If you’ve read my Airline Information page you’ll know already that Cebu Pacific is my choice for Philippine domestic flights.
They always have some sort of promo going on … sometimes as low as 1 peso fares … no joke. But even when you have to pay full fare, it’s reasonable … cheap by US standards. Their entire fleet has just been renewed and their cabin crews are pretty, attentive and polite.
Unlike US airlines, they don’t play all those ridiculous 7 day, 14 day and 21 day "advance purchase" games … you can walk up to the ticket counter … or visit their web site … and get the same price if you’re flying same day or 30 days from now.
The part that I feel needs updating is, Cebu Pacific is now a full-fledged international airline as well as domestic.
As this map shows (by the way, you have to visit their website and try this map live, it’s custom for every city they serve, very cool implementation of Flash)now serve Hong Kong, Seoul, Pusan (both shopping destinations and hubs for Korean Air), Taipei, excellent place to connect with China Air or Evergreen, Hong Kong, great for connecting with Cathay Pacific or … well you get the idea.
Cebu Pacific have positioned themselves to make connections outside the Philippines instead of each and every passenger having to travel into Manila or Cebu and then connect. And my son is coming to visit next month … I’ve already booked some travel for him and my wife and I, Manila-Cebu-Return, total fare, round-trip (less tax and fees, of course) 6 PhP. You can’t beat that with a stick!
Cebu Pacific is horrible! You get less than what you pay for in terms of service and personal relations. My family has been a costumer for Cebu Pacific for 5 years and from the second year up to this year we experienced ridiculous treatment from Cebu Pacific. On the second year we purchased Cebu Pacific a crew member (stewardess) shoved our fragile baggage into the compartment when we asked her to gently lift it into the compartment. When we got to our destination, the “CAKE” was damaged extensively at one side. On the second year of our flight with Cebu Pacific my mother was charged extra for purchasing tickets on a date which was booked wrongly by the staff at one of their offices at Makati. So instead of saving money, she spent more than what she could have spent for regular priced flights. On the third year we purchased tickets from Cebu Pacific, we had trouble getting back to Manila from the province because the airplane that Cebu Pacific sent for us was a small one and could not accommodate all passengers. There is absolutely no sense in this! We had to demand that they give us, and many other affected passengers, the flight that we paid for because we had important commitments the next morning but only my companion and I received seats. The rest of the passengers, around twenty or more, were left to suffer the irresponsibility of Cebu Pacific. Finally, just this December 22, 2009 I witnessed corruption amongst members of their “Security”, mainly involving the “Lady Security Head”. I had witnessed the “lady security head” being paid a roll of P100 bills by an “Asian Nationality” just so he could pass through the check point and take his “unsealed alcoholic beverage” into the airplane. One of them even almost dragged my mother by the arm forcing us to go to the office to report what I saw . Because of such harassment I lost my temper and screamed at the security to let go of my mother telling them “How dare you touch my mother in the arm?” We warned them that we will report this case immediately in our own means and that any harassment will never be tolerated. This is why I have never appreciated Cebu Pacific. It is simply fooling people by promoting cheap fares at the expense of absurdity! Four offenses in a row is too much! There are no lies here. People working at Cebu Pacific knows this because we tell them so.
Wow. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Have to say they are contrary to my own in virtually all ways, but then again, that’s what makes the world go ’round.
HI ALL.
IN MY LAST VISITE TO FILIPINAS LAST JENUARY- FEBRUARY, I USED CEBU PASIFIC AIR LINES SEVEN TIMES,I PAID APROXIMETLY 3.000 PESOS FOR EACH FLICHT OF ONE HOUR EACH, ALL FLICHTS LANDED 5 -10 MINUTES IN ADVACE OF CHEDULE,THE ATENTION OF THE STAFF ON THE AIRPORT AND ON BORD WAS EXCELENT,I CONSIDERE CEBU PASIFIC ONE OF THE BEST AIRLAINES IN THE WORLD,WITH THE BEST RELATION PRICE -QUALITY OF THEM ALL.
I KNOW ABOUT 50 AIR LINES, AND I WILL USE THEM AGAIN NEXT YEAR ATLEAST 4 TIMES TO VISITE THE NORTH OF LUZON, AS PART OF MY TRIP AROUD THE GLOBE DURING 90 DAYS.
HAVE A NICE DAY AND PLESE RELAX…
I WAS a frequent Cebu customer. Then after they updated their website my credit cards were declined. Calls to their operators all got the same response – refer to your bank or use another card. I did both but still did not work. My banks (3) all said I had adequate funds and there was nothing wrong with my cards. They also said they had no record of any attempt by Cebu to debit my account. But still Cebu operators refused to accept that anything was wrong with their system – despite that fact that my cards work fine with other airlines. I see from internet blogs that many others have the same problem. It is impossible to email or talk to anyone in authority at Cebu Pacific. It is as if they hide behind a wall of protection while their operators continue with the same spiel – refer to your bank or use another card. AAAAGGGGHHH !!!!!!!!!
Sorry your experiences have not been as good as mine. As with everything else on the Internet, YMMV. One issue which I have written about and which I don’t know if you have addressed … Cebu Pacific reports their charges as “Cebu Pacific Air Telephone Call Center”. This seems to get truncated to “Cebu Pacific Air Tel” in some credit card systems. When I tried to charge some tickets, worth about $300, my US card was declined. I called the credit card company and the fraud protection department said, “why of course we blocked that charge, $300 is way too much for a phone call.” After I explained the situation they approved the charge on the spot and no further problems. I have also used my Philippine-issued credit card to charge tickets, again, no problem.
Using any credit card here in the Philippines can be an issue. Last time I flew back to the US on Delta, my US card was declined, I had to call my credit card company’s 1-800 number to get the charge put through.
Welcome to life in the Philippines. If you feel you are getting a hard time from Cebu Pacific call center agents, ask for a supervisor immediately, and go up the chain, calmly but firmly. First level personnel for many businesses are not sharp enough to deal with many situations … but for me, it’s Cebu pacific all the way … again, YMMV.
Contacting customer service directly or via fax from this page may help also:
http://www.cebupacificair.com/contact/index.html
Dave:
I always avoided Cebu in the past because of the credit card issue (They didn’t accept many foreign cards). About 6 months ago, they upgraded their online payment system and all my cards worked. Therefore, I only recently tried them, once to SIN, once to TUG, and once to DVO. As to their flights, I was pleasantly surprised at their service… No problems at all, and Terminal 3 at NAIA is a breeze compared to Centennial or, especially, Terminal I. I think I’ll continue to use them, especially on domestic flights.
I’m glad Cebu is on the road to working well for you now, John. I know you had your problems with them in the past. And thanks for reminding me about Terminal 3. I had occasion to go there a couple weeks ago to pick someone up and, without the pressure of hurrying to make a flight, I found it a very enjoyable experience. Almost like a ‘real’ airport
.
I also noticed something last week on EdSA. A clean, modern coach labeled “NAIA – City Link”. I have to find out more about that. Manila has long needed better public transpo to and from the airport, I hope this bus was an indication of things that may come.
my family usually uses cebu pacific, we used it to go to kalibo, ilo-ilo, puerto princesa, bacolod, tagbilaran, cebu, bangkok and et cetera.
We always arrive on time, except once when we had to go to puerto princesa, our flight got delayed by an hour, many passengers got irritated and impatient so when the time came for us to board the plane instead of two lines four lines were formed. All was was well until we were nearly halfway trough our journey, the pilot said something about needing to go back to Manila because there was a minor problem with the plane, when we got back to the airport a new plane was already waiting for us so it helped quell the tempers of other passengers.
Anyway, that only happened once out the of the many trips we’ve had using 5J so we still plan on using Cebu Pacific.
I also agree with their “checklist”. It was a little funny, many airlines charge more because of the “free meals” for less than 2 hour flights. If i can save 300 pesos if meals aren’t served then I won’t complain anymore. I can always eat before boarding the plane, it’s cheaper too, one full meal is less than 100 pesos anyway.
Cebu Pacific really does value what is important. i plan to buy another RT ticket again next year, their Manila-Osaka fares are unbeatable! I only hope they’ll add a Manila-Tokyo route soon.
Yep, I certainly enjoy using Cebu pacific … especially at the time of paying the bill for the tickets.