AIR PHILIPPINES and CATHAY PACIFIC : NOT SO GOOD EXPERIENCES!

I usually am a positive person and don't want to talk negative about anything but...

How would you react if you received a call from an airline two nights before your scheduled flight and said..."We regret to inform you that there has been a change in schedule due to operational requirements!!!"

I only saw the e-mail the next day but would that matter!!!

Tuesday, 18 October 2011 7:32 PM

 Greetings!

 We regret to inform you that there has been a change of schedule due to operational requirements.

 Kindly see details below for your reference.

 Booking Reference : EADAXY

 Passenger(s) Name : 1.1ROJO/FILIPINAS MS*ADT

FLIGHT #	DATE	ROUTE	ETD	ETA	REMARKS
2P 994	20OCT	ZAMMNL	630A	810A	OLD SCHEDULE
2P 998	20OCT	ZAMMNL	705P	845P	NEW SCHEDULE

We would like to apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused you. If you need further assistance, you may call our 24hours contact centers at (02) 855-9000 for Manila/(032) 505-1616 for Cebu or you may email us at reservations@airphilexpress.com. You may also visit any of our ticket offices for immediate help.

 We hope to see you again in one of your future flights with us.

Sincerely yours,

Airphil Express Reservations

//cw

My Air Philippines 6:30 am flight to Manila was changed to 7:05 pm in the evening but actually left at 8:00 pm!

What an inconvenience and of course, I missed a day of the three-day conference!

I actually proudly told my colleague that I had an earlier flight and expecting to attend the conference earlier.

She joked, "I might arrive there earlier!" and indeed, she was there a day earlier!

During my flights to Cebu this year, I already thought that Air Philippines had improved their operations leaving earlier than Cebu Pacific and arriving earlier since their plane was faster.

Air Philippines Cebu to Singapore flight was also good since it arrives at 11 a.m. in Singapore (no day lost!) and you land at the Changi Terminal 2 just like PAL... not through the Budget Terminal!  

I thought before, "Well, Air Philippines must be really trying their best to improve their operations since Philippine Airlines is having some problems (strikes) now."

So when the lady relayed the major delay, of course, I was mad! In fairness, the person answering was consistent in her answer and she repeatedly said that she was sorry for the inconvenience and it was due to operational requirements... whatever that was!

Of course, my good impressions of Air Philippines also flew away!

To top it all, the 7:05 p.m. flight was delayed.
Wouldn't it be with this long queue?
According to Murphy's law, " Anything that can possibly go wrong, does!"
And it is what happened that day. They went manual at the ZC Airport because of a brownout!!!

But the Air Philippines incident is not solitary incident for me.
I remember a few years ago (about 2008), the same thing happened to me... my 2:30 p.m. flight (chosen because it was earlier) was moved to 6:30 p.m. without earlier announcement and left later than the PAL flight! 
It defeated the purpose that I chose that flight!
And I was due to leave for a midnight flight abroad!! Thrilling!!!  


Well, I am sharing this just FYI... for your information. 

Another untoward thing I want to share is not my own experience, but that of a friend. This is also FYI, and hopefully does not happen to us!

Last July 2011, my friend's son bought her Cathay Pacific flight ticket from Cebu to London and back via Credit Card since there is no Cathay booking in ZC. 

What a shock for her, when in the Cathay Pacific counter she was told to pay her ticket by credit card again or by CASH!!! 

That was , inspite of her bringing a xerox copy of her son's ID and security number! By the way, she has the same FAMILY NAME as her son!!!

They wanted the Credit Card owner to go there personally but the son was in ZC.

Her son, however, called and the person from Cathay named John now said it was up to his discretion, but still he did not let her check in unless she paid in CASH (since she didn't have a card herself) and the ticket was for refund!
Good she had the money!!!

... What was he afraid of? My friend is in the 60s...of course, she would come back!!!

... Maybe, he was just saving face?!?

Whatever, it was, I think this is one of the worst experiences that could happen to a traveler.

So, don't use another person's credit card, even if part of the family, if you are flying via Cathay!

I hope my Cathay friends wouldn't be offended by this. My friend's family have made the proper complaint letters to Cathay Pacific HongKong about the specific Cebu ground personnel. 

I hope that things would fall in place and the right policies made so that the innocent travelers, especially Senior citizens who depend on their children's credit cards won't become victims of inconsiderate personnel!

These are FOR YOUR INFORMATION and also a warning so that it won't happen to us, future travelers!