Sad experience with Cebu Pacific Air

It is nice to know that the Philippines has its own budget airline --- Cebu Pacific which caters to Filipinos with modest means. Lately, however, it seems Cebu Pacific is too ambitious in its quest to cater to this market segment.

The fares may be affordable but their service does not quite live up to expectations. Too many flights and not enough planes.

Take for example my experience last December 31. We landed in Manila from Bangkok at around 4:30 a.m. I was suppose to be be back in Cebu at 9:30 in the morning. But my flight was very much delayed. It led me to believe our group wasn't in their flight schedule; there was none on the flight monitor. There was also no announcement or apology for the flight delay from Cebu Pacific..

Note that this wasn't the first time that Cebu Pacific delayed flights.

I wasn't the only one complaining at the front desk, as you can see in the photos. Of course, there was pandemonium, bordering on passenger mutiny. Passengers, especially those with kids, were worried about spending New Year at NAIA.

To ease the tension, the staff said that there is going to be a flight to Cebu at 11:00 a.m, But the time indicated on our ticket was 8:30 a.m. We had been waiting for hours! This airline ethic was unacceptable to the hungry and tired passengers. Not a few heated exchanges were made.

It appeared that the staff assigned at the NAIA airport wasn't good in crisis management. They had to call in the airport police to resolve the matter. Unfortunately, this complicated the situation.

It was nearl;y 3:00 in the afternoon. when I arrived, happy and relieved, at the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

Bangkok Vacation

So, what did I do during last year's long Christmas holiday?

I went gallivanting in Bangkok with Laura and Jackie!

Grand Palace, Wat Po, Emerald Buddha, Reclining Buddha, Coins Museum, Vimanmek Teakwood Mansion, Platinum and Pantip Shopping malls, other tourist traps, were just some of the places we visited.

I don't need to talk in detail about Bangkok. I'm sure you have read the brochures. Needless to say, food and books have been the main focus in my trip.

I noticed the complexity of food ingredients and Thai language used predominantly in newspapers and books. So unlike the simplicity of Cebuano food preparation and the predominance of English language publications in Cebu (of course, how can we be the top emerging Business Process Outsourcing destination if English wasn't our second language!)