Cebu Pacific Air: The Philippines' Leading Budget Airline - The Price You Pay for A Cheaper Flight

I have been using Cebu Pacific for over a year now in terms of travel for both Domestic and International flights. It is because of this that I am able to see first hand the good points about Cebu Pacific Air and of course the things that would most likely frustrate its Patrons.

Cebu Pacific Air has in more ways than one revolutionized the Airline industry here in the Philippines and has even left a mark abroad. Just this year alone they have been named as one of the top 15 Budget Airline of choice for the ASEAN region beating rivals such as Tiger Airways and even JetStar Asia. Cebu Pacific has mastered that art of balancing passengers per flight and costing thus creating an ripple in the way airlines here in the Philippines have priced their domestic and international flights. PAL. SeaAir and all the other local carriers have tried their best to cope up and try to capture that market which Cebu Pacific Air has gotten but have failed to get the buyer's attention.

In Uniform - The Flight Stewards and Stewardesses of Cebu Pacific Air

Here are the reasons why it has become quite a favorite:
1. Constant Promotional Pricing - With Seat Sale promos from Cebu Pacific Air, people are now able to fly anywhere in the Philippines for as little as Php3,000 pesos which includes the travel taxes and gas prices. Sometimes they even offer rates that are as low as 1peso for a one way trip both local and abroad which we got for our Shanghai trip this November 2012 rounded up with all the misc fees to just Php 5000 per head round trip.

Sample Seat Sale Promos of Cebu Pacific Air.

2. Package Flexibility - You can also pick your seat ahead of time during the booking process and choose on whether you would want to include your in-flight meal or not. If you feel that you wont be needing too much check-in baggage space you can also reduce the weight allowance and htus decreasing the added cost.

3. Easy Access - Online Convenience of booking flights and keeping it on record for tracking purposes is what also makes Cebu Pacific Air the airline of choice for many people wanting to save up on travel costs. If you feel that you wouldn't want to have to go through the hassles of falling in line for the check-in counter, members can also opt for the web-checkin options.

4. Onboard Wifi Service - It has been officially announced that in 2013 there shall be wifi service available to passengers on Airbus A330 called OnAir. Details on this are here - OnAir Wifi Service

Cebu Pacific Airlines unfortunately does have its downside being that of a budget airline. Though customer care is still an integral part of their service, there are still a lot of areas that tend to be overlooked and many people have gotten used to them cause of the notion of you really get what you pay for. I personally think of some of these downsides to be rather unfair and can be worked on better in the near future however as of now it is something that you'll have to take into consideration as a trade off for such an incredibly cheap plane ride.

1. Cebu Pacific shall not change flights that have been booked unless you have it arranged 4 hours before your flight irregardless of circumstances. That means if lets say you lost your passport of something else untoward happens to you that will cause you to not to board your flight and you don't get to rebook they will with no consideration whatsoever allow you to rebook your flight. You would have to buy a new ticket.

2. Customer Service Support Abroad is limited. Cebu Pacific Air strongly relies on it's online services, thus if you have a query where you need to talk to a live representative or need to go to their main office, Cebu Pacific Air wont have that available in every country that they fly to. What they could give you is a hotline number in that particular country for you to call. Most likely you would have to use a local call card to call them but be prepared to be put on hold several times for long periods and get cut off from time to time. If you are asking for flexibility for adjusting of a flight, if less than 4 hours like it was mentioned above irregardless of circumstance you shall be declined. Calling on a supervisor will only make the agent put you on hold for an indefinite time - even if they know you are having an emergency and are on a limited time on the phone.

3. Rebooking of flights can cost you triple of what you originally paid for. We booked a flight in the promo period for Manila to Hanoi and back for Php11,587 for two people round trip. To have it rebooked the live agent of Cebu Pacific was going to charge us an extra Php 17, 000 pesos and they said that already is counting the cost we originally paid for of Php11, 587 and based on her computation she wasn't even counting the fuel charges, taxes, luggage fees, and other misc fees that were charged stating that those are not to be included. I guess for them the misc fees is a non - refundable and non - negotiable for Cebu Pacific Air. We tried doing it online and the fees that was coming out was totaling to a ridiculous Php31,000 pesos ++. My advice, if you have a change of plans, simply wait for the next promo that Cebu Pacific is going to launch otherwise be ready to pay a hefty sum for the rebooking of the tickets.

4. Flight Delays are a given. It is pretty rare that you'll get to see a Cebu Pacific Air carrier to be on time for a flight. Once a plane is delayed, it'll affect all the other flight schedules. They apologize for it but won't give you anything for compensation for being delayed. And there are times when the flights can get over an hour delayed, so if you were on a tight schedule where you would need to go through connecting flights I would strongly suggest to go with an airline that has a better reputation at keeping their schedules on the dot unless you would risk missing your flight. Cebu Pacific Air will not compensate you for your missed connecting flight even if you argue to them about it.

5. Lost or Delayed Baggage. This was an issue in the past though I think it has been addressed, where Cebu Pacific Air would intentionally leave baggage behind because they feel that they are over capacity due to the booked guests. They will only inform the guests that they have left their baggage after they have arrived in their destination to claim their baggage. Many times the luggage you have checked-in would get lost in transit due to this. I haven't heard much of this issue now but the latest occurrence did happen at the early part of this year. I would advice on keeping your valuables in your hand carry luggage rather than your check-in baggage and bring extra clothes in your hand carry just in case this happens to you as you travel. Again they won't compensate for the inconvenience.

I am sure that there are more to be said but these are the major things that are good and bad about Cebu Pacific Air and their service. Its entirely up to the consumers to decide if the risks and benefits are all worth it. I personally still travel Cebu Pacific Air but with my experiences I have become a wiser traveler taking into account the things that they fall short on. If it's just traveling and budget is a concern then I would recommend Cebu Pacific Air. But in times of emergency or if you are to ask them for any favors, I would advice to just let your steam off somewhere else lest you want your complaint to fall on inattentive ears that only care when you are just about to buy a new ticket.

Till Next Time....

-Metz-