to manila only to find out at the check-in counter that we were bumped off to the next flight at 4.30pm. i went and talked to the supervisor and he explained that the ATR plane which is a 70 seater cannot actually take 70 pax but only 45 pax for flight out of caticlan because of the short runway. so i asked why in the first place they sell 70 tickets when they perfectly know that they will only allow 45 pax to board. the supervisor said they also don’t understand why ceb pac management is doing it. despite the hassle i would still like to thank the people in the supervisor’s office who were kind enough to allow us (i had two small kids with me) to wait for our flight in their office rather than in the crowded waiting area. lesson is that i will never ever try cebu pacific again kahit libre.
30 Deanna // Feb 12, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Hi to all.
I want to share my experience with the worst airline in the country- CEBU PACIFIC.
Bought ticket via promo fare. Confirmed and paid. Upon arrival at the check-in counter, the arrogant attendant tols us that we were late as they close 45 minutes prior to ETD. BULLSHIT! Ticket paid already and I cannot understand why they refused to check us in. I was with my family and it was very disappointing.
Neither any of the staff were there to accommodate us. Rebooking will cost us to pay the regurlar fare. GO FARES is a SCAM.
My Php 5,000 just flew without any fight! Do not ride CEBU PACIFIC. It will just make your day depressing, that you will ask God why bad things happen to good and righteous people.
31 Jon Limjap // Feb 12, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Deanna,
IMHO the 45 minute rule does exist in most all airlines, and you being late is your fault, not theirs.
When that check-in deadline comes, chance passengers (who are already at the ticket counter, waiting for an opening) are given the slots of those who have not arrived at the check-in yet.
I’ve had the experience of being late for that check-in, but was fortunate that no chance passengers ate up our slot (for a group of 8).
So next time, do come to the airport on time. Especially with Cebu Pacific in Terminal 3, because the terminal is quite large, and it would take some time to get to the gate.
32 susan a. martelino // Mar 26, 2009 at 4:52 pm
i would like to know the flight schedule from manila to caticlan,,, depart at may 20 to may 27 2009
33 Jon Limjap // Mar 29, 2009 at 9:59 am
susan,
Please visit cebupacificair.com for that.
Or you could inquire with I-NAV Travel & Tours — email inavtravel [at] yahoo [dot] com
34 Cebu Pacific: The Cheapest and Most Unsecured Airline Company! // Apr 16, 2009 at 12:29 am
[...] [...]
35 Cebu Pacific: The Cheapest and Most Unsecured Airline Company! // Apr 16, 2009 at 12:29 am
[...] [...]
36 Alessandro Di Marco // Aug 7, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Cebu Pacific are just a bunch of Thieves.
The overbooking and bumping is extremely common. Yes they are cheap but what’s the point if you are NOT flying at all?
Who is going to reimburse you for the missed holidays, hotel reservation, visa fees (where applicable)?
Not them.
They just overbook their flight their planes and cash everything else IN.
While you’ll be home SAD and MAD for being scammed.
Do not believe people that say: Yes we have a great experience with Cebu.. bla bla (if there are any). It’s just like gambling at the roulette. If you win, you fly.. if not too bad you lost your money.
Never fly Cebu Pacific. NEVER.
Did I say NEVER?
37 hailey // Nov 21, 2009 at 5:58 am
cebu pacific isnt the crappiest airline i know well i havent boarded their planes yet anyway.. cutting it short iwent on a trip here in China with a local airline and for 3 consecutive times my flgihts were delayed the first one was 2 hours the second one was the worst it was 5 freakin hours and then the last one was an hour. my schedule was completly ruined and alot mor shitty stuff happened. shandong airlines is a great airline id say. regarding cebu pacific, my friends fly with them and so far i havent heard anything bad and im hoping i wont.
38 Mike // Nov 26, 2009 at 9:48 am
Our Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to Tagbilaran on Nov 24 was cancelled, 90 minutes after the scheduled departure time, because of bad weather. We couldn’t reschedule our holiday, because of other commitments, and asked for a refund. Their call center said Cebu Pacific is willing to refund only about half of what I paid. Attempts to phone their customer services office have been unsuccessful. Surely the airline should cover the weather risk, not the passenger? I’m getting on to the International Airline Passenger Association (IAPA), to see what they advise.
39 Hans Bosshard // Dec 22, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Actually, with cebu pacific, kung maswerte ka, e di maswerte ka! A few tips with cebu pacific:
Never, ever trust their online booking. go to their outlets instead
Ask and you shall receive. Tanungin mo sila anong nangyari, bakit delayed. Kung sinabi nilang technical trouble or bad weather, accept their mistakes. Tao rin naman sila eh.
You get what you pay for. Mura flights nila, kasi di na dun kasali yung mga other costs, such as yung mga snacks.
Understand to be understood. Me nabasa ako recently, Nagcomplain sila bakit nagka error dun sa date tas bakit di lumabas yung popup message tungkol sa policy nila. Guys, popups use javascript, and siguro di naman naka open javascript mo. Dun sa date, We are at GMT+8, yung site nila uses GMT para taga ibang country, alam nila kailan talaga yung flight nila. Kasi mas lalong mag-eeror pag gumamit sila ng local time eh.
para sa akin, expected lang talaga yung mga error. kahit ako o tayo, nagkakamali rin naman ng minsan.
40 P // Dec 29, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Bottomline people, You ride with Cebu Pacific: booking is bad. planes are ALWAYS late. service sucks. PAL is better. Air Philippines is better. Even Zest is better.
@Hoel and @gerald and @sean gorospe and @Sidney… obviously are employees of Cebu Pacific either that or they’ve never really flew Cebu Pacific or better yet (and luckily for them) have never had to experience the lousy god awful Cebu Pacific. As you four lucky people can see, there are more of us who have experienced the bad Cebu Pacific. So it’s just 4 versus how many other opinions. Majority rules. We win, now shut your pieholes.
41 P // Dec 29, 2009 at 5:06 pm
That airline is the worst airline in the Philippines. They are trying to make up for it with their supposed “cheaper promos” bullshit. But flights are always late or even worse canceled. Our trip to Hanoi was booked via online. Paid it with the credit card and was all set for enjoying our vacation. But Cebu Fuckcific made several errors:
1. Canceled the entire flight.
2. Did not offer refund.
3. Only offered another flight to another location but on same date, same time. Wow… pressure to think of a whole new iteinerary a couple of fucking days before the flight day. Thanks Cebu Poopcific!
4. Only offered to pay back some (take note not all, just some) of the money after i yelled at their customer disservice.
5. The boss of Cebu Pathetic or one of the top guys who’s in charge of customer service / marketing is supposedly some whizkid who used to work in Smart. Well the biggest mistake of Cebu Crapcific was that they hired this moron. Guess the guy from Smart wasn’t that smart.
Bottomline, you fly with Cebu Pacific… get ready to be pissed. If you want a real flight, get Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines, and even Zest. Cebu Pacific = stress.
42 dingdong // Jan 5, 2010 at 10:33 am
CEBU PACIFIC why anyone would travel with this company is beyond me. Let me mention a couple of experiences of mine and my wife’s. and a few other Filipinos, not one Filipino but many; all of whom tell the same story.
It is alleged that the airline carrier flying between Philippines and Macau, are said to have staff working for them who are of a somewhat dubious character. this is verified by my own wife whose word i trust implicitly.
When the passenger checks in for boarding and seat allocation, the girl behind at the check in counter asks the passenger if he or she has any money. If the answer is yes to this question the passenger is asked to show it. Talk about exceeding their authority, this mere check in girl is way out of line; it is no business of theirs how much cash you have on your person; as long as your passport and ticket are in order they do not have any reason to query any further. The magic figure you need to show is 10,000 peso, and now they know you have cash you will not be allowed to leave until you have parted with some of it. In order to take some of your cash they need a reason, and so follows another question and that is; “do you have a letter of support for your visit to Macau”?
If the answer is still yes then some fault will be found with the piece of paper, and if the answer is no to the above question, that is better for the check in staff. Either way the passenger will then be told the documents are not in order and will not pass immigration.
Then comes the old “I can help you” line. After informing the passenger that he or she will probably not be able to travel, the check in girl hits them up for money. “I can help you pass immigration but you will have to pay 3,000 peso”.
If you cannot pay you will probably lose your flight and suffer many inconveniences.
If the person refuses to pay immigration is apparently buzzed and the passenger is not allowed to leave the Philippines on some technicality enforced by immigration. If the passenger does pay then the story is, that the money collected by the check in staff is then split with immigration. I have talked to many Filipinos in Macau and so many of them tell the same story. It will of course be impossible to find out the truth and verify these stories or what happens to the money that is twisted out of these passengers. The outrageous check in staff are looking for innocent or stupid looking people I was told; people who had new passports with no stamps in; people traveling alone and things like this; in other words easy prey for these blood sucking parasites. I do have confirmation of this from my own wife as it happened to her and it was only after i talked to the wife on the phone while she was in manila airport checking in, she then passed the phone to the check in girl and i had a few serious words about what i would do to her if she tried to extort money from my wife. After the wife was given back her phone I asked my wife ot get the girls name at the check in counter but she said the girl wasnt wearing a name tag, I asked her to ask the check in girl to write down her name as i was going to lodge an official complaint about her, in person to the highest person i could get to in Cebu pacific but the wife didn’t ask, she said she didn’t want to cause further trouble. I was so angry at the check in girl myself I forgot to ask her name. After the call my wife was allowed to leave unhindered.
I met some passengers who had each paid 3,000 peso to leave their country; that is on top of the 1,650 peso travel tax, and the 750 peso departure tax; and I met one who had paid 5,000, all of them told the same story. I met another who refused to pay and was prevented from leaving; he later gave in and paid the cash and was allowed to continue his journey.
The odd one two people I have met who challenged the check in staff were allowed to leave unhindered; it all depends how strong your response is to the questions put to you. Any sign of weakness will be taken as a signal that you will pay; and pay you must or stay in the Philippines. I feel sorry for the good, the weak, and the needy that are prey to these thieves and bandits. My own personal experience of Cebu Pacific is I was located on a resort Island and during a period of 3 days I called Cebu Pacific over 100 times by phone trying to reconfirm my flight to Hong Kong. no one ever answered the hotline phone in Manila.
I gave up and when i returned to Manila i went straight to their office in Robinsons and was met by a girl who asked if she could help me. I blew up and complained about the fact no one answered the phone in 3 days and a 100+ calls, she checked the number i was calling and it was the correct number, i was offered no explanation, or apology and no other words were spoken by them on this matter. They then told me I couldn’t leave on my arranged flight because i hadn’t re-confirmed the flight and it was full up. I couldn’t reconfirm because no one would answer the phone what a joke. This was a disaster, I had no cash left, my visa was due to expire the next day and I had to go back to work. I called the manager/ supervisor whatever she is and went on about their inefficiency etc and was told they would see what they could do and I should come back early next morning. This i did and was met by a big fat donut munching women who completely ignored me while she stuffed her face. When she had finished she asked me what i wanted and i told her to check my flight availability for today.
i was told that they had gone to great lengths to secure me a seat as it was full but someone cancelled at the last minute and so I could go. They then tried to extort 1,650 peso travel tax from me even though i am not a filipino and insisted i should pay it. They then asked me for my passport but i don’t carry it around only a copy, so she wanted to keep my copy but i refused to let her keep it as it would have left me without one, i said if you want a copy you must make it yourself, this they did then tried to charge me 3 peso for the copy. What a laugh, its not the money its the principle and again i blew up. When i finally departed for Hong Kong the plane that was supposedly full up as they said was only half full i could have had a party with the available room and seats that were free.
So there we are its up to you. I travel with PAL all the time now they used to be terrible but are now very good for international and domestic, you get a meals, drinks, newspapers, courteous staff, better service and minimal delays, so why would anyone choose Cebu Pacific just to save a few peso? This is really one airline that deserves to go bankrupt, and Promo fares don’t make me laugh.
43 Cebu Pacific #1!!! NOT!!! // Jan 8, 2010 at 10:30 pm
here’s a great piece of news!
http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100108014022AAbXCHy
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