Cebu Pacific offers no assistance to stranded passengers

[ransom]

This is kinda long guys, it'll be published in a community weekly. It just goes to show you get what you pay for when it comes to Cebu Pacific.


Waiting In Vain

Jan. 2, 2007, 3pm. My wife and I arrived at Kalibo Airport at 9AM to catch the Cebu Pacific flight scheduled to depart at 10 AM. At around 9:45, it was announced that Cebu Pacific’s incoming flight from Manila had turned back due to poor visibility. We did not make a big deal out of this since the Philippine Airline flight from Manila that was scheduled to arrive at more or less the same time had likewise been unable to land. All passengers were advised to wait for further announcements. An hour passed and still there were no updates so we decided to take lunch at an eatery beside the airport.
We returned to the airport when we heard an plane arriving. It was the PAL flight which had been delayed earlier. When we inquired at the Cebu Pacific counter, we were informed that our flight was scheduled to arrive at 2:35. Patiently, we proceeded to the waiting area. At 2:20 it was again announced over the loudspeaker that our flight would arrive at 2:35. The appointed time came and still no plane had landed. By 3PM, passengers were getting restless as no further announcement was heard. One Cebu Pacific passenger could take the suspense any longer and went directly to the ticketing office. He came back with the Cebu Pacific airport manager, Julian Rabe, who told the waiting passengers that the plane had again turned back to Manila because of the weather. When asked when the flight would be rescheduled, he said he did not know. I asked whether passengers, many of whom had not yet had lunch that day, would be provided with meals and accommodations should the flight be canceled, he answered no.
Sure enough, it was announced at a little past 4PM that our flight had been cancelled. We, along with several other passengers went to the Cebu Pacific ticketing office to inquire about our options. Foreign tourists with scheduled international flights the following day were especially worried. The manager was not at the ticketing office and the person in charge said all she could do was try and rebook us on subsequent flights, the earliest of which she could guarantee was scheduled to leave Kalibo on Jan.5. This arrangement was not acceptable; my wife is a doctor at a major Quezon City hospital and had important appointments the next day. We ended up hurriedly buying tickets, spending an additional P7,400, for a PAL flight scheduled at 5PM that same day. We, along with a few other stranded passengers, managed to make the flight with around 10 minutes to spare. Of course, this option was not feasible for those short on cash or without a credit card.
Before I continue, I wish to make it clear that in the past we have never had any major problems with Cebu Pacific. I appreciate and often avail of the substantial discounts offered during their promos, though the Jan.2 tickets we had were bought at a regular price. I also understand that weather related cancellations are sometimes unavoidable (though the fact that three PAL flights were able to land that day makes one wonder about the competence of the Cebu Pacific pilot). My complaint has to do with Cebu Pacific’s shabby and unapologetic treatment of their stranded passengers. Management was well aware that we had been waiting since before 9AM. A small gesture such as an offer of sandwiches would have done wonders to sooth our irritation. My wife and I ended up spending an unexpected P300 for lunch. After the flight was cancelled, the Cebu Pacific staff’s offer to rebook passengers on flights two or three days away only added to the tired and hungry passengers’ outrage. This should not have been the first option; an entire planeload of people should warrant a special flight as early as possible, and management should have exerted every effort to secure such a flight before offering other options. When informed of this, the staff insisted an extra flight was not possible. Granted that certain passengers were willing to be rebooked on flights the following days, where would they spend the night? Not everyone has adequate resources to book a room at even a small hostel, not to mention the necessary food and drinks.
In general, customer assistance is an area wherein Philippine companies fall far below international standards. This seems especially true of Cebu Pacific. Any foreign airline in the same situation immediately assures its passengers that their board and lodging will be attended to at no extra cost. Cebu Pacific’s staff made no such offers of such assistance whatsoever. There were not even any offers of assistance with regard to rebooking passengers on the later PAL flight. Could this be a connected to the fact that the company already has the customer’s money, so it doesn’t really matter what he or she thinks of the quality of service rendered?
While we were lining up for our PAL flight back to Manila, I could still hear my former co-passengers at the check-in counter screaming at Mr. Rabe, the Cebu Pacific manager. Some in their anger were hurling obscenities and threatening legal action. I almost felt sorry for the target of their rage, though earlier I had been on the verge of strangling him myself. Naturally, Mr. Rabe’s options were entirely dependent on his Manila office’s decisions. A little consideration for their passengers on the part of Cebu Pacific’s central administration would have made such an ugly scene completely unnecessary.

[REDcrazy]

Cebu Pac's service leaves little to be desired. I took a CP flight once and did not try again. I feel it has compromised service and quality to lower its fares. PAL doesn't have the best service either but at least they're way better than CP although I still haven't tried out their new A320 and A319's.

[webmikey]

Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience. I've had various bump-off/rescheduling experiences before but I'm thankful I've never experienced anything close to this.

I've even been re-scheduled by small airlines like Asian Spirit and Sea Air but they were always very accomodating and pro-active about coming up with a win-win solution.

Makes me think twice about flying Cebu Pacific.

[Lakan]

I can relate to your story. Sometime in the last quarter of 2006, I conducted a workshop in Ozamis with my colleagues. I and my colleagues flew from Manila via Cagayan de Oro City. Of course with Cebu Pacific - not because it flies on time but cost is cheaper. On our way back, we did some ceramics shopping in Bulua and ate the fabulous tofu burger and tofu spaghetti at the Blueberry Cafe in Velez, CDO. When we get to the airport, many passengers had already checked-in. When it was our turn, there's an announcement that they are temporarily halting the checking-in. Staff, we were told, would be oriented on an urgent matter. We waited. Then after a while, the officer made an announcement that the flight to Manila was cancelled. No explanation as to why the cancellation. Although a passenger told us that her relative (perhaps working in CP) told her the flight was diverted to Cebu. So we were left to speculate a lot of things. The good thing was that they booked all passengers to a local hotel. The problem was, our flight the next day was still unconfirmed as all flights the next day were fully booked. The tension of uncertainty was just consuming all of us since all our apointments had to be reset and opportunties to earn through freelance work had been void for that moment.
Anyway, We got to the second morning fligt. Promised ourselves to fly Cebu Pacifc never again. PAL maybe late most of the times but if a flight cancels, you are more or less assured of another flight to be opened as there are many planes compared to the other airlines. Delay for hours is better than delay for days. And with PAL, I get to use my Mabuhay miles!
Enjoy your flight!

[johannes]

Sigh... PAL's service is not exactly the best but at least, I never had that sort of experience with them... PAL for me is still doing a better job and yes, they do have more planes, thus more flights... And they do have some of the BEST pilots in the world; even better than most of their foreign counterparts.. (just my opinion, okay?)

What happened to you and your wife (including the other passengers) was simply Outrageous Fine, flight delays and cancellations do occur; and weather is something nobody can control. But they should have had the courtesy to provide all-out assistance to stranded passengers (food, lodging, refund, whatever...). You've got a point there... What about those who were short on cash or had no credit cards? Where would they go? What about those with connecting international flights? What about those who had important jobs waiting for them in Manila like your wife who was a doctor? It was quite inconsiderate of CP to merely shrug their shoulders...

We usually send some of our sales executives to Cebu as part of our business operations. They'd usually take CP as it's cheaper (of course, company expense). One time, they experienced the same thing! Total disaster.. Good thing they brought their company credit card and they were able to buy PAL tickets immediately (again, company expense).

That was the last time our company used CP for its local trips...

If they really want to overtake PAL, they'll have to do better... A lot better..

[Theus]

man, what a way to start the new year! i've never tried CP and probably never will (if i had the choice, that is )

[ransom]

Truth be told, I will probably continue to patronize Cebu Pacific in spite of this experience exept during peak seasons. Some of their discounts are just too good to pass up. I mean, I spent less than P5,000 on roundtrip tickets for two to Puerto Princessa last August. But I hope that their management will learn to treat passengers with more respect and consideration. Just because you offer a service at a low price doesn't mean you can ignore customer welfare.

[mnx]

sad to say, but actually they can just ignore the customer... the airline is under no obligation to provide lodging or any other support to passengers who get delayed or have flights that get cancelled for causes beyond the control of the airline... even pal practices this (someone who works there told me)...

thing is cebu pacific is, more or less, assured that passengers will continue to fly them for the simple reason that they offer the one thing their target market looks for, cheap rates... considering the really low margins they make off the flights, it'll really be all about the numbers for them...

i've heard really bad horror stories from friends who've flown the low cost carriers but people continue to flock to their counters...

personally, i'm sorta used to the "chance passenger" routine so i'm usually prepared for not getting on a flight on those trips where i am not on a schedule... when i am on a tight sched (and actually pay near full fare for the trip), i just give myself some leeway for problems and get 3rd party travel insurance (just in case)...

in the end, it's business and they're out to make a profit... customer service would mean diddly squat if there are 100 other passengers who will willingly take the seat opened by 1 disgruntled former customer particularly if the dissatisfaction is easily overwhelmed by the draw of cheap rates...

[Lakan]

I agree that despite complaints, there will be people willing to fly primarily because of cheaper rates. It just that cost should not always be directly proportional to quality, that high rates command better services. Even if we get cheap rates, we deserve good service. Not only in the airline industry but across all others. Just my humble thoughts.

[tweek]

For the price you're paying you cant expect more from mediocre service.