After serving more than 150 million passengers in over two decades, Cebu Pacific has decided to waive fees on rebooking or flight changes as part of its push to improve customer experience.
Passengers who decide to change flight schedules within 24 hours from booking will no longer have to pay rebooking fees of as much as P2,800.
In the past, passengers who make changes on their bookings were required to pay P1,500 for domestic flights, P2,300 for short-haul flight and P2,800 for long-haul international flights.
For bookings that require changes in the flight sequence, penalty fees will also be waived.
For example, if a passenger booked a Manila-Cebu flight, and then needs to change this to Cebu-Manila, the cancellation fee is waived.
The same applies for Sum of Sectors (SOS) or “Through Fare” bookings, which are basically two connecting flights treated as one.
For instance, a passenger books a Virac-Manila-Cebu flight and needs to change this to Cebu-Manila-Virac, the cancellation fee is waived.
Penalty fees will also be waived for direct flights changed to SOS booking and vice versa.
While the rebooking and cancellation fees are waived, however, passengers who make such flight changes will still need to shoulder the fare difference.
The waiver on the rebooking and cancellations fees is applicable across all booking channels of Cebu Pacific, whether through a travel agent, ticket office and call center.
Ancillary services, such as seat selection, baggage allowance and preordered meals, are also fully transferrable to other guests and flights at no extra cost.
“Rebooking and cancellation fees have been a key concern for passengers, especially those who have been able to avail themselves of low fares. This will benefit them as it truly makes flying with Cebu Pacific more affordable,” Cebu Pacific Vice President for Corporate Affairs Paterno S. Mantaring said.
The airlines has also updated all its booking systems to make exemptions from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal Fee, or the International Passenger Service Charge (IPSC) applicable on bookings made via the Cebu Pacific mobile app and web site.
The move is seen benefiting thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who book flights on Cebu
Pacific to get to their job sites.
Aside from OFWs, pilgrims with authorization from the Philippine Sports Commission and guests who have been issued an exemption certificate are also exempted from paying the IPSC, provided valid documents are presented.
Cebu Pacific flew 10.1 million passengers in the first half of 2017. Cebu Air Inc. saw its profits down in the first half of the year, as the rise in revenues failed to offset the spike in expenses.
The company’s net income stood at P4.34 billion in the first six months of 2017, a 43.6-percent drop from P7.68 billion last year, as a result of slower revenue growth versus bigger expenses.
In the same comparative periods, revenues increased by 7.7 percent to P35.66 billion, from P33.09 billion, fuelled by its passenger revenues of P26.62 billion.
Expenses, on the other hand, rose 16.6 percent to P29 billion due to the rise in average jet-fuel prices in 2017, coupled with the weakening peso against the greenback.
As of end-June, the Gokongwei-led airline operates a fleet of 61 planes, serving 66 domestic routes and 38 international routes from its hubs all over the Philippines.