Mr_uk

I booked a flight to travel from Manila to Cebu on 5th June 2016 at 4.35pm. When I checked in at 3pm I ask if there's any update on my flight as I know they always have delays. I was told my flight would be delayed so I asked if I could go on an earlier flight 4pm, this they did. That's where the real nightmare began 4pm flight was also delayed at 4pm it hadn't left general Santos considering flying time was over 2 hours. I ask if I could be put back on my original flight. I waited over an hour, by now it's 6pm. I was march from gate 117 to gate 132 only to be told they sold my ticket to standby passenger.
So back to gate 117 my original 4.35pm flight left at 6pm without me (profit over service).
At 6.15pm we were told 4pm flight was cancelled and everyone has try try rebook their flights.
The boarding gate Area is hot and overcrowded, they didn't even offer a bottle of water(less then p10)
So it was off to gate 116 to see if I could get on yet another delayed flight, which was delayed even more 7pm. Eventually I manage to get on a flight at 8pm (4hours delayed no water)
Thought-out this experience no one seams to care. Lots of staff just laughing chatting and having fun. Without any care for the passenger in misery.
In over 30 year's of travelling around the world I had never experienced such incompetents people with little or no regards for customer service.

chris19992

Yup that's definitely MNL, however you made the conscious decision to get rebooked on a different flight, you can't just swap and change at the last minute and hope things work out ok in the Philippines because they generally don't and I'm not entirely sure you can fully blame the airline for you not flying, if you hadn't requested a different flight, you would have flown.
What you should have done is check the 16:35 flight was on time and was in the air BEFORE you asked them to change, then you would have known beforehand that it also was delayed.

Perhaps in the future consider avoiding MNL unless absolutely necessary, you can fly directly in to CEB from many places, it may sometimes be more expensive but it's worth any price when you don't have to deal with MNL.

RALFo1

Their 75 seater aircraft from Pagadian to Cebu (august 2016) gave me a trauma of flying. We really thought we gonna crash and that my life would end at that time. You guys if you can afford PAL then go for PAl ticket, its okay to spend a little extra and still live. I was a happy flyer, now not anymore.

Fyd

PAL also flies small turboprop planes on domestic routes to smaller airports. And due to weather, flights in the tropics can be bumpy...
Neither the plane nor weather make CebuPac an unsafe airline or PAL a better bet...

kzap

I never fly Cebu Pacific anymore unless there is no choice. If something happens, passengers get the least priority and will have the worst experience. You really get what you pay for. PAL has its issues also but comparing the two, I would pay the little bit extra and take PAL any day, have had enough nightmares with 5J.

They used to be much worse before a passenger bill of rights was passed.

If you fly them, just expect the worst. No they wont crash, but you will probably wish you took another airline and the $50 you saved was not worth it.

chris19992

5J gets a lot of stick and while it's mostly deserved, they aren't fully terrible like some other airlines but like the poster above me I only fly them when I have no choice like with my regular 5J flight between CEB-CGM which unfortunately is a turboprop which I absolutely despise but it's either that 40 minute flight or take a plane to CGY and then wait hours for a boat which never runs on time.

5J have definitely improved in the customer service area since the bill of rights was introduced, I've had two problems over the past year out of 12 flights and they fixed both very quick and during a tarmac delay of an hour last year they actually put a bus on to take people back to the terminal if they wished to do so as well as giving out drinks for free.
Also I have just had to change my flights due to a schedule change on their end and the process couldn't have been easier, just log in to their site and choose new dates/times.

Fyd

CebuPac and PAL both get a bad rep for issues outside heir control. A lot of the delays are due to infrastructure issues in the Philippines: Manila is congested, causing delays all over the country, a lot of smaller airport can only handle 1-2 planes at a time, so any delay can have a ripple effect. That's similar to what you'll find in other countries in the region, including China...
what makes these IROPS issues worse is the management culture at both airlines (also similar for other regional airlines): staff is not empowered to make decisions or allowed room to make exceptions, so trying to get anything done outside the rule book can be frustrating. And both are basically low-cost airlines, with little room to be generous - if you bought a $29 ticket, they won't put you on SQ in IROPS...
picking PAL over CebPac (or VP) based on anecdotal stories is a fools errand: if you want to avoid issues, pick non-stop flights or early morning departures; leave plenty of time for connections, avoid checking luggage, use online tools, stick with the rules and be patient and creative during IROPs...and buy the cheapest ticket on either airline....
ive had 50+ flights between the two airlines over the last 5y, most were fine...

kzap

Here are look at CebuPacific during Christmas 2014 https://oliversegovia.com/2014/12/26...rible-airline/

Fyd

That article is 3 years old and from somebody who admits not to being an airline expert. Time has shown that the article's conclusion the family is just prepping CebuPac for a sale, was wrong.
Many of the management issues apply to PAL as well as other companies in the Philippines and across SE Asia - you can write a post like that about many other regional airlines.
Compared to PAL, CebuPac at least has a clear focus on providing Filipinos and anybody visiting the Philippines with the cheapest flight from A to B. Period. No 5-star ambitions (like PAL), no premium cabin (like any other LCC in the region), no big promises.
CebuPac's marketing is clever and their IT systems are actually better than PAL's - you can book online, check-in online or redeem points for a reward flights online - PAL can't do half that!
You buy a cheap ticket, you get a safe flight from A to B with friendly, fun staff and that's it.

davistev

Soon I will complete my 100th flight with Cebu Pacific and I am very satisfied. I have only experienced minimal delays and all were weather related. Their aircraft are modern and their attitude is casual and friendly.

For a LCC - They are a fantastic option with some great fares but like any LCC, disruptions can be minimised by taking the early flight rather than latter. Only carry on luggage and pay a little extra for exit row seating. Food is reasonably priced.

ChrisJBrady

We arrived at Cebu on Cathay Pacific via LHR and HKG. It was a Wednesday.

We were then due to fly with Cebu Pacific to Lobo / Ozamison their scheduled 15.00 departure. The flight actually departed on time - a miracle.

However when it got to Lobo there was something wrong with the runway. So the plane aborted the landing at the last minute - quite traumatic - and returned to Cebu. There the airline staff couldn't have cared less and refused to arrange accommodation. The airline staff stated that it wasn't their problem but the airport's (Lobo). The staff said that they could re-book for the next Saturday. We then had to book a local hotel and pay for this privately.

Checking on TripAdvisor and Facebook it appears that Cebu Pacific is the worst airline in the world. No customer service, plenty of ripoffs, no professionalism, etc. I wonder if it is a safe airline too. And as hundreds maybe thousands of past passengers have opined I would say never, ever again. Thank you.

Laowai

Worst airline in the world? Probably not. But yeah, don't expect any compensation if something goes wrong with them. I flown around 35 times with them and I'd rate them as an average low cost airline.

mbamejia

I would agree that 5J is par with other low cost airlines. It's no frills and gets you from point A to point B - that's it. The problem is that the price point outside of their Php1 deals is not that much different from say PR on domestic and even some regional flights if you factor in checked baggage and meals. On the hard product, you consistently get low cost for 5J and a hit or miss on PR depending on the aircraft assigned for your specific flight.

Flight delays are an integral part of air travel today regardless of carrier, especially in the domestic market.

Safety wise, it doesn't appear any worse than any other airline.

Christian Iten

Cebu Pacific is a ........ AIRLINE. FIRST: I book a good flight connection from Siargao to Legazpi with only a few waiting time at Cebu. Later THEY CANCEL the flight and I have to rebook with a BAD SCHEDULE that gives me a one day waiting time at Cebu. Altough later it is obvious that they could give me a BETTER SCHEDULE they do NOT ALLOW anymore to CHANGE the flight! So they make me unhappy and even they could make me happy again, the do not do. And SECOND: The SEATS in the airplane are extremely UNCOMFORTABLE. Air Asia is much better. TRY TO AVOID TO BOOK CEBU PACIFIC !!!

davistev

117 flights without any major issues. The airline is not responsible for weather or airport delays. I can only advise flyers to use a credit card with trip protection insurance to cover these type of events. That said, Cebu Pacific refunded my non-refundable ticket to Bali due to the Volcano eruption.