Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Coming Home from Tokyo or Why I Will Never Fly CebuFuck Ever Again!
Around the time that the Gokongweis thought it’s about time everyone flies Cebu Pacific, I did fly Cebu Pacific. And what we thought were ridiculously low fares immediately got us online booking the next flight to wherever, with whoever, whenever; it even got us clicking those tiny boxes allowing them to bombard our emails with sales pitches of “major, major discounts!” So kahit may isang taon ko na ring idiniklarang I WILL NEVER FLY CEBU PACIFIC patuloy pa rin akong nakatatanggap ng mga kung anu-ano sa kanila.
Dear Cebu Pacific: Please stop sending me any advertorial because it will be futile, and I think it is my responsibility to my fellow consumers na hindi pa enlightened sa inyong nakakabuwisit na business practices na malaman ang kuwento ko. In the end, they can still choose you over others, and by then sana, mas maayus-ayos na kayo.
Nasemento na lang ang aking resolve du’n sa balitang pinababa n’yo ang isang grupong may kasamang may Down Syndrome. Nag-apologize kayo all after all the negative press but the fact that your policy allowed that to happen in the first place is very telling of what kind of airline you are, at parang ayoko yatang ipaubaya sa inyo ang buhay ko everytime I fly.
More than what I heard in the news, may mga personal testimonies din akong pinanghahawakan kung bakit I WILL NEVER FLY CEBU PACIFIC. Just last summer my co-writers and I went on a vacation to Hong Kong. Ako nagbayad ng slightly more expensive airfare sa Philippine Airlines. Sila, pinatos ang Clark-HK promo ninyo. If I recall, the existence of this promo is what urged them to plan this vacation at isinabit na lang nila ako. Trip nilang mag-Disneyland, ayoko naman base na rin sa mga nabasa kong reviews (see, it pays to believe some credible reviews) so they planned to visit Disneyland on the one day ahead na naandu’n na sila sa Hong Kong at nasa Maynila pa’ko to finish some business.
Maaga silang lumarga mula Maynila papuntang Clark to catch their morning flight. Pagdating du’n, postponed ang flight...TO THAT AFTERNOON…SA MAYNILA! Sayang ang isang araw! Ire-refund ba sila in case they just opt to get another flight tutal naandun na sila? Siyempre hindi kasi nga promo! Binigyan man lang ba sila ng meal stubs for their waiting time for the previously unannounced new flight schedule? Hindi rin! At siguro alam n’yo na ang sagot sa tanong kung binigyan ba sila ng transpo o pamasahe man lang pabalik ng Maynila to catch that letcheng promo flight to HK?!
Ang ending, isang overnight lang halos ang advance nila sa’kin. Pagdating kong fresh na fresh kinaumagahan, kinailangan pa naming magpunta sa Disneyland…at hindi rin sila gaanong natuwa hahaha.
Nangyari na rin dating dumating kami sa airport tapos nakaalis na pala ang CebuPac, hindi man lang kami nasabihan na minuv nila earlier ang flight. Business trip 'yun, ha. Kung corporate account balahura pa rin ang service, magtataka ka pa ba kung basura ang trato nila sa mga promo fliers?
The last straw happened August 2009 when I was going to compete at the Ironman70.3 in Camsur. Ewan ko ba’t CebuPac ang na-book ko for me and my parents kahit hindi naman sila sponsor ng race. Nagbayad pa’ko ng advance fee for excess baggage na hindi ko rin naman nagamit since pinasabay ko na lang sa mga nag-land travel ang bike ko.
Morning of the flight, buong pamilya ko yata ang naghatid sa’min so believing na may time pa, pinag-McDo ko muna sa tapat ng T3 ang mga pamangkin ko. Eh ang haba-haba pala ng pila sa airport sa labas pa lang, true enough, FIVE MINUTES NANG SARADO ANG CHECK-IN COUNTER NG CEBUPAC to Naga. Bukod sa’kin at mga retired kong magulang, may isa pang mag-asawa na nasarhan ng counter. CebuPac said so themselves na five minutes ago pa lang sarado ang counter nila and yet they wouldn’t accommodate us anymore kasi na-print na raw ang manifesto and all.
I was almost in tears kasi nakaka-frustrate so I pleaded to the young lady behind the CebuPac counter if she can make some calls to anyone who might be able to help us. She only shook her head and "assured" me na ganu’n din lang po ang sasabihin sa’kin. I asked if the plane is still there. They said yes the plane’s still there but the “manifesto of passengers has already been printed” and they could not accommodate us anymore. By this time I have sorta accepted the fact that we will miss this flight, but I just wanted to feel that this company that declares to care for “every Juan” is the real deal yet the lady wouldn’t even so much as make a call to a fictitious superior to at least give me the impression that they value me as a client.
I ended up getting my parents tickets for tomorrow, and since I wasn’t thinking clearly, siyempre sa CebuPac ko pa rin sila pinalipad! That will be the last thousands of pesos that I will ever spend on Cebu Pacific. I booked na lang a later flight with another airline since I needed to be in CamSur that day already.
Now you might say may point nga naman ang Cebu Pacific policy. Late is late, ika nga. And them opening their doors to accommodate us would be against air safety and all. I though so, too. Until I experienced a rather different treatment from foreigners, in an international carrier, on an international flight, in another country.
Japan’s expansive Narita Airport is 66km away from Tokyo, parang layo ng Clark sa Maynila, and yet mas madali pa itong puntahan kesa sa NAIA na nasa Pasay lang. Meron kasing tren. Ewan ko ba, sa dami ng OFW’s na tinatawag nating bagong bayani, nananatiling inaccessible sa ordinaryong Pinoy at OFW ang ating mga airport. ‘Di mo lang kailangan ng kotse, kailangan mo pa ng driver! Ganitung-ganito rin ang description ni Carlos Celdran sa disenyo ng Cultural Center of the Philippines, ang aniya’y “Imelda’s first betrayal of the Filipino People.”
Bilang nagpaiwan sa Japan, mag-isa na lang akong umuwi nu'n. Sa unang istasyon pa lang sa Kinshicho para na’kong ignoranteng hindi alam kung saan bibili ng Airport Express ticket. Hindi rin kami magkaintindihan ng Hapon sa counter. I stood there before the ticket-vending machine, delaying everyone behind me in line, so I decided to do the high-tech route and pressed the big HELP button. Gumuho ang ultra-high-tech impression ko sa Japan nang may bumukas na maliit na puwang sa machine at sumilip ang parehong Hapon na pinagtanungan ko kanina sa counter. Kausap ko ang tao sa loob ng machine! Hi-tech. lumabas siya sa isang maliit na pinto sa tabi ng machine at siya na ang pumindut-pindot para makabili na’ko ng ticket papuntang airport.
Hindi yata airport express ang nasakyan ko kaya may mga dinadaanan pa rin itong suburbs sa labas ng lungsod. Makikita mo kung sino ang mga papuntang airport dahil meron silang dalang malalaking bagahe, tulad ko. I was constantly checking my ticket kung saan naka-print ang ruta ng tren to see na I’m right on track, then at one station, most everyone got off the train. My instincts told me to follow the crowd pero natakot ako so I stayed, and sat down. Parang ako nga lang natira, at may mga bago nang pasaherong sumakay. True enough, umandar ang tren PABALIK NG TOKYO! Sinubukan kong ikubli ang panalalaki ng aking mata sa panic (if that is possible). I coolly got off the next station.
Sa istasyon nagtanong ako sa isang stall na binabantayan ng dalawang older mommies kung saang riles dadaan ang tren papuntang Narita. Nainintidihan naman nila ang English ko’t naituro kung alin sa dalawang riles ako dapat mag-abang. Pero kaaalis lang daw ng tren papuntang airport kaya medyo may paghihintay. Nanganganib na’ko sa flight ko, pero wala pa rin akong gaanong pangamba. Kuwento ng mga Pilipinong nakilala ko sa Japan, hindi naman kailangang two hours before the flight ka nasa airport tulad ng advise sa NAIA. Bumili ako ng “hatto” (hot) coffee-in-can sa mga mommies. Isa ‘to sa fascinating vendo merchandise sa halagang 60 pesos.
May mga nakasabay rin akong Japanese high schoolers. For a while I considered approaching one guy who is about my size to offer to buy his signature blue-with-gold-buttons-and-school-patch blazer but hiya got over me. Na-assure naman akong ito nga ang tren papuntang airport dahil may kasabay akong dalawang seksing Haponesa na furry-furry ang kuwelyo ng jackets at may hila-hilang putting Hello Kitty hardcase. Bago dumating ang tren ko, dumaan pa ang mas sleek na Narita Express, ‘yung non-stop na bibiyahe mula Tokyo hanggang airport.
Sa tren may mga video instructions na on how to navigate Narita. Siguraduhin mong tamang side ng tren ka bababa ayon sa kung ano’ng airline mo. Japan Airlines ay sa kanan. PAL ay nasa kabila. Para akong pumasok sa Gattaca pagbaba ko ng tren! Ang laki-laki-laki at ganda-ganda-ganda pala ng Narita Airport! Medyo malayong lakaran din pero hindi naman mahirap hanapin ang check-in counter. Efficient din ang sistema nila kaya agad akong nakalapit sa counter where I immediately declared to the female Japanese ground staff na, “I took the wrong train. Will I still make this flight?”
With a smile and a proud tone she said, “We will make you make this flight.” She made a quick phone call presumably to inform the others that there’s this late Filipino guy trying to catch his plane. The lady wrote something on a sticker and put it on my left shirtsleeve. She endorsed me to another ground staff, a petite Japanese woman in that classic hat-scarf-skirt-pumps stewardess uniform. With a slight bow she softly commanded, “Please follow me.” And she ran! In heels!
A ran after her. She led me to the x-ray machine where a platoon of flight attendants were unloading their luggage. She talked to them in Japanese and they all stood aside and let my dirty, blue North Face backpack first. They had to repeat the process, this time without my laptop in the bag. Once through, we ran some more.
Without stopping, she asked for my ticket, I handed it to her, she checked my flight details and determined which monorail to take. “Get on that train.” I followed her. Only then did we stop running. I asked, “How do I know which gate?” “When you get off the train, you will see the sign to Gate 9,” and the monorail train closed and through the glass door I saw her bow the monorail away. She bowed!!!
I found my gate easily, and passengers were already boarding when I got there. I approached another JAPAN AIRLINES staff in a blue shirt and slacks, “Did I make the flight?” “Yes, you’re just in time.” And with that she removed the sticker on my sleeve.
Dear Cebu Pacific: Please stop sending me any advertorial because it will be futile, and I think it is my responsibility to my fellow consumers na hindi pa enlightened sa inyong nakakabuwisit na business practices na malaman ang kuwento ko. In the end, they can still choose you over others, and by then sana, mas maayus-ayos na kayo.
Nasemento na lang ang aking resolve du’n sa balitang pinababa n’yo ang isang grupong may kasamang may Down Syndrome. Nag-apologize kayo all after all the negative press but the fact that your policy allowed that to happen in the first place is very telling of what kind of airline you are, at parang ayoko yatang ipaubaya sa inyo ang buhay ko everytime I fly.
More than what I heard in the news, may mga personal testimonies din akong pinanghahawakan kung bakit I WILL NEVER FLY CEBU PACIFIC. Just last summer my co-writers and I went on a vacation to Hong Kong. Ako nagbayad ng slightly more expensive airfare sa Philippine Airlines. Sila, pinatos ang Clark-HK promo ninyo. If I recall, the existence of this promo is what urged them to plan this vacation at isinabit na lang nila ako. Trip nilang mag-Disneyland, ayoko naman base na rin sa mga nabasa kong reviews (see, it pays to believe some credible reviews) so they planned to visit Disneyland on the one day ahead na naandu’n na sila sa Hong Kong at nasa Maynila pa’ko to finish some business.
Maaga silang lumarga mula Maynila papuntang Clark to catch their morning flight. Pagdating du’n, postponed ang flight...TO THAT AFTERNOON…SA MAYNILA! Sayang ang isang araw! Ire-refund ba sila in case they just opt to get another flight tutal naandun na sila? Siyempre hindi kasi nga promo! Binigyan man lang ba sila ng meal stubs for their waiting time for the previously unannounced new flight schedule? Hindi rin! At siguro alam n’yo na ang sagot sa tanong kung binigyan ba sila ng transpo o pamasahe man lang pabalik ng Maynila to catch that letcheng promo flight to HK?!
Ang ending, isang overnight lang halos ang advance nila sa’kin. Pagdating kong fresh na fresh kinaumagahan, kinailangan pa naming magpunta sa Disneyland…at hindi rin sila gaanong natuwa hahaha.
Nangyari na rin dating dumating kami sa airport tapos nakaalis na pala ang CebuPac, hindi man lang kami nasabihan na minuv nila earlier ang flight. Business trip 'yun, ha. Kung corporate account balahura pa rin ang service, magtataka ka pa ba kung basura ang trato nila sa mga promo fliers?
The last straw happened August 2009 when I was going to compete at the Ironman70.3 in Camsur. Ewan ko ba’t CebuPac ang na-book ko for me and my parents kahit hindi naman sila sponsor ng race. Nagbayad pa’ko ng advance fee for excess baggage na hindi ko rin naman nagamit since pinasabay ko na lang sa mga nag-land travel ang bike ko.
Morning of the flight, buong pamilya ko yata ang naghatid sa’min so believing na may time pa, pinag-McDo ko muna sa tapat ng T3 ang mga pamangkin ko. Eh ang haba-haba pala ng pila sa airport sa labas pa lang, true enough, FIVE MINUTES NANG SARADO ANG CHECK-IN COUNTER NG CEBUPAC to Naga. Bukod sa’kin at mga retired kong magulang, may isa pang mag-asawa na nasarhan ng counter. CebuPac said so themselves na five minutes ago pa lang sarado ang counter nila and yet they wouldn’t accommodate us anymore kasi na-print na raw ang manifesto and all.
I was almost in tears kasi nakaka-frustrate so I pleaded to the young lady behind the CebuPac counter if she can make some calls to anyone who might be able to help us. She only shook her head and "assured" me na ganu’n din lang po ang sasabihin sa’kin. I asked if the plane is still there. They said yes the plane’s still there but the “manifesto of passengers has already been printed” and they could not accommodate us anymore. By this time I have sorta accepted the fact that we will miss this flight, but I just wanted to feel that this company that declares to care for “every Juan” is the real deal yet the lady wouldn’t even so much as make a call to a fictitious superior to at least give me the impression that they value me as a client.
I ended up getting my parents tickets for tomorrow, and since I wasn’t thinking clearly, siyempre sa CebuPac ko pa rin sila pinalipad! That will be the last thousands of pesos that I will ever spend on Cebu Pacific. I booked na lang a later flight with another airline since I needed to be in CamSur that day already.
Now you might say may point nga naman ang Cebu Pacific policy. Late is late, ika nga. And them opening their doors to accommodate us would be against air safety and all. I though so, too. Until I experienced a rather different treatment from foreigners, in an international carrier, on an international flight, in another country.
Japan’s expansive Narita Airport is 66km away from Tokyo, parang layo ng Clark sa Maynila, and yet mas madali pa itong puntahan kesa sa NAIA na nasa Pasay lang. Meron kasing tren. Ewan ko ba, sa dami ng OFW’s na tinatawag nating bagong bayani, nananatiling inaccessible sa ordinaryong Pinoy at OFW ang ating mga airport. ‘Di mo lang kailangan ng kotse, kailangan mo pa ng driver! Ganitung-ganito rin ang description ni Carlos Celdran sa disenyo ng Cultural Center of the Philippines, ang aniya’y “Imelda’s first betrayal of the Filipino People.”
Bilang nagpaiwan sa Japan, mag-isa na lang akong umuwi nu'n. Sa unang istasyon pa lang sa Kinshicho para na’kong ignoranteng hindi alam kung saan bibili ng Airport Express ticket. Hindi rin kami magkaintindihan ng Hapon sa counter. I stood there before the ticket-vending machine, delaying everyone behind me in line, so I decided to do the high-tech route and pressed the big HELP button. Gumuho ang ultra-high-tech impression ko sa Japan nang may bumukas na maliit na puwang sa machine at sumilip ang parehong Hapon na pinagtanungan ko kanina sa counter. Kausap ko ang tao sa loob ng machine! Hi-tech. lumabas siya sa isang maliit na pinto sa tabi ng machine at siya na ang pumindut-pindot para makabili na’ko ng ticket papuntang airport.
Hindi yata airport express ang nasakyan ko kaya may mga dinadaanan pa rin itong suburbs sa labas ng lungsod. Makikita mo kung sino ang mga papuntang airport dahil meron silang dalang malalaking bagahe, tulad ko. I was constantly checking my ticket kung saan naka-print ang ruta ng tren to see na I’m right on track, then at one station, most everyone got off the train. My instincts told me to follow the crowd pero natakot ako so I stayed, and sat down. Parang ako nga lang natira, at may mga bago nang pasaherong sumakay. True enough, umandar ang tren PABALIK NG TOKYO! Sinubukan kong ikubli ang panalalaki ng aking mata sa panic (if that is possible). I coolly got off the next station.
Sa istasyon nagtanong ako sa isang stall na binabantayan ng dalawang older mommies kung saang riles dadaan ang tren papuntang Narita. Nainintidihan naman nila ang English ko’t naituro kung alin sa dalawang riles ako dapat mag-abang. Pero kaaalis lang daw ng tren papuntang airport kaya medyo may paghihintay. Nanganganib na’ko sa flight ko, pero wala pa rin akong gaanong pangamba. Kuwento ng mga Pilipinong nakilala ko sa Japan, hindi naman kailangang two hours before the flight ka nasa airport tulad ng advise sa NAIA. Bumili ako ng “hatto” (hot) coffee-in-can sa mga mommies. Isa ‘to sa fascinating vendo merchandise sa halagang 60 pesos.
May mga nakasabay rin akong Japanese high schoolers. For a while I considered approaching one guy who is about my size to offer to buy his signature blue-with-gold-buttons-and-school-patch blazer but hiya got over me. Na-assure naman akong ito nga ang tren papuntang airport dahil may kasabay akong dalawang seksing Haponesa na furry-furry ang kuwelyo ng jackets at may hila-hilang putting Hello Kitty hardcase. Bago dumating ang tren ko, dumaan pa ang mas sleek na Narita Express, ‘yung non-stop na bibiyahe mula Tokyo hanggang airport.
Sa tren may mga video instructions na on how to navigate Narita. Siguraduhin mong tamang side ng tren ka bababa ayon sa kung ano’ng airline mo. Japan Airlines ay sa kanan. PAL ay nasa kabila. Para akong pumasok sa Gattaca pagbaba ko ng tren! Ang laki-laki-laki at ganda-ganda-ganda pala ng Narita Airport! Medyo malayong lakaran din pero hindi naman mahirap hanapin ang check-in counter. Efficient din ang sistema nila kaya agad akong nakalapit sa counter where I immediately declared to the female Japanese ground staff na, “I took the wrong train. Will I still make this flight?”
With a smile and a proud tone she said, “We will make you make this flight.” She made a quick phone call presumably to inform the others that there’s this late Filipino guy trying to catch his plane. The lady wrote something on a sticker and put it on my left shirtsleeve. She endorsed me to another ground staff, a petite Japanese woman in that classic hat-scarf-skirt-pumps stewardess uniform. With a slight bow she softly commanded, “Please follow me.” And she ran! In heels!
A ran after her. She led me to the x-ray machine where a platoon of flight attendants were unloading their luggage. She talked to them in Japanese and they all stood aside and let my dirty, blue North Face backpack first. They had to repeat the process, this time without my laptop in the bag. Once through, we ran some more.
Without stopping, she asked for my ticket, I handed it to her, she checked my flight details and determined which monorail to take. “Get on that train.” I followed her. Only then did we stop running. I asked, “How do I know which gate?” “When you get off the train, you will see the sign to Gate 9,” and the monorail train closed and through the glass door I saw her bow the monorail away. She bowed!!!
I found my gate easily, and passengers were already boarding when I got there. I approached another JAPAN AIRLINES staff in a blue shirt and slacks, “Did I make the flight?” “Yes, you’re just in time.” And with that she removed the sticker on my sleeve.
# posted by rey agapay @ 9:21 PM 
