Blog From Cebu To The World

The Cebu Pacific Experience

This is not about Cebu and the Pacific Ocean. It’s far from that. What I will post here is about my experience flying with Cebu Pacific, the Philippines’ leading low-fare airline. I’ve read lots of rants posted by bloggers who had experienced delays and other inconveniences. I had mine too. I’d been flying with this airline for more than 10 years now. Basically, it is because of the low fares as compared to the country’s flagship airline. But let me just share with you the good and the bad personal experiences I had with Cebu Pacific.

The Good Experiences

Remember their previous motto of “being on-time 95% of the time”? The airline used to pride itself with that. Aside from the low fares, they are on time 95% of time. At least, that was what I remembered then.

I usually take the early morning flight (6am or 640am) out of Cebu. No hassles, no traffic. I normally arrive at the airport 50 minutes prior to the estimated time of departure (ETD). But there was one time when I arrived 25 minutes prior to ETD. My heart beat so fast and my head was still aching from lack of sleep. I skipped the long queues and went directly to the open counter even if the signboard says it’s for some other destination. Good thing I was still accommodated. I almost missed that flight. (As a hint, you can go directly to any open counter. They’re online, so why suffer the long queues at the Manila or Cebu airport.)

In all my Cebu to Manila flights, I’ve not encountered many delays. In fact, there were many times when we arrived 5-15 minutes ahead of time. Of course, I’m referring to the 640am flights and earlier. Maybe this is the time of the day when there are no delays due to late arrival of turnaround aircraft.

For airport transfers, I found no hassle in a connecting flight from Cebu to Palawan via Manila. The airport personnel was helpful enough to assist me. Again, that was for an early morning flight.

The delays I encountered were mostly in my flights from Manila to Cebu, especially the last flight out. Delays happen 70% of the time. They reasoned that it’s because of the late arrival of the turnaround aircraft. But it’s only for a few minutes or at most an hour. It also gives me more time to relax, read magazines, or do nothing at all.

Cebu Pacific’s edge is its low price. It is even cheaper to ride a plane than on a slow boat. For a thousand bucks, you can now ride a plane from Cebu to Manila and vice-versa. A lot of people had their first plane ride on a Cebu Pacific plane. I know of people who get yayas and househelps from the Visayas and Mindanao. Instead of paying for a boat or a bus fare, they just buy them Cebu Pacific tickets. It comes out cheaper.

The Bad Experiences

I arrived at the T3 airport at 530 am, 2 hours earlier than my ETD to Butuan City. As I checked in the freshly cut flowers I bought in Dangwa for the family occasion in Mindanao, I was told that my flight was delayed and the new ETD is 145 pm. That’s 6 hours off the schedule! All I did was shake my head in disbelief. I lacked sleep so I just rushed to the passenger’s terminal and slept there.

From the terminal windows, I saw the checked-in luggages of my co-passengers. My box caught my eye. Though it was on top of the heap, the direct sunlight would hasten wilting of my flowers. It was already past 9am when they transferred the cargoes to I don’t know where, which I hoped was a covered area.

For breakfast, we were given a 1-piece chicken joy and a bottle of mineral water. I thought that was the only freebie. But when they gave me a free travel voucher, it made me forget that we were delayed. I called my wife, and I also talked to my aunt. She reasoned that God has a purpose for this delay. It was raining that morning in Butuan and in such a weather condition, flights will be redirected to Cebu. The real reason was that, one of their planes was in Singapore for repairs. When a plane is out, they have to do a lot of rescheduling as it would affect many flights.

It was 230pm when we finally took off. I arrived in Butuan at almost 4pm. A nephew who accompanied my wife and father-in-law, complained. They were waiting for me since 9am. As to the flowers, we revived them by cutting the stems and putting them in a bucket of water.

The return trip wasn’t any different. If I had booked the Sunday flight, that would have been a full day of delay. Their plane had to be repaired in Butuan. My Monday flight back to Manila was delayed by almost two hours. It also meant that I’d miss a meeting at work. (Though I was on leave for the whole day, I promised my boss that I’d catch up when I arrive.) I was hoping for another free travel voucher. But there was none.

Compared to the experience of a friend who swore never to ride Cebu Pacific again, mine is nothing. Her group cancelled their vacation because of the delays in the departure from Cebu, and they were not even accommodated in their connecting flight, which would have been the only flight of the day. It also affected their hotel bookings, etc…

But then, delays do not just happen in this airline. Other airlines had delays too. It is just a matter of customer service, explaining the real reason for the delay, and perhaps assistance in case one misses a connecting flight. Freebies are mostly welcome. More free travel vouchers, please!

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2. Free Cebu Pacific Airlines Tickets and Travel Vouchers
3. Budget Travel: Manila-Cebu and Vice Versa
4. Cebu Pacific Flight Promos and Discounted Fares
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Tags: Cebu, Cebu Pacific, Cebu Pacific Travel Experience, Travel   Posted in Cebu, Travel