Ito ang kuwento ni dating congressman Ruffy Biazon at ng kanyang asawang si Trina na sinulat nila sa kanyang blogs.
Nagbakasyon daw sila sa Boracay, sakay ng Cebu Pacific noong isang linggo. Okay ang biyahe nila papunta. Okay rin ang kanilang bakasyon. Ang kanilang horror story ay nangyari noong pabalik na sila sa Manila.
Sabi ni Ruffy, meron daw offer ang Cebu Pacific na kung gusto mo, pumili ka ng upuan mo in advance. Magbayad ka lang ng extra. Dahil kasama niya ang tatlong anak na ang pinaka-bunso ay apat na taong gulang ( ang isa ay 8 at ang pinakamatanda ay 15 taong gulang), nagpa-reserve sila at nag bayad ng extra. Anim sila, kasama ang yaya.
Nang sumakay na sila at naka-upo na sila sa front row, dahil yun ang kanilang pina-reserve, pinapalipat sila dahil bawal daw ang batang mas bata kaysa 15 taong gulang sa upuan nay un dahil yun ang nasa-exit.
Sabi ni Trina, bakit noong nagpa-reserve at nagbayad kami ng seat numbers, hindi nyo sinabi na bawal pala ang bata. Sinabi naman namin ang mga edad ng mga bata. Ang sagot daw ng stewardess, ““Alam nyo po ba na ito yung eroplanong gagamitin noong nag reserve kayo ng seats?”
Antipatika, ano. At alam ba naman ni Trina yun? Bakit kayo may promo na maaring pumili ng seat number ay hindi nyo naman pala maibigay sa customer?
Ang masama pa, pinapa-transfer nga sila, hindi naman sila tinutulungan ng mga sterwardess samantalang may baby na hawak si Trina na umiyak na dahil inaantok. Pinapamadali pa sila. Sabi daw ng antipatikang stewardess, “Mam, makipag palit na kayo ng upuan para maka lipad na ang eroplano.”
Sabi nga ni Trina, ako ba ang may kasalanan na nagkagulo-gulo ang seating arrangement? Mabuti lang hindi marunogn magmura si Trina kaya ang nasabi lang niya ay, “Bakit hindi nalang kayo ang mag- ayos ng seats namin!”
Nagmamadali siguro ang stewardess na mag sayaw . ‘Yan kasi ang kanilang gimik ngayon – ang sumasayaw na stewardesses.
Dapat ang ituturo ng Cebu Pacific ay pag-asikaso ng pasahero at hindi ang pagsasayaw.
Nang dumating sa Manila, gusto ni Ruffy magsumbong sa kanilang manager. Tinuro siya sa third floor. Siyempre ayaw naman ni Ruffy iwanan ang kanyang mag-anak. Ayaw naman bumaba ang manager. Kaya yan, sinulat na lang ni Ruffy para babala sa publiko.
Kung maari lang, iniiwasan kung sumakay sa Cebu Pacific bilang protesta sa ginawa nila sa special child nun na hindi nila pinasakay at sa kidney organ na hindi nila rin isinakay na dapat ay gagamitin sa transplant.
Ang promo ng Cebu Pacific ay murang pamasahe. Kulang naman sa asikaso sa pasahero.
I believe it was just a matter of the in flight attendants dealing with the issue…it is usually the airline policy to make sure that those seated beside the exits are physically capable of operating the exit in case of emergency and before takeoff will make arrangement that that policy is complied. and with my experience flying, it is a non-issue if done by a well trained-very courteous flight attendants…it a safety issue and it is expected that passengers will comply even if slightly inconvenience.
and the flight attendant was right that there is no knowing that a specific seat number is apposite an exit, and should explained it nicely and courteously, not the way as it was quoted by Tina.
“““Alam nyo po ba na ito yung eroplanong gagamitin noong nag reserve kayo ng seats?”
that is arrogance on the part of the Cebu Pacific employee. the Biazon should demand an apology…
flying from New York my sister luggage was delayed one flight, and she demanded something from the airline, she got a roundtrip voucher for her next flight with assurance that her luggage will arrive the same time with her.
An organization that invited me to speak in the province once booked me with Cebu Pacific. I asked for water to take my medicine and the stewardess said, “We don’t give free water.”
Then they rolled out their grocery cart that included bottled water for sale.
ellen,
that i suggest that airlines should start opening the stewardess positions to anyone regardless of age…north american airlines now are staffed by many “mature” and very exprerienced Flight Attendants that know how to deal with just about every issue on the air and and the ground and even in emergencies and even unexperienced, youth is not the only criterea for an ideal stewardess.
There are always two sides of the coin. The question I have in mind is if the airline and stewardess knew the passengers were prominent people Ruffy being a former Congressman. I don’t know the younger Biazon but I know his father former Senator and now Congressman Bong Biazon to be arrogant. I remember one time I saw on TV the older Biazon yelled at some guards “Hindi niyo ba ako kilala?” Wala siyang kinakakatakutan maliban ang kanyang commander-in-chief sa bahay.
Anyway, if they could do that to the Biazon family, what more to ordinary passengers like us?
RE: An organization that invited me to speak in the province once booked me with Cebu Pacific. I asked for water to take my medicine and the stewardess said, “We don’t give free water.”~ Ellen
Grabe…dapat e boycott ang eroplano na yan Maám Ellen…tubig e ipagdadamot pa sa pasahero?
Opppsss…oo nga pala bali PAL ang gusto kong sakyan pagdomestic flight.
About doon sa nangyari sa mag-anak na Raffy dapat sermunan niya ang Cebu Pacific kasi nga ganito yan…dapat malinaw ang kinuha ang datos ng itinerary ng mag-anak, bobo yong ticketing office kasi alam nila na may mga batang kasama e sa edad palang alam na kung anong seat area ang dapat sa mga pobre.
Bwahaha…at antipatika pa itong stewardess, dapat maging approachable sila sa mga pasahero kasi nga costumer is always right…kung magkayag ang mga biktima na e boycott ang kanilang airline so sino ang nawalang?
RE: Anyway, if they could do that to the Biazon family, what more to ordinary passengers like us?
Korek, naexperience ko yan personally…connecting flight ako from somewhere around to Cebu from 9hours direct flight, ibig sabihin may jet lag pa.
Aba e naantala ng konti ang dating nang eroplano namin so in short kailangan e rebook ang connecting flight ko…aba ang siste nito, nangyari namn ang isyu sa ibang airline ticketing office sa NAIA.
Isang tambak kami na nakapila at yong mga ticketing staff e iilan lang…marami na ang nagalsa-balutan, mayroon isang Pinoy na di nakatiis sa galit…hinarap yong Babaeng Manager at tinalakan…aba sa tinagal-tagal naming nakapila biglang dumami yong staff ulit.
Ibig sabhin nito…kung ayaw mo, huwag mo…pero may karapatan tayong mga costumers na pagsilbihan naman nila ng maayos.
Kaya di nag-iisa sina Maám Ellen at Cong. Biazon sa na experience nila sa kanilang pagbibiyahe. Pero dapat ipagbigay-alam ito sa Pamunuan ng Cebu Pacific para next time around e di na maulit ang ganitong isyu…e di hapi ang lahat ano fi!
Mga kuripot itong mga operators ng mga airlines sa Pilipinas. Ayaw gumastos sa training ng mga crew nila. Mga ibang crew, kumukuha lang ng experience yan at lilipat sa ibang airline sa labas.
Re Balweg #7.
That’s why it’s good that Ruffy wrote about it. Expose the bad service with the hope that it would be corrected. If they refuse to improve their service, boycott.
Bad service. Tactless response. No initiative to assist pax, who paid for the desired seats, especially with kids traveling along.
Cebu Pacific Inflight Services Department is remiss in ensuring that their crew should be in their best behaviour, especially inflight. Forget the dancing, hone up your people skills.
Pre-booking seats, online, seat map could be viewed, therefore, you book the seats according to the Airline Record Locator or RLOc, therefore airline has all information of travellers_ages, handicap,senior, special pax. The airline website or frontline staff could have notified the pax that Front Seats, close to emergency doors, and other seats in the emergency doors are for able-bodied individuals who could assist in times of emergency.
Bottomline : People Skills needs plenty of improvement.
Was is not Cebu Pacific as well who Off-Loaded the travellers from Hong Kong, because she was travelling with her special child?
Was is not Cebu Pacific who denied boarding to Medical Practioners on Kidney Mercy Flight from Legazpi to Manila? This incident was understable, however, on previous flights by the same Medical Practioners, they were allowed to board.
Add to the People Skills, 5J should standardize their Conditions of Carriage.
I read the blog of congressman Biazon. I think Cebu Pacific had plenty of time to notify the Biazons regarding their age requirement policy –online, upon reservations or upon CHECK IN. Why did they have to wait when the passengers have already settled down in their assigned seats? And to make it worst the flight attendants didnt even help them get an available seat to transfer to in a fully booked flight! For me this is unacceptable service! Especially when travelling with young children. Cebu Pacific should start caring for their customers!
They should train their flight attendants to serve customers well and not to dance well…it just shows that they are not trained to handle any emergency situation on board.
Thank you for understanding our situation.
When I called the Cebu Pacific Manila Office to make our reservation, I informed them that children were traveling with us. As proof, the email I received from them had the following salutations: Mr. & Ms. – adult, Master & Miss – children.
I know that all passengers must adhere to the airline’s safety regulations. That is why I didn’t argue with the FA when she requested us to transfer seats. But I had to inform her that our seats were reserved seats. I guess it was the handing of the situation that aggravated the problem … it all boils down to training!
It would have been so easy for them to request one whole row of passengers to exchange seats with us. But all the FA told me was I had to exchange seats with somebody because my sons were not allowed to sit on the first row.
We were not even offered to refund for our seat reservation fee. I know its not a big amount to some but it was still P1200. Plus the seat that my 4 year old son was not able to occupy because the FA told me to make him sit on my lap. That’s an additional P3000++.
I really hope they do something about their customer service. It is not right to make paying passengers feel that they don’t have any worth, value or importance to their company.
Ellen, thank you very much for posting our experience with Cebu Pacific. I agree with you … If we don’t air out our complain, we cannot expect any change in their policy.
Airline Industry is no different from other businesses. They offer discounts to make volume sales compromising the quality of the service. As they say, you get what you pay for. But this should not stop consumers like us to go after these abusive people. Ruffy Biazon could file a lawsuit on behalf of other abused passengers.
Ang next chapter sa Cebu Pacific, they will buy airports. When Noynoy starts selling airports (to raise money for patrol boats or high-caliber sniper rifles) Lance Gokongwei says their group can enter that business.
Totally opposite of my experience during last night’s Lufthansa flight back home. I complained that the noise from the hydraulic power engine (which my husband said needed looking into seriously) was just too much to bear — with not much ado, chief cabin attendant came, explained the problem, was apologetic and asked if we would like to change seats.
That’s service!
Hello.
My name is Jannes, 12 years old. My family also encountered a problem with Cebu Pacific. My father bought tickets online. When we got to the airport, they won’t allow us to travel to Singapore because me and my sister’s passports has 5 months validity only. They insist that it is written on their Terms & Conditions but it is not noticeable. If that is very important they should put it in BOLD letters and in different color because not all passengers are aware that some countries are very strict with the 6-month passport validity. My father was able to leave for Hong Kong with only 4 months validity on his passport early this year. They just informed us casually that our tickets are already forfeited. My parents tried to argue with the staff of Cebu Pacific but they just gave us a Comment and Suggestion Form. My father told me that we lost 35,000 pesos that night plus the cost of the tickets we bought for Universal Studios and Hotel Reservation. Para po kaming hinoldap ng harap-harapan. There were also other families who had the same problem like us and I am sure that it has been a common incidence at Cebu Pacific that they refuse passengers to take the flight because of passport’s validity. I wish you can do something about this. I suggest that Cebu Pacific improve their online ticketing so that customers especially those who are not frequently flying are made aware of travel conditions. They can easily add to their online ticketing system an automatic email notification to customers. They should also print the important conditions in bigger and bolder letters. I believe that it is THEIR RESPONSIBILITY to see to it that customers are well informed. Thank you and God Bless.
#16
Are you sure you’re only 12 years old, Jannes? You write so well.
Folks, let’s be careful with the things we write ’cause even minors are now reading this popular Blog.
RE:…Ruffy Biazon could file a lawsuit on behalf of other abused passengers.~2b1ask1
If sa TATE nangyari ito…sure sa korte sila magkikita, but di naman natin nilalahat e masarap mangarap ng gising coz’iba ang kalakaran sa Pinas…Piso ang laging nangingibabaw kasi nga panakip-butas yan sa mga Hoodlums-in-uniform!
Case dismiss…or either maghabol na lamang tayo sa tambol-mayon.
RE: Folks, let’s be careful with the things we write ’cause even minors are now reading this popular Blog.~2b1ask1
Agree! Dapat maging responsable tayong Mamamayang Pilipino…e ka nga sa ISIP, SALITA at sa GAWA!
Iba ang mga Kabataan ngayon…high tech na sila, we need them to educate sa wastong ugali-asal para naman maging responsableng mamamayan di ba.
Hello, Jannes. Thanks for sharing your experience with Cebu Pacific.
With the “We-don’t- care- about- the- customers -they- have- already paid” attitude, the only thing we can do about it is expose their bad business and human relations practice. We hope it would wake them up and realize their responsibility to their passengers.
@#20: Pader Balweg, you must have taken several shots of the sacrament wine Mompo to believe that a 12 year wrote the above comments. You’re a quite sensible fella and I view you as one. Navigate the waters carefully.
Hello everyone! I learned about this blog because I was searching the newspapers for my assignment regarding a news article about the Seven Deadly Sins. I was searching for Greed then I saw this article “Palpak na serbisyo ng Cebu Pacific” Our family can relate to this news because we also had a bad experience with the same airline last October 29,2010, and I can’t help but comment on this blog.
Good day to all 😛
the gokongweis are laughing themselves all the way to the bank… and social acceptability.
i’ve had a list of issues with them myself. you will never get to talk to a person who has the discretion to ease your “pain”. i think it’s a business model of theirs. with an untrained staff and an iso nightmare of an organization, it would cost them too much to assuage all the hurt and damage they have caused. best to avoid this airline, if you can. if you cant, then lower your expectations, bring food and bring a receptacle for water. igib na lang sa fountain once you’ve checked in. or buy from the concessionaire. better they benefit from your money than the gokongweis.