The ugly truth about Cebu Pacific

Do you remember that rumor that was prevalent sometime in the 90s about a sawa (python/boa constrictor) attacking customers in Robinson's Galleria? The urban legend goes on to say that the sawa was a son (or was it a daughter) of the Gokongweis, whose real identity was kept in secret.

To me, that story sounded unbelievable.

In as much the same way, I had thought that all the horror stories I've heard about Cebu Pacific - another company owned by the Gokongweis - were unbelievable. "Never naman nangyari sa akin yan," I would reply to every friend and acquaintance who has shared a bad feedback about the airline. I continued to patronize it; in fact, I have already booked tickets for Cebu Pacific flights up to September 2016.

Then the truth about this notorious airline finally showed its ugly face to me. The infamous Robinson's Galleria sawa may be a figment of someone's wild imagination but Cebu Pacific, I realized, is a real predator that feeds on its hapless customers.   

Schedule re-alignment

Way back November 2015, I had booked SIN-MNL flight 5J804 for March 11, 2016, which should arrive at 04:00AM of the same day. I was only staying over for three whole days in the Philippines. That should have been enough time for me to complete my errands in government offices and banks on March 11, attend a friend's wedding on March 12 and spend some quality time with my family on March 13.

Two weeks before my flight, Cebu Pacific sent me an email, informing me that flight 5J804 on March 11 had been cancelled due to "schedule re-alignment". They were moving me to flight 5J814 which will leave Singapore at 10:35AM and arrive in Manila at 2PM. The alternative flight arrangement was unacceptable for me because I would practically lose the only weekday in my three-day stay in the Philippines; there will be no time to do my errands in offices that operate only during weekdays. 

I dialled the Cebu Pacific customer service hotline - every time, a hell of an experience in itself as my call would be put on-queue for more than 15 minutes. When I finally managed to get connected to a customer service representative (CSR), the latter gave me no solution to the predicament. The options that the CSR gave were:

1. To take a Singapore to Manila flight on March 10, 9:55PM with a stopover in Davao. Who, in their right mind, would go all the way to Davao and then back to Manila? My last experience of a Cebu Pacific flight in Davao the month before was not exactly the best experience - it was delayed for hours! I'd be crazy to risk getting stranded again in a faraway city.
2. To take a Kuala Lumpur (KL) to Manila flight on March 10, 12AM. But they said I had to shoulder my transfer from Singapore to KL. Seriously, Cebu Pacific, gaano ka-kapal ang apog nyo?!
3. To take a Singapore to Manila flight on March 10, 6:25PM. How was I supposed to make it to the airport in time for that flight when I get out of the office at 6PM? Taking an extra day off is out of the question.
4. To take a full refund of the airfare. Now, even if Cebu Pacific refunds the airfare, there is no other airline that sells a round-trip flight for 170SGD two weeks before the flight date. A new booking will cost me even more money.

The CSR's supervisor, Aennah Vergara, could offer me no other practical resolution to the predicament that, let's all remember, Cebu Pacific put me in in the first place. 

I asked to speak to Vergara's manager, Nathaniel Molina. Vergara said this manager would call me between 8:30PM and 9PM that night. I didn't get any call from Molina. 

I called the hotline again and asked to be connected directly to Molina. Talking to him was another exercise in futility; he just repeated all the irrational options that I've already heard. Anyway, we ended our conversation slightly past 10PM with the agreement that he will write a report to endorse my case to the Customer Service Head Manager Ivan Gaw and that I should be expecting a callback from Gaw between 10AM and 12PM the following day. I told him I wanted to know what the content of his report was and asked for a callback from Molina at 11PM so that he can read out to me the report that he wrote.

As expected, Molina did not call at 11PM. I had to call the hotline again in order to get in touch with him. Lie no. 2.

And did I get the callback from Ivan Gaw the next day?

Of course, I didn't.

Of course, Nathaniel Molina lied for the third time in a row.

Of course, Ivan Gaw did not think I deserve the courtesy of a callback. He must be a demigod in the Cebu Pacific organization.

Of course, Cebu Pacific could just cancel flights without providing a logical explanation for the cancellation and get away with it.

To you, Brent Villanueva, Aennah Vergara, Nathaniel Molina, Macy Manayan and Emerson Gutierrez, I feel sorry for you because you had to endure my shouting at you over the phone because you had to protect Ivan Gaw's ass at all cost. I'm sure I am not the first, and not the last, irate customer that you had to deal with on behalf of Gaw. I feel sorry for you because you work for Cebu Pacific, one of the worst, if not the worst service providers in the Philippines.

Distress in Davao

The harrowing experience of a cancelled flight wasn't my first brush with Cebu Pacific.

My de-stressing Davao trip during the Lunar New Year weekend ended with distress because of the airline's delayed DVO-MNL flight.

When I had checked in at 10AM for my afternoon flight, I saw the notice that the morning DVO-MNL flight was already delayed so I was sort-of expecting that the subsequent afternoon flight would also be delayed. But the guy at the check-in counter did not say a word about it.

Since I had a lot of time to kill before my flight, I had an early lunch and spent the rest of the time at the restaurant, chatting with my mother over Facebook Messenger.

It was only at 1PM when I made my way to the boarding gate and saw my name displayed on the LCD monitor that I was informed by Cebu Pacific that yes, my flight was delayed and that they needed to transfer me to another flight so that I could reach Manila in time for my connecting flight to Singapore.

The ground staff transferred me to the morning flight that, until then, had not yet left Davao. The turnaround aircraft had not yet even arrived at the airport!

That explained the mayhem at the waiting area. The area was filled with passengers of the morning and afternoon flights, both groups at the mercy of Cebu Pacific. None of the ground staff were making any announcements as to when the turnaround craft was arriving and what time it intended to leave Davao. Their lame excuse? "Sira po yung PA system ng airport."

Eh di wow!

Booking in this airline poses a danger to one's sanity

When the aircraft finally arrived, it took forever for the staff to start boarding. As if they were adding insult to injury, I couldn't see any sense of urgency among the ground staff members. Four of them were just standing by the gate - merrily eating chips. 

I do not speak Bisaya but I think I know enough of the language to understand that they were discussing about the unavailability of staff that could assist in the boarding of disabled passengers.

I asked one guy at the counter: "Ano na naman ang problema?"

"Nililinis lang po ang aircraft," he replied.

"Talaga? Hindi yung dahil walang magtutulak ng wheelchair?"

"Hindi po, Ma'am."

"So ano'ng oras mag-bo-board?"

"2:15 po."

"You said 2:15. Not a minute late. 2:15."

I was breathing down his neck to get it going until boarding finally started, thankfully, at exactly 2:15. The aircraft left the airport at 3.

I hope those Cebu Pacific personnel at the airport are not locals of Davao because if they are, the lousy way they had handled the situation would have been such a disgrace to the city's good reputation that Mayor Duterte had built and had been banking on for his presidential bid.

I wouldn't be surprised, though, if the inefficiency was all Cebu Pacific's doing. I have this nagging thought in my head that Cebu Pacific orients its ground staff not to make clear announcements and deliberately keep passengers in the dark during situations of flight delays. I could be wrong. Only those who have more experience of Cebu Pacific flight delays would know.

The ugly truth

The delay of the return flight was not the only hassle that Cebu Pacific brought upon me for that Davao trip. I can still go on about the issues I had encountered with the booking of the flight itself. But if I do, this is going to be a very long article and it is already long as it is. Suffice it to say that in the span of less than two months, Cebu Pacific has caused enough havoc and trauma in this passenger's life to last a lifetime.

Regretfully, I will still complete all the flights that I've already booked with the worst budget airline; I wouldn't want to lose any more money. After I have completed those, never again, Cebu Pacific, never again.  

My final wish for this airline: I hope you lose not just this one loyal customer. I hope you lose ALL of your customers - because a thoughtless service provider like you are deserves exactly that.

It's time everyone flies - with other airlines