The first time we flew Cebu Pacific was during our honeymoon at Plantation Bay Cebu. We did not encounter any problems back then -- except for the fact that we missed our flight back to Manila, but that was my fault because I thought our flight was at 6pm. Yun pala, it was at 5pm. Hehe!
The second (and most definitely our last) time we took Cebu Pacific was when we went home for the holidays. Why? Because their service sucks. Period.
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Never mind the super uncomfortable seats; I can deal with that since it was only a three-hour flight, but what I hated the most was they made us pay Php10,000 for our excess baggage!! Ok, so we were not exactly travelling light -- we brought four (4) luggages + one (1) box @ 61 kilos on our way to Manila, and five (5) luggages @ 80 kilos on our flight back to Bangkok -- but I think I have a valid reason to react this way. You see, we were given a 20-kilo baggage allowance on our way to Manila and with three (3) passengers, ok lang. So even if we had an excess of one (1) kilo, they did not make us pay for that. But, on our way back to Bangkok, we were only given a 15-kilo allowance. WTF?! We asked the guy at the counter how come they're only giving us 15 kilos this time when we were given 20 kilos on our way here? His answer: baka daw tutulog-tulog yung nasa counter sa Suvarnabhumi Airport at malamang daw na-debit yun sa staff. Sabi ko nga, talaga? Eh di ibig sabihin nun lahat ng pasahero ng eroplano na-debit sa kanya because we were all given a 20-kilo allowance. Richard asked if he can speak to the manager but he said kahit daw kausapin pa yung manager, ganun lang din daw yung sasabihin sa amin. Richard still insisted that he speak to someone who can decide on these matters, but he didn't call anyone, he did not pick up the phone, he did not even pretend to contact anyone. He said he "checked" the computer but there was no record of our last flight and how much allowance was given to us so he can't really prove if we were given 20 kilos or not. Yeah right.
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Richard and I knew that even if we were given a 20-kilo allowance, we would still be over by 20 kilos. But that's way better than paying for 35 kilos at Php400 per kilo! Kalokohan na yun dba? Para na rin kami nagbayad ng isa pang tao. Anyway, the kindhearted (you do realize that I am being sarcastic here, right?) guy behind the counter told us that after much consideration, he will only charge us for 25 kilos. We tried to push our luck by asking for further discount but he said parang hindi pa yata kayo natutuwa na tinawaran ko na kayo ng sampung kilo. Geez. Utang na loob pa pala namin sa kanya that he gave us a huge discount given the fact that we are the aggrieved party here. So we were standing there for what seemed like forever until finally, we just decided to shell out Php10,000. Kasi mukha namang wala ring mangyayari kahit magdamag kaming tumayo dun. At that very moment, we decided that we will never fly Cebu Pacific ever again.
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At hindi lang yun...we were supposed to wait at gate 114, but when we got there, gate 114 was for Kuala Lumpur. So we proceeded to gate 115, only to learn that our flight will be delayed for another hour. They did not say why (or maybe I just missed the annoncement?) While we were waiting, they started calling the passengers in small batches so the staff can collect our boarding pass. Para daw mabilis na makapag-board pagdating ng eroplano. Then, they started calling all passengers with babies and small children so we got up and went to the gate. Konti lang naman yung may mga bata so the other passengers were right behind us. We thought that we will be able to board the plane right away, but lo and behold! We had to wait again, on our feet, at the boarding bridge. Why did they ask us to go there when the plane wasn't even ready yet? Pinauna pa nila ang mga bata eh patatayuin pala nila. We were better off waiting at the gate. At least dun may mga upuan. The Cebu Pacific staff who met us at the bridge wasn't very friendly either. Parang sya pa yung galit when one of the passengers asked her why we can't board the plane yet. Kasi daw they were still checking the plane. Aaah...dbale na magtiis kami sa kakahintay tutal it's for our safety naman. Gosh, did these people ever think that we paid for our tickets? We deserve an ounce of courtesy at the least! Sabi nga ng mommy ko, nagastusan ka na, pinahirapan ka pa.
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So what was the lesson that I learned from Cebu Pacific? Don't be fooled by the cheap rates because there's a catch for sure. Cheap rates = crappy service. Before I made our booking, I compared the rates of PAL and Cebu Pacific, and the latter was cheaper by THB10,000. We chose Cebu Pacific thinking that we got a good deal on our plane tickets. Or so we thought because we ended up paying the same amount if we flew PAL. At least with PAL, the seats are better, they provide blankets and food.
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So to our family and friends back home who are planning to fly Cebu Pacific, let this serve as a warning. 15 kilos lang ang allowed ha! And don't expect to be wowed by their service. I'm not saying don't fly Cebu Pacific because if you want bigger savings on your plane ticket, go with them. However, remember to pack light. That means, if you're going to BKK and you're planning to do a lot of shopping, either you take PAL or you can send your stuff by courier (I can refer you to Tita Baby's contact at Pratunam).
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As for me and my family, never again. We will just consider the amount that they charged as donation for the improvement of their service. Ha! As if that's going to happen.
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Looking back, I realized that I should have paid attention to the warning signs. I've read about bad experiences with Cebu Pacific on the internet and thru forwarded emails. I just crossed my fingers and hoped that it won't happen to us. Oh well, as my husband said, charge to experience na lang.
This is their check-in counter at Suvarnabhumi Airport. It took us around an hour to check-in. Can you believe that?! The line was moving at a very slow pace. The other airline counters were practically empty. And if that were any indication of the airline's efficiency, then Cebu Pacific ought to be ashamed.
Buti na lang hindi mainipin si Alyannah because she finds ways to keep herself busy.
As for me, I was too excited to go home so I did not let the long wait bother me.
Naka-ngiti pa kami dito kasi ok pa kami.
Come to think of it, papunta pa lang kami ng Manila ang dami ng hassle. The long line at the check-in counter, waiting for what seemed like ages at the gate (sabi last call na daw for Cebu Pacific pero when we arrived at the gate, all the passengers were still there waiting). Then, when we were finally able to board the plane, we had to wait for another hour before we took off kasi daw we were still waiting for one passenger. Hay...I tried not to let these small things bother me because I was really looking forward to going home at that time. But now that I think about it, flying Cebu Pacific wasn't a very pleasant experience. I really learned my lesson. I'd rather pay more and get better service than pay less and get crappy service.
2 comments:
Huwaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttt! 10,000 f***ing pesos! Grabe talaga ang cebu pacific! Burat ang service diba! Ang international flight ba 400/kilo talaga?
I slmost always take cebu pacific to gensan and palagi akong excess baggage, fee is 100/kilo... so yung last trip ko i wanted to try how much talaga and weight ng mga dinadala ko....so i made sure to bring 1 luggage lang as in the small stroller type lang and 5 days worth of clothes.... Didn't even bring mga shampoo.....you know how much ang weight based on their digital scale thing?! 11 kilos for one freakin luggage! From then on i declared to myself na rigged and scales nila!
Pero parang i remember rin na 20 kilos ang allowed and not 15...and duh, ang mura na ng gas ngayon so dapat ang excess baggage bumalik na sa dating rates! You should have insisted on talking to the manager or you should write them a letter!
They have a new policy daw na 15 kilos na ang allowed for flights booked from sept. 2 onwards.
Their service is so crappy, that even if I write them a letter, I doubt kung may mangyayari pa. I'm not expecting them to give us a refund anymore.
I overheard the guy at the counter talking to another passenger. I think she was charged for excess baggage too. She was probably asking for a receipt or any form of documentation so she can ask for a refund. And guess what the guy said? "Eh hindi ko na pala kayo bibigyan ng discount kung mare-refund nyo naman po pala." The f*ck...?!
Baka nga rigged talaga their scales kasi even if we had 5 bags, they were not that heavy naman.
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