Today, Sunday, October 30, 2011, my parents, aged 71 and 66, respectively were supposed to fly to Davao City at 8:55 in the morning via Cebu Pacific Flight No. 5J 595. Thinking of the passenger rush during All Souls’ Day, I booked their PROMO tickets online on September 9, 2011.
At 7:30 am, my parents were already in the airport, ready for check-in, and confident that they were early enough, I left. Just as soon as I arrived, my father called me up and told me they have been refused because……. They are late for check-in time and worst of all, FLIGHT NO. 5J 595 HAS LEFT AT 8:10 AM! This was unacceptable… how did Cebu Pacific manage to let their carrier fly 40 minutes in advance? And as soon as my father told me, I was fuming mad… Cebu Pacific Flight No. 5J 595 flew because of management policy. Those who had booked early were totally disregarded. Management gave priority to those who BOUGHT TICKETS AT THEIR REGULAR RATE (or double the amount of promo tickets). Worse, an entire family was burning with rage at the airport. They booked the ticket just minutes before checking in, and they too were refused because, as management said, they were never a priority-their tickets were PROMO.
This brings to light the unscrupulous practice of Cebu Pacific of deceiving its clients for a number of years now. The same complaint has fallen on deaf ears every time. I know my parents and the passengers that were supposed to fly at 8:55 am are just few of the thousands that have been inconvenienced by the airline.
Now, I am forced to extend my patience because my parents need to fly, so I bought another ticket, ONLINE at that, for tomorrow, October 31 at 8:35 am. We’ve agreed to be at the airport by 6 am so there can be no excuses.
Tomorrow, I will update this thread on whatever Cebu Pacific decides to do with my parents’ PROMO TICKET. If they will scrap my parents’ travel because, as they said, PROMO Tickets are not prioritized, then media would probably be the best medium.
No one buys an item at a PROMO price, only to have it taken away because someone else paid for it at a higher price.
This is deception, outright robbery and tolerance of a system that cannot justify a NO REFUND policy.