Cebu Pacific sucks

At around 12:00 noon today I got a text message from a friend who works at the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. She took Cebu Pacific Calbayog - Manila flight earlier today. The text said, "Haay Cebu Pacific did not fly my bag from CALBAYOG. I really had a feeling that they would miss it when I checked in this morning. Great Service"

I believe that situation is not an exclusive domain of Calbayog, Cebu Pacific or any airline and any airport for that matter. Years ago an article ridiculed the lousy service that airlines do in handling baggage. And then I remember something which I was supposed to give you many days ago. And this is it:

Cebu Pacific's daily Manila-Calbayog-Manila flights commenced yesterday. This is a nice development. On my own little way, I would like to welcome this service of Cebu Pacific with this rant!

Just when I thought I was no longer doing my earlier intention to do a blog post about how Cebu Pacific sucks. That's until I booked a ticket for my aunt and opted to pay via megalink or ATM - something novel for me after paying my earlier internet bookings via credit card. So, in case you intend to book your Cebu Pacific tickets online and pay via ATM, think again.

I did my booking a week ago yesterday. It was for two tickets for a flight from Tacloban to Cebu on August 12, 2009 (Wednesday). I was pleased to find low-fare tickets available considering the time between booking and the flight itself. I was also pleased to find out about payments via ATM. After entering the necessary booking details, I got the instructions which stated, "You have until tonight (August 9), 23:59H PH Time to pay for your booking through various payment centers. Please see complete list of payment centers by visiting our website at http://www.cebupacificair.com/." After the payment has been made, the passenger will receive a text message from Cebu Pacific confirming the reservation, something which the passenger has to present at the airport together with the e-ticket (or so the instruction said). I did the booking at around 10:00 am, and went to the local UCPB ATM to pay in less than 30 minutes. And in an hour's time, I received the e-ticket via email with the reservation noted: on hold.

So, end of story and welcome to a smooth flight? Nope, it took me four phone calls and a 3-day waiting period before I got the booking confirmation. And yes, we never received a text confirmation from Cebu Pacific.

Let's do some math here. The ticket price was 1,888.32 pesos. Since I opted for ATM payment, 15 pesos was added making the total amount due at 1,903.32 pesos. Still a small amount to pay for the mode of payment. Or so I thought.

24 hours after payment was made, still no text confirmation and no e-ticket with the confirmed reservation. I had to call the airline. I thought it was only one phone call, I ended up doing three more phone calls after being promised that something will be done about it. Yes, they promised to do something about it 4 times (yup, when I called them 4 times) in three days. Finally, on Tuesday afternoon at around 4:30 pm, about 13 hours away from the scheduled flight, only then did we receive the email with the e-ticket and the confirmed reservation; and yes, still no confirmation via text message.

Let's do the math again. My phone calls totalled approximately 25 minutes, give or take a few seconds. And that will cost me approximately 200 pesos in my phone bill next month ('coz suncellular charges 8 pesos/ minute for landline calls). I ended up shelling approximately 2,100 pesos plus for a supposedly low-fare ticket. And yes, what's the amount one had to add for the worry or anxiety about being denied boarding or entrance at the airport? And the waiting one had to do before receiving a final booking confirmation?

Have I told you about their refund procedure? Don't ever contemplate on having to apply for one, saying that the experience is unpleasant is an understatement.

Will I still take Cebu Pacific? Of course I will. It's not that I don't have a choice. It's my way of thanking Mr. Gokongwei for giving every ordinary Juan (like me) the chance to fly, you know with their "Every Juan Must Fly" credo. Sadly for some of their ground crew and flight attendants, with their non-smiling faces (or blank stares) and the manner they give instruction or reminders to some passengers checking in, it seems like the Cebu Pacific credo has been changed to "Every Ordinary Juan Must Stop Flying".

Ah, if only PAL does not live up to what it's name stands for: Plane Always Late. The same thing with Zest Air and its erratic flight schedule. Thanks goodness they did away with their old name. I took a good number of their flights, I mean Asian Spirit, I can't help but worry about landing as spirit each time my flight took off.