Cebu City Council examines promo fares

[CatalunanGrande]

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cebu local-news | Sun.Star

City examines promo fares

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Thursday, June 7, 2012

CEBU CITY -- The Cebu City Council questioned on Wednesday the use of “misleading, deceptive, and untruthful” promotional airline fares.

As that developed, the government’s aviation regulator announced that local airlines can no longer overbook flights starting on June 15, following an outcry from would-be passengers who had been denied seats.

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The ban takes effect even if low-cost carriers have protested that this would severely damage their business model, Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla said.

“There is a strong public outcry against these services,” Arcilla said, citing passengers who were stopped from boarding because the carriers had sold more tickets than there were seats available.

CAB representatives were summoned to Wednesday’s hearing by the Cebu City Council, who also invited representatives of the local airlines and concerned agencies like the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

Fees

Councilor Alvin Dizon, who called for the public hearing, wants the airlines to explain why only the sale rate is prominent in their advertisements and other charges are hidden.

Dizon said he doesn’t want the public to be deceived as the practice violates Republic Act (RA) 7394 or the Consumers Act of the Philippines.

Lawyer Diosdado Agcaoili of Cebu Pacific’s legal affairs office explained that their promotional fare is the just the base fare and does not include the taxes, seat reservations and baggage fees.

Considering that their company operates not only in the Philippines but also in other parts of Asia, Agcaoili said the taxes vary, which is why these aren’t included in the promotional fares.

Agcaoili also said they don’t include the seat reservation and baggage fees as they want their passengers to have the freedom to avail themselves of these or not.

“We want to give them an option. We don’t want to impose. They may or may not forgo the seat reservation and baggage fee,” he said.

‘All-in’

Other airlines, for their part, told the council they have already adopted an “all-in fare” in their promos, which already comprises the base fare and other fees and charges.

Such companies include Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines, and Zest Air.

Asked by Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. about overbooking, Cebu Pac’s Agcaoili said it was a practice among airline companies.

“Airline companies are allowed to overbook 10 percent of the airplane’s load factor so as to maximize the flight and cover the cost of mounting it,” he said.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said the practice is “immoral” and “unfair” to the passengers.

Councilor Raul Alcoseba then asked if the passengers are allowed to rebook their flight or be reimbursed if they fail to take their flight, considering the practice of overbooking.

Agcaoili said the passenger can rebook or be reimbursed only if they inform the airline company four hours in advance that they will not be able to take their flights.

Advisory

Based on Agcaoili’s statement, Councilor Margarita Osmeña then questioned why the airline can’t inform in advance their passengers about delayed flights.

“You always say it’s delayed without giving the passengers any reasons. Sometimes the flight gets delayed by four hours, six hours or eight hours with some of your customers losing connecting flights,” she said.

Agcaoili explained that the delay is sometimes caused by aircraft issues.

“And prudence dictates that even in the slightest indication of a problem, we should address it for the interest of the safety of the riding public,” he added.

Osmeña said she found that argument “very one-sided.”

As to the refund and rebooking, MCIA General Manager Paul Villarete informed the council that the “no refund, no rebooking policy” of CAB has been suspended.

“This is effective despite the motion for reconsideration filed by Cebu Pacific,” he said.

Problems related to the handling of passengers, particularly those who have complaints, were also brought up during Wednesday’s public hearing.

Friendly

Young said it hurts him that most of the passengers of Cebu Pacific who have complaints are not entertained by the airline’s staff.

“It hurts me because before you are so friendly and hospitable in handling customers unlike now di jud matarong ug storya (we don’t get a clear explanation). They are bumped off. I think you should change,” he said.

As for the promo fares, the CAB said they are coming up with a guideline and template that can be used by all local airlines. This is expected to be released this month.

CAB said they want uniformity in the advertisements of airline promotional fares for the benefit of passengers.

The airlines have argued they need to allow for passengers who choose not to fly at the last moment or demand to switch to another flight, he added.

With the ban, airlines that fail to deliver seats to paying passengers will be fined P5,000 for each person bumped off a flight, on top of the ticket refund. (With AFP/Sun.Star Cebu)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 07, 2012.

[Gjhone]

I will agree on this....tagam ni ang mga airlines nga mangilad.

[monroy]

Is this the job of a city council? How about examining the holes on our roads... =P

[godsaint]

As per bookings..daghan ron ga kuha tour package are SK officials and politicians from all over the country.Basin na notice nila ang discrepancy?Duol na bya election

[emow]

this is very stupid.... when something is that cheap, there's always a catch...people expect them to enjoy the same with normal rates? oh come on, how naive are we? These cheap rates, though many problems, help people travel cheaply within the country and in some parts of asia.. But people when inconvenienced a little, complain and demand the same treatment with normal rates. It is cheap because there some things excluded, it is structured in a way that is not convenient, lacks quality, but can be provided cheaply. its like jeepney, pang masa, cheap but inconvenient at times. With many agencies meddling with business models, it sends this signal " If you can't provide cheap rates with the same quality, better not provide them at all!" Businesses will fear venturing into models that would have benefited the ordinary juan dela cruz, but expect some inconveniences sometimes...just like a jeepney.

[monroy]

Pagkabogoa jud aning mga consehal nato... You mean to say when airlines say piso fare, they really expect to only pay P1 to fly on an airplane? Holy shit, I knew our politicians were dumb, but not that stupid. Di man gali mo dawat ang tricycad ug P1 fare ang eroplano nalang kaha? Hahaha.. katawanan na jud kaayo ning atong gobyerno uy.. puro mga amaw, mas bogo pa's kabao. Apil pod ni dire ang mga pasajero nga nagtoo nga piso ra jud ang ilang bayranan. Common sense ra man ni haha...

Pila ang IQ aning Alvin Dizon.. 0? Hahaha... what a stupid shit.

[SPRINGFIELD_XD_40]

Should be addressed instead to the Chamber of Commerce .

Another wasted taxpayers money . The CITY COUNCIL should focused more on the problem of the government / public that carries the jursidiction of their concern specially hapit na election lol .

Nag apil2 ni sila tungod kay sila na apektuhan man on a personal level. Although atleast napukaw pod since dgahan kabuang sad ni ang AIRLINES nato specially on misleading information and unethical practices on better business etiquettes . Murag si Enriler bitaw kadtong sa Globe or Smart ba to na load scam ? Dugay na man to pero kay na among na man si Enrile mao ni surface out to .

[monroy]

^ Before u buy the ticket they show you the total price, if you don't like the fare you don't have to buy it.

Charging tax and surcharge separately is standard industry practice. Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and all the American carriers do this when you buy tickets online.

What about the government? Why is it they don't include their stupid airport and travel tax on the ticket, isn't making people pay these in cash at the airport also false advertising? I've seen a lot of confused foreigners who don't get why they have to pay terminal fees in cash because in most countries this is charged as part of the ticket. Even worse when some of them don't have cash then have to resort to begging at airports to pay the terminal fees because the airport doesn't accept credit cards. First time OFWs who don't know about the travel tax also end up in the same situation.

[diatabz]

Oh city council, you people in your glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Please look at the extortion carried out by customs officials before you meddle in affairs under the DTI's purview.

[monroy]

^ That's none of the city council's business either =) But I agree about those crocs at customs.. this is the ombudsman's job though...